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Hydroponic Fluorescent Lights Bulbs Lamps

Hydroponic System DiagramFluorescent Light
Fluorescent tubes offer a broader color spectrum and are available in a variety of kinds including bright white. cool white. warm white. plant bulbs. daylight and full spectrum. The combination of warm and cool white offer a broad light spectrum.

Fluorescent bulbs are relatively inexpensive, long-lasting and provide even, cool lighting.

The down-side to fluorescent lights is that they are low in intensity and need to be very close to the plants to be effective. Seedlings, cuttings and most house plants will benefit from fluorescent lighting. Listed below are some fluorescent lights to get you started with.

There are several options when it comes to lighting your indoor hydroponics system. One of them is fluorescent lighting. Fluorescent lighting is the least expensive of the lighting system for indoor hydroponics growing. It is also one of the more energy efficient and coolest running systems. Despite these pluses, there are also some significant drawbacks to fluorescent lighting.

The biggest drawback to fluorescent lights is that they do not provide the full spectrum of wavelengths in the optimum bands for photosynthesis. The newer T5 fluorescents are an improvement and are getting closer to covering the full spectrum needed for all phases of plant growth.

For the moment, fluorescent lighting is best suited for ornamental house plants and for starting seedlings, cuttings and clones. Full-spectrum fluorescent lights are also great for leafy produce like lettuce spinach and herbs. They fall short, however, when it comes to fruiting vegetables and flowering plants. Despite the improvements with the T5 bulbs, they are still lacking in the wavelengths most suited to fruiting and flowering, so they are not well suited to activities such as growing tomatoes.

If you are going to limit your growing, say, rafts of lettuce, you might well consider taking advantage of the low cost of fluorescent lighting. If you do choose this option, here are a few guidelines in utilizing them:

  • Since fluorescent lighting does not produce much in the way of heat, lights can be hung very near to     your plants. As a rule of thumb, 4-6 inches above the plants is sufficient.
  • When planning your system, plan on using about 40 watts of fluorescent lighting for each square foot of growing area. With T5 fluorescents, use one 4 foot tube for each two square feet of growing bed.
  • Fluorescent lights are not well suited for larger plants because the light they emit does not penetrate foliage as well as some other types of lighting (Notably, lighting of the High Intensity Discharge varieties), this can be overcome by placing lights to the sides as well as above larger plants.
  • You can split your operation, utilizing fluorescent lighting for vegetative stages of plant growth and moving your plants under an HID lighting system for flowering and fruiting.

Properly used, and with an understanding of its limitations, fluorescent lighting can be a useful tool in indoor hydroponics, they are economical to purchase and cheap to operate. They also produce less heat than other lights and therefore reduce the amount of cooling your growing space will require. They can be a big money  saver, if their spectrum meets your growing needs.

fluorescent

AgroBrite FLB125C Compact Fluorescent Lamp, Cool, 125W, 6500K Glass 125 Watt picture

AgroBrite FLB125C Compact Fluorescent Lamp, Cool, 125W, 6500K Glass 125 Watt

$35.00



1980's Phototron 3000SX  Hydroponic with original papers picture

1980's Phototron 3000SX Hydroponic with original papers

$399.00



VIVOSUN T5 fluorescent tubes pack of 5 picture

VIVOSUN T5 fluorescent tubes pack of 5

$32.00



SunBlaster SL0900175 T5HO 6400K 24

SunBlaster SL0900175 T5HO 6400K 24" Full Spectrum Grow Lamp Fluorescent Tube

$49.99



Ferry-Morse Indoor T5 Bulb Fluorescent Grow Light & Stand KLIGHT9 / Seedlings  picture

Ferry-Morse Indoor T5 Bulb Fluorescent Grow Light & Stand KLIGHT9 / Seedlings

$35.00



T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO PURE BLOOM SPECTRUM picture

T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO PURE BLOOM SPECTRUM

$38.96



T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO GROW BLOOM 2 4 8 PACK picture

T5 LIGHT BULBS FLUORESCENT LAMPS T5HO F54 4FT TUBES HO GROW BLOOM 2 4 8 PACK

$16.50



SEE NOTES Jump Start JSV4 4 foot T5 Grow Light System Stand Fixture Tube w Timer picture

SEE NOTES Jump Start JSV4 4 foot T5 Grow Light System Stand Fixture Tube w Timer

$84.91



AeroGarden Grow Light Bulb 100340 1-Pack 26w Compact Fluorescent NEW picture

AeroGarden Grow Light Bulb 100340 1-Pack 26w Compact Fluorescent NEW

$17.99



NEW AgroBrite FLB125C Compact Fluorescent Lamp, Cool, 125W, 6500K Glass 125 Watt picture

NEW AgroBrite FLB125C Compact Fluorescent Lamp, Cool, 125W, 6500K Glass 125 Watt

$44.99



T5 GROW LIGHT FLUORESCENT FLORO T5HO BLOOM HIGH OUTPUT picture

T5 GROW LIGHT FLUORESCENT FLORO T5HO BLOOM HIGH OUTPUT

$87.90



Agrobrite Compact Fluorescent  Grow Lamps - 200 Watts -  6500k picture

Agrobrite Compact Fluorescent Grow Lamps - 200 Watts - 6500k

$39.50



*USED READ* Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Grow Light Fluorescent Bulb Model 100340 picture

*USED READ* Miracle-Gro AeroGarden Grow Light Fluorescent Bulb Model 100340

$13.98



DoubleLux 4 ft x 16 BULB T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture picture

DoubleLux 4 ft x 16 BULB T5 Fluorescent Light Fixture

$200.00



iPower 4-Ft 2-Bulb T5 Fluorescent Grow Light Stand Rack for Seed Plant Growing picture

iPower 4-Ft 2-Bulb T5 Fluorescent Grow Light Stand Rack for Seed Plant Growing

$79.97



Hydrofarm Designer T5 System 4 Foot 4 Tube Fluorescent Grow Lights with Bulbs picture

Hydrofarm Designer T5 System 4 Foot 4 Tube Fluorescent Grow Lights with Bulbs

$200.00



4 x Light Bulbs Daylight CFL Fluorescent Compact 33 Watts 150W Repl 6400K picture

4 x Light Bulbs Daylight CFL Fluorescent Compact 33 Watts 150W Repl 6400K

$20.03



SPECIAL SPECTRUM 4ft HO T5 FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT PURE POWER UV BLOOM VEG PAR picture

SPECIAL SPECTRUM 4ft HO T5 FLUORESCENT GROW LIGHT PURE POWER UV BLOOM VEG PAR

$69.95



VIVOSUN 2FT 4FT T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture w/ High Output Bulbs 6500K picture

VIVOSUN 2FT 4FT T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture w/ High Output Bulbs 6500K

$208.99



iPower 4Feet 54W 6400K Fluorescent T5 High-output Grow Light Stand Rack for Seed picture

iPower 4Feet 54W 6400K Fluorescent T5 High-output Grow Light Stand Rack for Seed

$61.08