Aquaponic Gardening

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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.

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I am planning 3 towers, which should support about 9 goldfish. I will cycle the system fishless to get it going and hopefully avoid losing a lot of fish during cycle up. I have a pump, air stones, Rubbermaid tank, etc. I just need to buy the towers and lights, but before I jump the gun I need to figure out lights.

I just got back from the hydro store locally. She suggested using the standard T5 lights hung vertically with some reflective material in the corner of a room. Similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/ft-F54T5-HO-Fluorescent-Spectralux-Included/d...

Have you tried emailing the ZipGrow folks? I'm sure they have a few ideas.

They have people growing in shipping containers, so one would need a good lighting solution there.

I was wondering about that also. I went to my (local)? hydro store the other day, and picked up hanger setup for up to 7 T5 tubes and ballasts. Made by Sun Blaster products, its called a "7up strip light hanger". It can be used horizontally or vertically. I've been using the Sun Blaster arrays for 4 yrs and never had a problem with them. I just change out the bulbs every 6-8 months, or when growth seems to be slow. Also, I found that using reflective material really helps. I hate losing light.

Hi Brian...If I were you I'd think about arranging the towers in a circular fashion with the plants facing inwards. You could then use a T-5 or better yet, PL-L tube(s) in the center (in a vertical position without a reflector or any kind of fixture...just a bare tube in a vertical position emanating  light in all directions toward your plants.

This would be quite an efficient lighting scheme and costs less than 'off the shelf fixtures.

It would however require some DIY-ness, as you would likely need to wire the ballast to the tubes yourself (simple) as well as position the tubes vertically yourself (also relatively simple).

Look into some of the the 4 pin 2G11 type base that you would plug a PL-L tube into...and the neat plastic tube "holders" they sell for a few cents probably...

https://www.1000bulbs.com/category/6500k-55-w-2g11-base-cfl-compact...

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/53727/SOCK-EG36070.html

https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/56684/SOCK-EG7872.html

I like these bulbs better than T-5's (for a number of reasons...high CRI and tri-phosphor coatings come standard on these bulbs...not so with T-5's etc...)...and they are easy to position vertically.Might be worth looking into.

If you're super bored, here's a little write up on those tubes... http://community.theaquaponicsource.com/group/artificiallighting/fo...



Brian said:

I just got back from the hydro store locally. She suggested using the standard T5 lights hung vertically with some reflective material in the corner of a room. Similar to this: http://www.amazon.com/ft-F54T5-HO-Fluorescent-Spectralux-Included/d...

I like that idea. Now I need to figure out the DIY part. That is my weakness.

Hey Brian,

Are you growing in a greenhouse where you're hoping to use some natural light, or indoors with all artificial light?'

- Jeremiah

I'll be growing indoors in my basement. I like the idea of a greenhouse, but I live in an area where it is not allowed.

Gotcha.  In that case then Vlad's idea is spot on.

Have you thought of setting them up in a window? That is currently my plan...

There are no windows large enough in my basement to provide any significant light. I am going to look into Vlad's idea. Thanks.

My only other choice would be to place the Zip Grow towers horizontally, which kind of defeats the purpose of buying vertical towers in my opinion.

I just watched the video for Freight Greens in Canada. Very interesting.

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