mutant Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) After the problems with my greenhouse that caused me to lose 2 out of 3 winter seasons, I decided to create a small (test) inside setup to have a little bit feel of spring during winter or when needed. After some thought, I figured out it would be crazy to used high watt solutions, as this was supposed to be a mostly temporary setup able to over-winter sensitive plants, root cuttings, grow cacti or seedlings in winter , start from seed and use with grafts, allowing perhaps winter grafts also. I am not really sure about technology and all, but I got this fluoro T5 system, lamp: pll t5-2x55/2G11 . As far as I understand they are more powerful (different system technology?) than regular fluoros.. there come in cold or warm light, but also both, as each lamp is double.. lamp is relatively cheap, power consuption is supposedly low and they dont generate much heat, making them suitable for small setups, when the lamps can be pretty close to plants. I also got a heating mat and heating wire the other day... using a metal shelf... Here's a photo of the setup as soon as I am checking it The final setup will probably be 2xlights , one per shelf Any thoughts and suggestions are more than welcomed as indoor was never my style. Even though I have rooted cuttings inside in the past Edited February 12, 2014 by mutant 3 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kapitän kamasutra Posted February 12, 2014 (edited) Hi mutant, looks all right. I use T8 on my seedlings, I also heared T5 have more light/watt compared to T8, and those work good. And I have heared the 'cool white' light have more siutable spectrum for plants, so Its what I use. You could mask the back and the sides of your rack for more light efficiency, simply fixate plates of white painted cardboard or thin ply wood trough the holes in the posts. It makes big difference I think. Edited February 12, 2014 by kapitän kamasutra Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myco Posted February 12, 2014 i know thats not a strong light but i would recommend lifting it higher so its not so close your plants i have a small setup inside which i use to allow me to grow seedlings and also graft all year round i have a heat pad on the bottom with a light above i use this for germinating all my seedlings then above that i have another shelf with another light at the top this is where all my grafts go the light underneath generates a small amount of heat for the grafts above i also have that silver bubble wrap type insulation around the sides and back to help reflect light a bit more i was able to scrounge quite a bit of it out of the bin of a building site that was nearby i'll post some pics up in the morning Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted February 12, 2014 thanks a lot for comments myco yeah I am thinking of making 2 shelves like you describe, one of them heigher to be able to suit grafts and maybe a bit higher plants.. about the distance, I think deep down I wanted them to burn, lol... i will rearrange the shelves tomorrow... 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
upside Posted February 12, 2014 Above ideas are great, get some of that lost light reflecting back onto the seedlings by installing some white walls such as painted cardboard, white fluting board or plastic wrap. This will also help keep some warmth in there during your colder times. Silver will do but it can create hot spots (more of a problem with high intensity lighting) where white will disperse the light better IME Lift the light a bit more as was said, altho I have had leafy plants grow up, into and around my fluros in the past when I've been lazy lol otherwise good start Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
earthmind Posted February 13, 2014 Another option for small set ups if heat is a problem would be led lights. They emit barely any heat at all so no need for fans etc. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
franky Posted February 13, 2014 From what I've read online less still emit a fair bit of heat, just pushed outta unit from behind via small fans Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
earthmind Posted February 13, 2014 From what I've read online less still emit a fair bit of heat, just pushed outta unit from behind via small fans Oh ok, that's for clearing that up. I was looking at afew different ones awhile ago, a very small one called a UFO. They are ment to be efficient electricity wise. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myco Posted February 13, 2014 this is my little setup i just used 2 of those little shelve setups with the plastic covering you find at bunnings to make this haha Bottom shelf with heatpad normally this whole thing is just for cacti seedlings but at the moment I'm germinating a whole bunch of boabs under there Top shelf gets warmth from the light underneath as you can see i use one of those little seedling humidity chambers from bunnings for fresh seedling grafts to go in i have one of the trays with the holes in the bottom inside one of the trays wich hold water this lets me fill the bottom with water without it coming up to the bottoms of the pots the water sitting in the bottom along with the warmth from the light underneath keeps it nice and humid inside once the grafts are ready to come out of the humidity they go to the left side where its open 1 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
AZS Posted February 13, 2014 Great ideas everyone - I use T5HO Daylight bulbs and over-winter seedlings in my laundry room on shelves. I also use a fan to circulate air from the top shelf to the floor which keeps the temps even over all of the plants and on all shelves. This makes a big difference and really helps keep the conditions consistent. It also cuts down on fungus and mold which thrive in stagnant air. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
upside Posted February 13, 2014 (edited) Nice set up myco,, did you get my last pm? @ mutant,, any of these ideas above will work, they're all worthy and adaptable to your needs. depends on your budget or if you're lucky sourcing free items. Edited February 13, 2014 by upside Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
mutant Posted February 13, 2014 looks nice and practical myco thanks everyone Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
myco Posted February 13, 2014 yeh its nothin fancy but it does the job allows me to germinate and graft seedlings all year round that's all i really wanted just starting to keep a nice steady flow of seedlings and grafts comin out of it now i got kinda lucky got the heat pad and smaller top light second hand from blownG when he moved back to NZ cant remember how much but very cheap was given one of the stands by a friend and found another one at the dump so i just stacked em on top of each other and the light on the bottom i scored off eBay for $70 came with 4 tubes to and as i said earlier i scrounged the reflective insulation out of the bin of a work site down the road 2 Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
