Cold Weather Aquaponics
This group serves the needs of those who grow in the cold parts of the world. We'll discuss greenhouses, insulation, air sealing, fish selection, heaters, etc...
Vertical Lighting for Indoor ZipGrow SetUp
I plan to set up a Zip Grow vertical system with 3 ft towers and 100 gallon fish tank. I am perplexed about how to do that lighting. Is anyone aware of a vertical lighting system that would be appropriate but not break the bank account? I could as an alternative lay the Zip Grows on a slant, but that seems to negate the advantage of the Zip Grow space savings.
Nate Storey
If you check out pictures of our light kit for Springs, that will give you an idea of what you can do with flourescent bulbs, if you need to use something else- like a more traditional light, note that they're easy to hang. We use the LumiGrow Pro325s- they work really well, but they are definitely not a wallet-friendly option in the short term. We really only put them in when we expect them to be run for 20 years. We just put them on brackets and then run them back and forth between racks on light movers. Pretty simple but really effective. Here are some pictures of how we set them up.
Jan 25, 2015
Vlad Jovanovic
That's sure a snazzy looking set up Nate. And 20 years sure beats the hell out of having to change out fluorescent tubes every 6-7 months. Hope the price on that technology eventually comes down a bit.
Yeah, try the ODNO thing, T-8's seem to be the 'sweet spot' for that sort of thing (as opposed to T-12's or T-5's...I think that some of the VHO-T-5's come over driven straight from the factory...basically).
*edit: Electronic/digital ballasts DO work for the ODNO mod. It was my old style magnetic ballast that melted :)
Jan 26, 2015
Nate Storey
I'll try the ODNO thing- Noah will get a kick out of it. I think you're right, the HO T5s are overdriven, but I'm not sure. I know that those things are bright compared to traditional T5s. We use them a lot in our educational setups.
Feb 2, 2015