Quote:
Originally Posted by acaldwell3590
As far as fluorescents go - I didn't realize that they would work as grow lights? I need the bright daylight fluorescents? I have a small apartment with not a heck of a lot of access to do much addition and only 2 (will be 3) phals. Just want to make sure I get the right stuff. I didn't think that fluorescents gave enough light? Also - just wondering if those lights that you use for S.A.D (season affective disorder) might have the same effect? I guess I also don't understand why one is doing quite decently but the other is struggling so much.
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When I was using the rig (which I made out of PVC pipe), I tried putting grow-light tubes in one fixture and comparing the results from that with the cheap, ordinary full-spectrum tubes that cost half as much. After a year i could see no difference. Now, perhaps if the fluorescents were the only light source maybe it would have made a difference. I did get some natural light in the window. Phals really don't need a lot of light - they just need it for more hours than they usually get indoors from natural light. No matter how great your window is, the sun shifts after a few hours and becomes less effective. For just a few plants, you should even get the desired effect with a desk lamp. At the time I did it, fluorescents were the only easy option. Now, you should get even better efficiency with LEDs. Sure, one of those SAD lights should work fine. The 12 hours part is key. (With a timer , you don't have to mess with it)
As far as why one makes and one doesn't... impossible to say. But it probably goes back to long before you acquired it... one may have been healthier to start with than the other, either with better (or less bad) care by the grower, shipper, seller... or plain old genetics. Some plants, like some people, are just more robust than others.
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