Grow Lights for Hydroponics

Hydroponics is a different way to grow plant material in the fact that you do not need soil to grow your plants in, however one thing similar to growing plants in soil, is that you need lots of light to allow to plants to go through their normal process of photosynthesis (using light to turn water and carbon dioxide into a food source).

Having a good hydroponic grow light setup, is an extremely important part of growing plants hydroponically.

Some system will come all in one, or you can change the individual parts, reflector, globe, ballast and timer,to suit your needs.

Bulbs for Hydroponic Grow Lights

A good hydroponic setup is all about being able to grow plants in a controlled environment, this includes light, heat, and moisture content in the air.

Getting your lighting requirements wrong can throw the entire balance of this environment out causing certain death or at best poor yield from your crops.

The sun is the purest form of light for plants, so finding a light that emits as close to the same spectrum of light as the sun is important.

Normal fluorescent lights wont cut it for most crops (Lettuce is about the only exception I can think of), so you need a proper Hydroponic grow light, such as an MH (Metal Halide) bulb, or a HPS (High Pressure Sodium) bulb are the most commonly used.

MH globes are good for all round situations and works well for most vegetable crops.

HPS globes are best for flowering or fruiting type crops.

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What Watt?

Having your plants well lit is important, but if you are using a bulb too powerful for the size of area you are trying to light, it is likely that this will produce too much heat, which in turn will increase humidity, and both of these things at the wrong levels are bad for your plants.

Plants that require large amounts of light (Tomatoes), need around 400 watts per square meter of growing area.

Lower light needy plants you can reduce this to around 250 to 300 watts per square meter.

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Hydroponic Grow Light Reflectors

Grow light reflectors are an important part of the lighting process as this determines the spread of the light through the growing area, they come in different shapes and materials, and good quality ones will be air cooled, which disperses the heat as much as possible to avoid it being directed on top your plants causing them to burn.

<<Check out the Best Hydroponic Grow Light reflectors Here>>

Grow Light Ballast

A ballast is simply a unit that converts your electricity from your power point (110v or 240v) to the necessary power required by your bulbs.

Some ballasts allow for being able to power both types of bulbs (HPS or MH) and finding a unit that is light weight, runs quietly and produces as little heat as possible.

Digital ballast’s are more expensive but are more reliable and last longer.

<<Check out the Best Hydroponic Grow Light ballasts Here>>

Grow Light Timers

The last piece of equipment you will need is a timer.

Most plants need around 16 hours of light each day, and 8 hours of darkness (yes plants need sleep too!).

The easy way to achieve this is with a simple timer set to the required times, so you can set it and forget it, and your plants will do the rest.