FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I'm looking for a setup that
1) gives a lot of space to grow and expand my collection (which is pretty small, so that wouldnt be too much of a problem)
2) is reasonably energy efficient
3) gives off a high light output
4) is preferably under $100, although $150 might be ok... maybe.

This is for the entire setup... I'm currently working with my backyard, a two-foot one-bulb t5 fixture from htgsupply, and a mini-greenhouse from htgsupply. I literally have no space. Lots of the lights on amazon are in my budget, but that's not including hanging equipment or all that jazz, so I would have a light that would light up the floor. Anyways, it's probably a steep request, but does anyone have any ideas?

Thanks!

Not sure exactly how much coverage you are looking for but I recently scoured the market for the cheapest lights with the best coverage and found a nice 4ft. 6 bulb T5 that is perfect for hanging over 10x20 growing trays. The 4ft. 6 bulb T5 fixtures perfectly cover (4) 10x20in. growing trays and there is even 4-5 inches of available light left over on either side. Total coverage of one of these lights hung 12-14 inches over your plants is 50inx24in. I bought 3 of them back in March and all 3 arrived quickly in good shape without any broken bulbs and have functioned flawlessly so far. This is a dual switch fixture so there are 3 different "brightness" settings. When all 6 bulbs are on they put off a little bit of heat so I just have a small 7in fan blowing accross the bulbs and it completely dissipates the heat from the bulbs. Here is the link to this fixture for sale on eBay (also sells on amazon for $10 more) http://www.ebay.com/itm/Agrobrite-T5-32 ... 2749.l2649

The price is toward the top of your budget at $144.99 but this is the cheapest grow light with that much coverage. You can save just a little bit of money if you don't need to light that much space but 2ft or 4 bulb fixtures are only a little bit cheaper but a lot less coverage.

Just my opinion but I really like the MarsHydro 300.

https://www.amazon.com/MarsHydro-Spectr ... B00XC3LBI2

It's about $66.00.

I got a mounting/hanging kit free when I registered it for warranty.

There are 4 drilled studs on top so you can even easily fabricate your own hanger setup.
Or you can let it sit on top of the greenhouse shelving.
The hottest I've measured the light getting is 95F.

They put out a lot of light. At 2 feet above the plants, they light up a 24 by 24 inch area.
Your plants will color up brightly under these.

That's my two cents worth.

Good growing,
Mike

Thanks for the input! I've been looking at LEDs for a bit because of their energy efficiency, but I've always thought they were too expensive. Maybe I'll have to get two of them...

mo_carnivore wrote:Thanks for the input! I've been looking at LEDs for a bit because of their energy efficiency, but I've always thought they were too expensive. Maybe I'll have to get two of them...

I have two in my main setup.
They illuminate an area of 2 feet by 4 feet, more than adequately.

Good growing,
Mike