Reddit reviews Durolux T5 Ho Grow Light - 4 Foot 4 Lamps - DL844 Fluorescent Hydroponic Indoor Fixture - Bloom Veg Daisy Chain with Bulbs

Sure! It's pretty basic, actually. The table is a 4x2' stainless steel table from IKEA. Pretty cheap, but you could do cheaper, I just already had it. The heating pad is the same size (happy coincidence.) The cups are regular solo cups, most expensive element was the lights. You'll also want a timer, I use this one. And finally, the most ghetto part of the whole set up, the tent! I made it out of cardboard, tin foil and duct tape. Gotta save that paper.

It's a 4ft one with 4 T5 HO bulbs: https://www.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1482525870&sr=8-3

My plants are inside from around now until Aprilish. I use a 48x18” shelf, 10/20 trays fit on it nicely. There is a cheap clip fan on the end of each shelf that runs 24/7, this is imperative. I have some of these lights and some of these lights– they work fine. They’re on timers for 12 hours or so. The LEDs are tricky because they’re too strong to put very close to the plants, oh well. I have another smaller shelf that’s basically the same set up for cuttings and seedlings.

Edit: fixed link maybe

https://www.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8 these lights are very bright, cheap compared to other lights. They are 250 watts and output more than enough light for your plants up to a max distance of 1 foot from the tip of your plant to the light. they cost around 75 bucks and are well worth the investment

t5 + racking

or ikea racking is ok too... with smaller 24 inch t5 maybe.

or even better, get a tent tent

It's actually my bedroom. I'm limited on Space and it's hard to strike a balance between bedroom and jungle lab so I've mostly given up and you can see which way it's gone. ..

As for the lights I can tell you which ones I've been getting but I don't feel like I have used them long enough to actually recommend them. If that makes sense. They were 75 for the 4' 4 bulb model.

I also use screw in led bulbs in places and led clip lamps in others. There are also finex led 24/7 aquarium lights.
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1
I hate mirrors but I've started putting them behind plants to bounce more light. The inexpensive sort of generic full length mirrors go well on the back of 4' shelves. Dollar stores seem to frequently sell small plain mirrors to go behind individual plants.

Fwiw I'm also loving this humidifier https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01M4O49V9/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o03_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 the plants are happier and the mammals including humans breathe better with it. I'm a big fan of humidifiers in general though. Years ago I got tired of low humidity. It's such a small investment compared to the financial cost of losing plants. Plus the frustration and sadness of unhealthy ones...

Hi! I'm just starting out and picked up the following light and it has, so far, been working great for my indoor kratky experiments over the past two months. Keep in mind, two months is the extent of my experience.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/

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I just recently brought all of my plants in for winter and upgraded my light setup to 4 T5 fluorescent bulbs at 6500 kelvins. Does this look like an appropriate height to keep it above the plants? The jade is about 3 inches from the bulbs so I'm a little worried about damage. I've been thinking about moving the jade to another window and just lowering lights closer to the rest of the plants. Also any advice on how long to keep them under lighting every day would be useful!

https://i.imgur.com/C8Vt1YJ.jpg

Just in case anyone was curious where I got this setup. It feels very sturdy and I'm definitely glad I bought it. I'd just recommend buying longer chains to hang it since the ones they provide are pretty short.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

These are the ones I currently have for my 4x4 that work well https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/ref=oh_aui_detailpage_o07_s01?ie=UTF8&psc=1.

Within the next month i think i'll be binging on these https://www.amazon.com/HydroplanetTM-Fluorescent-Included-Horticulture-Gardening/dp/B019J3UPUS/ref=sr_1_1?s=lawn-garden&ie=UTF8&qid=1487146972&sr=1-1&keywords=t5

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HEYCRI8/ref=oh_aui_search_detailpage?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I use this to grow lettuce in a 4ft x 14 inch area, the same size as its shade. I imagine I could grow in a larger area with minimal loss but that would be too much lettuce so I haven't tried. I use 2 lights for about the first half of its life then I turn on all 4 lights. 16 hours a day.

I like it alright. It's pricier in comparison to the fluorescent lights. I have these two at the moment, though only the latter is in that grow shelf set up:
https://smile.amazon.com/gp/product/B00WDJ7LG2/ (The advantage of this one is that it has two on/off switches so you can control half of the bulbs separately. It also has a power plug that you can plug another light in to.
https://smile.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8 (This one is only two inches tall, so you can fit it into a grow shelf without losing as much headroom. The bulbs are connected by little cords at each end instead of over the top, and it only has one on/off switch and no plugs.

The thing to keep in mind is that the fluorescent lights are all about 1 ft x 4 ft, while the LED light is only 12.6x7.9x3 inches. I could fit three of the LED lights into the same space as one of the fluorescent lights. You can look at that as good or bad, I guess, since it means it's more expensive, but you can also get much brighter coverage over all if you invest in it.

The other thing to keep in mind is that the LED light is fairly loud. The fluorescent light is completely silent, while the LED is louder than a gaming desktop. They can supposedly be modded with quieter cooling fans though, if that matters.

Something like this:

https://www.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8

I would think one of these should be pretty good for 40 plants.

https://www.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1487633410&sr=8-1&keywords=grow+light+t5

if they're long shelves most people just get a long hanging thing and put 2-4 T5 bulbs in it.

https://www.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8

This for example. You can get 1,2, or 4 bulb fixtures, and in lengths of 2 or 4 feet. Can find at any big box store, or online for not too bad. then just buy some daylight bulbs for them.

If you want more of a Square format, you can buy 1000-1200 watt LED's that will do a 3x3 or 4x4 foot area for between $40-60.

If you don't have many plants you can always scale down for smaller options in both.

If you can put a little money into this, you'd get better veg out of a 4' T5 fixture, and it'll put out more heat. Keep the tent pretty much closed up, with a vent on the bottom barely open and a 6" duct fan hooked to a Programmable Thermostat venting out the top. While it's cold, you can set the fan only to kick on at 80 degrees or something, so you aren't venting out warm air constantly. You do need some airflow, and the thermostat makes it a "set and forget" kind of thing. So you aren't baking plants on an unusually hot day, or taking away their heat on cold nights.

Other ideas:

• Have the tent sitting on some kind of insulation. Cardboard is better than nothing. Styrafoam is best.
  
  
• A cheap heating mat under the plants, if you can't get the inside above 55 degrees at all times.
  
  
• 1020 planting trays to collect water runoff. 4 of these fit nicely in a 2x4'. Or just use the cheap circular planters from any garden shop.
  
  
• For little veg tents, I just rest a power strip on top and plug everything into it. Keeps electric away from any water, and out of your way.
  
  
• Not sure what water drainage you would need? You don't need to water to crazy amounts of runoff right now. And, if you are in trays or planters, the extra water will get absorbed by the plants. If you are holding these in 3g pots for 8 weeks, make sure they are cloth pots. Then the plants can easily drink their own runoff. And you won't get rootbound.
  
  
• 8 weeks is a long time. You can fill a 2x4' with two plants in 8 weeks from seed. And I mean, wall to wall, lights pinned at the top and leaves burning because they grow into them anyway. Don't be scared to trim/train a bunch.
  
  
  edit: Last thing. Not an outdoor grower, but in 8 weeks you'll have 4' tall plants that aren't "hardened" to sunlight. That'll be a process. As will supporting the plants. These will likely need trellising straight away.

Here's the link again to my first album after initial setup for reference: http://imgur.com/a/fvzkZ

1. I used round PVC mainly due to availability, price, and associated parts. I saw a design that allowed for the adjustment of the water level within the pipes by rotating the end collar on the round PVC and I liked that approach. There are way to accomplish this with a flat channel system also, but I found this method acceptable. As far as my research has shown, a "proper" NFT system does use flat bottoms (as seen in pretty much all commercial operations), but the round PVC approach is very common for hobbyists like myself. I can't comment on very detailed reasoning for the true "film" technique on the bottom of flat pipes vs round. It appears to me though that people get plenty of good results out of both setups, so I personally wouldn't (and didn't) get too hung up on it.
   
   
2. In the linked gallery above, the 5th image (this one: http://i.imgur.com/KSkFZEc.jpg) you can get a decent look at how the water is sent to the pipes. Most pumps vary, but I basically used a piece of flex tube to connect from the pump output to an adapter into the ball valve, then from there pieced together with various connecting parts, a threaded riser pipe used in irrigation, and then three of these: Riser Adapter. There are probably a million different ways, this is just what I came up with and it's working fine without leaks (plumber's tape.. use it).
   
   
3. I spaced my holes 6". This seems to be a commonly recommended spacing for leafy greens. I staggered the outer pipes (with 8 holes each) 6" from the inner pipe (has 7 holes) to maintain this spacing. Yes, more space will be better for larger plants, but I don't ever plan to use this setup for anything but various lettuces primarily, and some other leafy greens. Seems like most people grow larger plants that may require more spacing in different systems completely though, like DWC buckets, dutch buckets, etc.
   
   Hope this helps. I spent many hours on and off for a year researching before pulling the trigger on this system. In case you are wondering, here's the light I bought: Light It seems to be working very well so far with good output (~20,000 lumens) for 216 watts.

something like this will be fine https://www.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8

Legit get one of these and you'll be just fine no need for a giant filter/fan system: https://www.amazon.com/4lamps-DL844s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00HEYCRI8/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1510932370&sr=8-6&keywords=t5

I was thinking of a cheaper fixture this time like this one

Ooh interesting ..

I bought this ;

T5 Grow Light (4ft 4lamps) DL844s Ho Fluorescent Hydroponic Fixture Bloom Veg Daisy Chain with Bulbs https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00HEYCRI8/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_rsskDb87P981B

So the fluorescent could take away humidity and moisture faster? Which LED lights did you get? I’ll definitely get a timer switch ! Great idea you just time 12 / 12 right