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Old June 11, 2014   #1
biodarwin
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Default T-5 Grow light

I have a 4 bulb 218 Watt T-5 reef aquarium lighting I am re-purposing for a grow light to start my fall tomato plants. Do you have any resources on how far this should be from the plants or how many plants will fit under this light? Any references, documentation or advise will be greatly appreciated!

Also, I will probably need to order new bulbs, any specific bulbs I should get,

Last edited by biodarwin; June 11, 2014 at 05:29 PM.
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Old June 11, 2014   #2
RootLoops
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i don't know about bulbs but you can put the light very close the whole time, like a couple inches away maybe less right from seed. you'll ultimately let the plants be the guide but you can put them very close
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Old June 11, 2014   #3
luigiwu
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I use cheap T-8 2-bulb shoplight fixtures. I use Daylight Deluxe fluorescent tubes. Everything can be found at HD. I use a 48-inch wide restaurant-type shelving. I have 2 fixtures per shelf, thus 4 bulbs in all. Try to keep the bulbs no higher than 2-inches from the tops of the seedlings.
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Old June 12, 2014   #4
loulac
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Plenty of threads can be found on Tville on the subject. Let me suggest a visit to
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthrea...674#post328674
http://www.tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=16919
and plenty of others, just use the search engine.

Just a few things to remember :
- the more light tomatoes get the better
- the more light you use the higher temperature will rise. So use a thermometer to check what is going on. Never climb above 80F.
The University of Alaska gives the following figures with 40W fluorescent lamps with reflectors:
Distance foot candles
0.5 700
1.0 400
2.0 180
3 100

Keep in mind that using 3 tubes instead of 2 is useless since you have to increase the distance not to cook your seeds/seedlings.
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Old June 12, 2014   #5
decherdt
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My T5's scorch any leaves that touch the bulbs, so 1-2 inches above the tallest plant. I keep a small fan blowing in the gap between the plants and the bulbs. Hydroponic shops recommend the "veg" bulbs in the 5000K-7000K color range, until fruiting.
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Old June 12, 2014   #6
viewsaskew
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I use T5s for gesneriads, so just put my veggie seeds on those racks. As decherdt, I keep them 1 to 2 inches above for all veggies. As noted, it can be warm under those lights and they can get leggy if they are upstairs with some of my other plants. They are more proportionate if I grow them cool, such as in my basement.
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