GROW LIGHTS.
Grow lights are very much an essential part of hydroponics and especially for indoors. Grow lights and lamps come in many different forms, different types that can be used are anything from flourescent, which is considered useful but past its best these days with some better options avaliable.
A more common type is the HPS 'high pressure sodium' tube which comes in a variety of wattages and can range from a humble 50w up to a very ample 600w and sometimes bigger than this such as a massive 1000w. With these type of grow lights you will require ballast and lampholder, maybe an ignitor and reflectors and the unit if desired to hold it all in, it sounds a lot of effort with all the extras, but these are a very good choice because once you have all the setup, it most commonly is just the tube unit that is required for replacement.
A relatively new type of grow light is the LED light which basically comes in a cluster formed unit or panel, of small and usually low voltage lights and low wattage lamps. For example a cluster of 90w LED can be equivalent to a 400w sodium lamp. They are a mixture of red and blue LED lights, both of which are effective for the growing and flowering parts of hydroponics. They produce less heat and so not as much chance of burning the plants.
LED is really a great advance in hydroponics, it does however have an initial higher cost to purchase and setup, but the return should outweigh this. Some immediate advantages for LED are -
Can last up to 100,000 Hours.
Reduce power consumption so save on energy cost.
High intensity lights can be used in more confined spaces.
Reduced heat output so as not to damage plants.
Maintenance can and is reduced. (less to go wrong with units).
Eliminates extras or add ons such as ballasts. (all that is required is usually built into the units).
For everything under one roof, check our 'Complete Growing Accessories' page.
