Lighting an AP System in an Apartment

[R.K. Castillo]

Hey guys!  I'm wanting to set up a small system inside my apartment.  I'm thinking a 55 Gallon Fish Tank and 2 concrete mixing tubs from Home Depot.  

I can't really screw anything into the walls or ceiling.  

Can you point me in the direction to find some lighting that would work?  

Also...I'm going to ask the question that gets asked all the time.  What light will help the plants grow the best but won't cost as much to run?  Our electric costs here in Hawaii are crazy high. I'm aware that sunlight is the best but what about inside an apartment that doesn't get sunlight?  

[Alex Veidel]

Growth is great. Better than what I was getting with the halides.

R.K. Castillo said:

And the growth is good?  That's pretty awesome.

[Alex Veidel]

Well Jay, as far as lighting is concerned I've only played around with 400w HID lights and LEDs. One is expensive to run, the other is expensive to purchase :)

So, I don't have any experience with inexpensive lighting fixtures that are effective (although, it seems that I should...maybe I'll have to branch out a little). I can however point you toward Sylvia's video serious on indoor lighting if you haven't watched it already. It's quite informative.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A8C6-QMekyo&list=PL765392B86C46B436

Jay said:

Hey Alex, Ive been reading a lot of your post on here and you seem to really know you stuff when it comes to lighting and AP. I tried adding you as a friend to send you a message. I started my own post hoping you would reply. I know this is like beating a dead horse when i comes to asking questions about lighting.

For the setup that i have in my shed with heat already being a factor,summers here are 100 degrees plus.,  what would be the best system for me to go with for a 4x3 area? . LEDs are very expensive.

[Jay]

Nice videos, But from what I gathered from the videos, HIDs are the cheapish  in the long run? If I do decide to go with the HID it would be a 600w just to give me that extra light to hit all plants so I would have even growth. But should I be worried about it being to hot in my shed? Its not insulated and it has no windows.

[Alex Veidel]

Yes, heat will likely be an issue. But I definitely wouldn't recommend a 600w for your size growbed. I ran a 3'x7' growbed off of a 400w. Growth is a little uneven on the sides, but your growbed is pretty square. 400w should be able to cover it perfectly, and you might even be able to get away with 250w. But you know, it's not good to skimp on the lighting.

Here's a link to my favorite HID fixture. It's convertible, so you can switch between using HPS and MH bulbs whenever you like. And the ballast is included in the frame itself, so it takes out a lot of the complication.

http://www.hydrogalaxy.com/growing-lights/reflectors/sunburst-400w-...

Jay said:

Nice videos, But from what I gathered from the videos, HIDs are the cheapish  in the long run? If I do decide to go with the HID it would be a 600w just to give me that extra light to hit all plants so I would have even growth. But should I be worried about it being to hot in my shed? Its not insulated and it has no windows.

[Jay]

hey alex was doing some searching and came across this

http://greenville.craigslist.org/grd/4403080548.html

Ive talked him down to $220 for everything, is this a good buy for the setup that i have vs this led that i was looking at getting?

http://www.gothamhydroponics.com/led-grow-lights/lighthouse-hydro-b...

[Jerry Wei Jie]

Castillo, mind to shared what is your environment temperature and humidity?

And your Growlight T5 specification?

R.K. Castillo said:

I actually ended up setting up the lights over my outdoor system as it was only getting like 1-2 hours of light a day.  I got the 8 bulb t5 system.  It does pull a lot of power but that's OK for now.   Here's the video: