seedling growing lights

[dipchip2000]

Just one quick question for now. I just got 2 four foot ceiling light fixtures with four bulbs per fixture. I am going to hang them over my seedlings.
Do I need the opaque light defuser panel left on them or shall I discard it so the bulbs will closer to the plants. Would the defuser panel serve any useful purpose by being between the bulbs and the plants. I dont know but Im sure someone out there has a good answer.
thanks for the feedback
dipchip2000

[Amigatec]

I would remove it, and buy some bulbs with a rating of 6400K. These will provide more blue or the seedings.

[salix]

I do not use the diffuser panels in my set up, they found a secondary use as wind protection outside while hardening off seedlings...

[amideutch]

Loose the diffuser and if its the plastic type turn it upside down and use it as a tray for the seedlings. Here's some pictures of ceiling fixtures I got from work which used eggcrate as diffusers which I threw away. These were 3 tube units that I modified in the first 3 pictures for 5 tubes (2 cool white tubes 4400k and 3 power twist tubes 5500k. The next year I modified another unit shown in the following 3 pictures where I kept the 3 tube configuration and added 6 E27 outlets for 6 CFL's running at 6400k's plus the 3 power twists at 5500k. As you can see I don't use chains to support the light fixture but attached 4 legs and use styrofoam slabs to set the seedling trays height and remove the slabs as the seedlings grow taller, as you can see in the last 4 pics. Ami

[dipchip2000]

Ami

What is the wattage of the cfl 6400k? I have seen 26watt locally but that seems to be a little small. The bulbs that are in the fixture are the 40watt coolwhite t12.
where do you find the power twist or does that matter as long as they are 6400k?
thanks
ron

[yotetrapper]

Wow ami, some serious seed starting setups there, impressive. Notice some of your seedlings are in what look like the Jiffy pellet things, do you like those for tomatoes? Was thinking of using some this year.....

[amideutch]

Dipchip, the 26 watt CFL's are equivalent to a 100+ watt incandescent. The VITA-LITE Power Twist 5500k has been discontinued. But they have the Standard VITA-LITE tubes in 5500k as well. It doesn't have to be 6400k anything above 4400k will work. Check out this site for the VITA-LITE tubes and CFL's. Ami

http://www.naturallighting.com/web/shop.php?crn=565


yotetrapper, been using Jiffy 7's and other compressed peat pellets since I started growing seedlings. They work great and after my seedlings get to about 4" to 6" tall I transplant them into CowPots using Light Warrior planting mix and grow them till they are 10" to 12" then plant the whole thing into containers or the ground after dipping them into a solution that has had mycorrhizae and Actinovate added to it. Ami

[Duh_Vinci]

Originally Posted by yotetrapper

Wow ami, some serious seed starting setups there, impressive...

No kidding! Nicely done, looks solid and obviously works well!

Regards,
D

[Paul R]

ami, mycorrhizae, I'm thinking fungi, ? not meaning to rederect the thraed.

[amideutch]

Paul, here's a site. Ami

http://www.fungi.com/mycogrow/index.html

[dipchip2000]

Ami

I found today the four foot 6400K T12 bulbs that will work in my 48inch four bulb
fixture. It currently has the coolwhite 40watt tubes in it. Should I replace all four tubes with the 6400K or just two. I sure dont want to over do it but I bought a case of the 6400K for 20.00. How many is too many and will I still need the cfls
in addition to the four foot tubes?
thanks
ron

[dice]

Are the existing tubes in the 4-bulb fixtures used? (Meaning,
did they come with the fixture and you do not know how old
they are?) If that is the case, I would switch them out and save
them to use in other fixtures somewhere else, where actual
light intensity is not really important as long as you can see
what you are doing there. Use the brand new bulbs to start
your seedlings.

The graph that used to be at BC Hydro showing how much
the output of various types of light source decays over
time is no longer at the old URL, and browsing around their
web site did not turn it up, but the loss was significant enough
that I would probably change seed-starting 4' flourescent bulbs
out for new ones every 2 years.

Edit: Note that the fall off in light output over time is even
greater with metal halide lights, but at typical wattages they
start with such an abundance of light output for seed starting
that one may not notice any problems with the seedlings from
that decay in light output as soon as one would notice it with
4' flourescents, which start out with just barely enough light
output for seed starting when they are brand new.

[dipchip2000]

Dice

Will the four brand new 6400K tubes be too much for seedlings or should I use
one or two and the remaining coolwhite bulbs. I want all the seedlings can handle but not overkill.
thanks
ron

[amideutch]

ron, go with the 6400k tubes. It's the heat you worry about and not the light intensity. With fluorescent lights, heat is not a problem. Ami

[pete]

I have had some leaves wilt and die from contacting the warmer tubes, so you may want to carefully touch them and keep them elevated higher than the seedlings. With some of the cooler tubes the seedling can touch it all day and it is ok, but it may be a little more spindly than the 6400. I use whatever is cheapest and usually pay $1 a tube. When they get planted outside they get buried as deep as possible with just the top 3-4" sticking out of the ground.