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Lights

JimmyGreenyah
JimmyGreenyahstarted grow question 20d ago
is there a suggestion for easily and cheap grow lights at dollar stores or hardware that I can use at home to supplement ? don't really have ballasts at home. Thanks
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Hightai90
Hightai90answered grow question 19d ago
Use standard cfl bulbs or led bars
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m0use
m0useanswered grow question 19d ago
I'd trust numbers on anything light related, they know their shit about it. LED has come a long way since the blue/purple ones. Get a new age one for cheep. Many brand have entry level lights. The ones I use from Medic Grow are good. and cheep. Mini Sun 2 is the light name. comes in diffrent wattages. They have other ones as well.
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00110001001001111O
00110001001001111Oanswered grow question 20d ago
Save up some money and buy LED. Cheaper to operate, less heat, replace less often. they are cheaper to own by any common sense measure. Stick to 2.7-2.9umol/J effiacy ... many manufacturers lie about these ratings. compare to specs at diode's original manufacturer, i.e. bridgelux or samsong.com etc, and you can tell who is lying through their teeth. If there is an LED out there with 3.0 umol/J, it's probably a very cool (favor B too much) CCT that you don't want anyway. unless you live somewhere cold, the reduced heat is a bonus, too. very easy to size lights up to space... if you grow photoperiods, you want ~80umol/s per sq ft based on total umol/s produced by light. If you only grow autoflowers on an 18h cycle, you want 67% of that. Easy peasy multiplication. 16 sq ft? you want a light producing roughly 1280umol/s ... fwiw if you find the 'perfect' light and it's 1250, close enough! This number is not an enxact value and is relative to local variables, so YMMV a bit. It is a good ballpark to start. Should err slightly on high side, if i recall. Think it is "861 ppfd" target for 12h photoperiod needs.
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John_Kramer
John_Krameranswered grow question 20d ago
if u wanna pay 10 times more for electricity then be my guest ) or u can buy a good board with latest leds (it won't be cheap for sure, but in 5-10 years of exploitation it'll be cheaper then 1st option)
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Growtendo64
Growtendo64answered grow question 20d ago
You can definitely find some budget-friendly options to supplement light! Look for LED bulbs labeled “daylight” or 5000–6500K at hardware stores or even dollar stores. Choose the highest wattage you can find (at least 10W real draw) and make sure they’re non-frosted to get better light output. Screw them into clamp lamps or desk lamp fixtures. Not a full grow light setup, but good for boosting lower corners or seedlings. Avoid warm white (2700K), it’s less effective for vegetative growth. Cheap, easy, and works in a pinch. Good luck!
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