Perlite and equipment advice

[MindExpansion]

Hi all,

First up, is $60 for 100L of perlite a good deal?

Secondly, what do people think of these Cool Tube lights?

Are they worth it over a normal fluro setup, I will just be using them for seedlings.

Peace

[Smiling Cloud]

I think the perlite price is a little expensive, i think the last bag i bought was about $35. But the stuff lasts forever! I've been making my own potting mixes for a while now. If you go to bunnings and get a 94L block of coco peat for $10, some course sharp sand for $7 (i think) and the perlite for whatever you pay and mix her up in a 44gallon drum you end up with an amazing amount of potting mix. The mix won't have any ferts in it but this is good thing as you can cater to each plants indiviual needs. Also you can make it up according to your needs so when you put seeds in you just use the sand and coco peat and for cacti lots of sand and perlite and a little coco peat. If you get lazy or have plants with llittle specific needs you can just add some osmocote or some other slow release fert to your mix and not even worry about adding ferts.

As for the cool tubes i have a friend who uses 27watt curly fouros with a 5000k rating (i'm pretty sure thats to do with light spectrum) for rainsg seeds and cuttings that take for ages, I've always found that filtered light works best so whatever you're raising doesn't have to be hardened off. But mymate finds the curly flouros to be effective.

Hope this helps

[JDanger]

Yeah, I just found 100L bags for $35.

Took me ages to find somewhere in Sydney that stocks heating mats, too. (Thanks ME)

[edit] Surprise, they won't post 100L of perlite, but I'd expect most hydro suppliers will offer something similar.

Edited September 25, 2008 by JDanger

[MindExpansion]

Lol bit dirty about the perlite... oh well lesson learned for next time (Note to self, stop rushing into stuff so gung ho!)

No worries JD.

Peace

[bob-bob]

Bought off this bloke, postage was not too bad.

Perlite

Edited September 25, 2008 by bob-bob

[MindExpansion]

Thanks for the link BB, think thats where ill get it from now on.

Peace

[Undergrounder]

Where did you get it this time ME? I also go through lots of perlite but since its reusable its easy to just boil/sterilise a used batch again.

Just using the lights for seedlings? I use a 120W Compact (Curly - LOL) Fluoro and it's good for lighting up a whole area but not necessarily a flat space. I'd just get a bank of T5s or T8s that you can adjust the height on. I'd tell you exactly which type but im bidding on a set now on ebay and i'll hunt down and kill anyone else that bids on them. A slow and painful death too.

Edited September 25, 2008 by Undergrounder

[MindExpansion]

Haha, think I saw the T5's your bidding on man... i won't spoil it for you but. Cheers for the light advice, keep it coming

I got my perlite on ebay too. But it was $60 inc. postage... not too much in it but its never nice to pay more than you have to.

Peace

[Undergrounder]

LOL thanks man, I actually haven't bid on them, im waiting to pounce just before they finish ... mwahahaha. But i think you know which ones they are. Actually i have one more day to actually find the money to pounce on them, so my cunning and devious plot still needs a bit more financing. - So you're welcome to them if you actually want them, i talked to the people and they have plenty in stock apparently.

But for T5s it's reccommended you get the HO (High Output) ones, which for a 4-foot bank are 54W. The 'standard' T5s, which are not much better than T8s are just 28W per 4-foot tube... but i'm growing low-light seedlings at about 10-15cm distance so i don't need the HO ones - In fact they'd probably burn under HO T5s. If you have more head-room than me i'd get the HO sets so if you grow higher light or mature plants under them you can do that also, just at a closer distance.

[MindExpansion]

Cheers man.

[Smiling Cloud]

THe lights my mate uses for seedlings is a brand called litetronics. THey're only 27watts but he just uses a few and because they're not long the light is more concentrated, or thats his theory anyway.