How To Choose The Right Grow Lights For Your Grow Room.

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When starting out with a hydroponics grow room on a low budget you might decide to save a little money on grow lights. Now it's OK to save a little money on grow lamps but it's very counterproductive if you choose to use the wrong lighting. Below we cover HPS lights, MH lights and CFL or compact florescent lights.

For seedlings and clones Compact Flourescent lights (CFL) work well as do low wattage metal halide lamps. Although CFL is acceptable for clones and seedlings it simply does not have the power to drive light very far below the maturing canopy of leaves in your grow room. CFL when used as grow lamps does not deliver the same quality of light and therefore is not really suitable for the main growth stage of you plants. Metal Halide lights (MH lights) should be used for the growth stage as they more accurately simulate the light the plant would be given by the sun at this stage of growth.

For the flowering stage High Pressure Sodium lights (HPS lights) deliver more of the red spectrum of light and they are designed to replicate the warmer colour of the sun during the autumn months. These are the optimum plant lights you should use when flowering your plants. They produce the colour of light your plants are naturally adapted to during this phase of their life.

As for light penetration into and below the canopy lumen output is a crucial factor. Lumen output will determine how well your plants will produce. There are two things to consider here.

1) The square footage of the area you want to illuminate will determine the number of watts.
2) The quantity of plants you wish to grow within that square footage.

A 400/430 watt HPS light cover an area up to a 2x2 or 2x3 footprint with the proper reflector.
A 600 watt HPS light can support a 3x3 footprint, while a 1000 watt HPS can illuminate a 4x4 area.

Carefully consider how many plants you would like to grow within that square footage of area. The more plants, the less space there will be between them, meaning the shorter they have to be. Fewer plants result in bigger plants, requiring more light penetration.

About the Author:
Steve's Hydroponics has 60+ years combined knowledge of hydroponics. Get your FREE monthly newsletter with hints, tips, special offers and advice on hydroponic growing now! Only 15 minutes outside Halifax with the largest selection of hydroponic products east of Montreal. All the help and products you need from the number 1 source for Halifax hydroponics!

http://www.steveshydroponics.ca



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