Post by curlingguy on Apr 4, 2015 11:41:20 GMT -5
Until recently I have been using the GE Plant and Aquarium F40 bulbs which are T12...(1900 lumens, 40 watts, 90 CRI ). I get them for eight bucks per bulb. I have a total of eight of these bulbs in four fixtures.
I picked them after reading/researching and used this website which had good information- Lighting information/experiment for plant growth].
But now the T12 seems to be becoming obsolete ..and I wanted to add two more lights so I got two T8 fixtures.
In one I used GE daylight 32 bulbs.......twelve bucks or so for two bulbs so $6 per bulb they are 32 waters, 2600 lumens, 6500K 78 CRI.
For the other fixture I decided to spend the bucks and try the Syvania Gro-Lux Octron...F032/gro/aq/eco/2/30...these were like $26 for a two bulb pack. Notice the redness of the light.....not much available as to specific's on the bulbs lumens/cri etc.
GE Plant and Aquirium Bulb...
Sylvania Gro-Lux
Will have the see if the Gro-Lux does anything impressive. Theory is the light is used more by the plants so does not seem bright to human eye, seems red to our eyes, but in theory the plants get more energy from the light as the light it provides is in the sprectum most useful for photosynthesis.
I'm thinking of planting some radish seeds to see what light works best to grow them (as a test).
Here is something I copied from somewhere....talks about PUR which is "Photosynthetically Useable Radiation" and seems to be the best measure of how useful the light is to the plant.
Lights…GE plant and Aquirium…1900 lumens….PUR 20.9
Plain 4100 K “cool white” 3050 lumens…..PUR 20.5
OSRAM/Sylvania's Gro-Lux…1200 lumens…PUR 27.4
Philips TL950 ..5000K…2000 lumens…PUR 8.9