Lighting advice needed

[BotanyLover13]

Hello everyone,

I'm a (soon to be) first time grower and was browsing through a variety of bulbs and came across these at a local pet store.

Zoo Med Powersun UV 100 watt

The price of the bulbs are much lower, and was just curious if they may perform the job.
Planning for 5 plants to start with, and doing all research before taking action.

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.
Thanks

P.S. I have read further that there are problems with this particular bulbs, however I am only interested in knowing if bulbs similar to this one will perform: at the same standards if not lower or higher verses cfls, hps, leds, etc.

 

[Buckshot]

Get out of the pet store and go to your local urban garden center ... I prefer LED, check my journal

 

[BotanyLover13]

I'm constantly in Home Depot, Lowes, and various pet stores, to be honest I was thinking of using cfls on the first go. I've somehow manage to pool together various tanks sizing from 10 - 75 gals under 50 bucks total, with more on the way. Setting up a DIY hydro system with separate area's for clones/seedlings, vegetative and flowering phases.

I would love to try LED's however the initial cost is my dilemma at the moment; the possibility of using them as a permanent lighting solution sounds good to me.

I have also been reviewing your journal and I am very impressed, as I can only hope to achieve the success that you and other 420 members have achieved. I can only learn more as I continue to read the wealth of information that grows daily (literally) on this site.

 

[Alkhemist]

hey there Botanylover!!

unfortunately im having issues with the link of that site you provided.. is that a mercury vapor bulb by chance?? im not entirely sure about UV lights but as far as i know black lights or UV lights arent good for growing... but i suppose if you can generate enough Lumens and cater for the right part of the spectrum for cannabis then you should be golden...

i know UV bulbs are great for keeping things clean! sterilization, great for aquariums and terrariums and can be used in Ozone generators, which is something ive been looking into alot more lately.

i know ultraviolet light can be generated by some LED's, whether or not these are effectual for growing mmj i couldn't say.

you'd want to look at which part of the spectrum is best for each phase of cannabis growth(=seedling, vegetative, flowering) and find out a recommended MIN lumen for each part, if the bulb can meet those MIN requirements you're off to a great start!

all the best with your choice!

Peace

 

[Hosebomber]

That light could work as a supplemental light if you are trying to add UV to test resin production but it is not good as a primary light. It produces very lightly light in the PAR spectra and nearly all output is in heat. UV: A is what is used for sterilization that alkhemist mentioned.

As for what light to get. It is really personal preference. Just keep in mind to keep the wattage in an acceptable range. Generally speaking you want AT LEAST 35 watts of a quality LED, 50 watts of HID, and 65 watts of CFL per square foot for the flowering stage. For veg, you can reduce those by 1/3rd and roughly half for seedling. These numbers are minimums.

 

[BotanyLover13]

hey there Botanylover!!

unfortunately im having issues with the link of that site you provided.. is that a mercury vapor bulb by chance?? im not entirely sure about UV lights but as far as i know black lights or UV lights arent good for growing... but i suppose if you can generate enough Lumens and cater for the right part of the spectrum for cannabis then you should be golden...

i know UV bulbs are great for keeping things clean! sterilization, great for aquariums and terrariums and can be used in Ozone generators, which is something ive been looking into alot more lately.

i know ultraviolet light can be generated by some LED's, whether or not these are effectual for growing mmj i couldn't say.

you'd want to look at which part of the spectrum is best for each phase of cannabis growth(=seedling, vegetative, flowering) and find out a recommended MIN lumen for each part, if the bulb can meet those MIN requirements you're off to a great start!

all the best with your choice!

Peace

Thank you for that information Alkhemist, yes those bulbs are mercury vapors. In terms of the site, the product detail varies from online to local outlets as some of the bulbs show their spectrum on the back of the box. However I think I'll stick to the lighting methods that how proven themselves over the years, will still be getting a couple of those bad boys for the growing reptile collection.

Perhaps I can start a journal showing the effects on various lighting methods on one plant at a time and compare and contrast results. As for some reason I seem to find dozens of bulbs that claim to be designed for promoting plant life or can do the job. Plenty of lighting, hardware, pet supplies, and gardening stores in my area offering a mass of usable materials.

 

[BotanyLover13]

That light could work as a supplemental light if you are trying to add UV to test resin production but it is not good as a primary light. It produces very lightly light in the PAR spectra and nearly all output is in heat. UV: A is what is used for sterilization that alkhemist mentioned.

As for what light to get. It is really personal preference. Just keep in mind to keep the wattage in an acceptable range. Generally speaking you want AT LEAST 35 watts of a quality LED, 50 watts of HID, and 65 watts of CFL per square foot for the flowering stage. For veg, you can reduce those by 1/3rd and roughly half for seedling. These numbers are minimums.

I noticed that there was no details on PAR with those bulbs, which was another reason leading me to start this post. I have a similar bulb already in use growing small plant life , not cannabis, which is why I was considering them. Thank you for the watts per sq ft for those various blubs. I have read roughly the same however it's been a while I could find the thread in which it was posted.