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Hi all, after a year, I've finally got approval from my wife to use artificial source four light. Yes! I only have have 1 compartment from the wooden book shelf with adjustable height and space of 2.7ft length by 1foot breath. Any recommendations for T5 set up? 2 tubes is enought? My current plan is to use either 3 or 4 x T5 HO 2ft fixture with 24w tubes either cool light 6500 kelvins or a mixture of 6500 k and 3000 k. I need to house all of these in the space
Dionae wrote: That light would kick butt. I grow my cephs under a 2 bulb version and they love it. Is it?! Happy to hear that! I'm kinda worried that 24watt tube might be insufficient because they max is only 24watt Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Most source four of my stuff are finally here. I'm now trying to get hold of some power tools, screws and power cables so I can get the stuff up. I might drill some pilot holes into my wooden book shelf board before putting the screws in to prevent cracks. Next, I probably will wired all 4 T5 2ft 24w fixtures in parallel to 1 source so when I turn on the lights, all 4 fixture will power up. I got my hands on some reflector so I would add them on the fixtures before I install the tubes. I also intend to cover 3/4 of height of the compartment walls with either reflective material like good quality aluminium foil sheets source four or white paper. Sadly they ran out of 6500k tubes so I only got 4 3000k tubes. I'm not very sure if the plants like to bake in 4 x 3000k 12 - 16 hrs a day.... Yes they will be running on a timer plug. Please do not hesitate to give comments as I'm not sure if my set up is good to go.
cjpflaumer wrote: You will definitley want to get 6500K and at least do half and half. Mylar is great for a shiny reflective surface. You can get rolls of it. Or use an emergency blanket source four from a first aid kit. thank you! I shall look for 2 6500k tubes and hopefully some reflective sheets. Not sure if i can find Mylar or similar source four stuff in my side of the world
tish wrote: cjpflaumer wrote: You will definitley want to get 6500K and at least do half and half. Mylar is great for a shiny reflective surface. You can get rolls of it. Or use an emergency blanket from a first aid kit. thank you! I shall look for 2 6500k tubes and hopefully some reflective sheets. Not sure if i can find Mylar or similar source four stuff in my side of the world I'm pretty sure you could. It's used for anything from wrapping paper for gifts to balloons to emergency blankets and beyond. You should get some great growth with 4 lights. The 6500k is a must for vegetative growth. Good luck!
I think i found the reflective material in my house. Its call aluminium foil for baking food. I'll try to see if it works. At the mean time. This is what its roughly look like. I've just gotten all the tools so I'm ready to fix it up the moment I have free time. As for the tubes, a shop recommend me to use 8000k instead of 6500k so im not surenif I should buy the 8000k tubes. Sent from my Galaxy Nexus using Tapatalk 2
Aluminum foil definitely will work. I think Mylar is more reflective but I am fairly sure the difference would be neglible at best. I can't comment on the 8000k personally. Your setup is looking good!
Today I had most of the time to myself. I went ahead drilling holes I thought I would need for the light fixtures. When it was done, I glued some foil to the top base before I secure the light fixtures and cable tie for extra precaution since I find the screws weak. I went ahead with the wirings, was thinking of wiring all 4 fixtures to 1 plug but later was against it if the wire cannot take the high amperes, it might burn. So I wired 2 fixtures to 1 plug and had 2 set. I've decided source four to test 1/3 of my plants for a week to see if anything goes wrong. I adjusted the plant level to be at least 4.5 inches (tall pots) from the bulb minimum and maximum 9 inches (misc and seedling pots). I had some free time so I drove to many places to look for 2ft T5 HO 6500k bulbs but the nearest was 7500k. Not happy with it. I've decided to retire the day with a working setup but with temporary side reflector as foils and 4 X 3000k bulbs. I'll find the 6500k bulbs and reflective material soon.
Super User   Posts: 2018 Joined: Fri Nov 02, 2012 2:55 pm Location: Singapore Thanked: 505 times in 429 posts
ps3isawesome wrote: DAMN IT I WISH I WAS HANDY WITH TOOLS I assure you i was messy with it. I accidently drill into the support below the shelf plank which is a big useless pot. If you have a drill and some drill bits for wood. It's quite easy. Just place your fixture in the wood and mark out the spot where u want to drill with a pen . Tiny hole (1/4 smaller than the size of screws) for the screws to secure. Fixing rest are up to your own style
by tish » Mon Nov 17, 2014 4:26 pm
1. That looks awesome! But second, I see lots of people use foil to try to conserve light. Foil doesn't scatter the light much and looks dark unless you're