Side Lighting Help

longroot

longroot

Well-Known Member
I know there must be some ingenious ways to supply side lighting to the plants. I really need some advice on how to make the lights adustable. Please share and show off how you provide side lighting to your plants. I am sure I am not the only one who could learn and get some great ideas from other growers. Thank you!:joint:
 
longroot

longroot

Well-Known Member
I have twelve 100w equivalent 2700K cfl's. I have 12 ceramic light fixtures and the all wire needed. I am thinking of securing 6 of them to a 2x4 or 2x6 and then putting them (somehow) just below the canopy. Not quite sure yet how i could make this adjustable yet though. How do you supply your side lighting?
 
hoss12781

hoss12781

Well-Known Member
50-90w led ufos with single watt diodes (2 and 3w diodes will be too strong to keep close to the sides). I have a 50w 6 band blackstar I use for side lighting, I also have a 90w Pro-Grow from hydroponics hut. They're bad ass. My entire set up is led. I use 3w diodes on top and have to keep them 12-14 inches away from the canopy otherwise they'll burn/bleach the tops. Keeping these two lower wattage ufos around as side lights is extremely beneficial. If you get one make sure you're rocking at least 6 plus bands otherwise it won't perform as well. My 2 cents, I like the hydro hut over the blackstar.

That or use the 105w cfls, that's what I used to use with my HPS set up. Worked well but was a pain in the ass to move them around. The leds are way more modular.
 
delatour

delatour

Member
If you want to burn your ass and break alot of bulbs go with HID or t-5s if you want to spend alot of money go with leds. There is always the traditional method of figuring out the square footage of the room and make sure you have 100-150 watts per sq ft and spacing your plants properly. Maybe my perspective is skewered because I use 1500 watt mh lamps which penetrate into the canopy well. But proper light and proper spacing will generally eliminate any issues side lighting will help with. More compact plants will help also. Adding the equipment and expense yields diminishing results after a while. A trellis net to hold up lower branches or tieing them to a stake helps also. Bring the plants to the light instead of bringing the light to the plants. Bear in mind as the complexity of your system increases the mean time between breakdowns decreases.
 
B

Beta420

Member
Im growing in a converted tool cab. Cut a 18" x 46" hole in the back and flush mounted a 6-bulb T8 shop light vertically to the back saved a lot of space by keeping it outside the cab.
 
longroot

longroot

Well-Known Member
Beta420 said:
Im growing in a converted tool cab. Cut a 18" x 46" hole in the back and flush mounted a 6-bulb T8 shop light vertically to the back saved a lot of space by keeping it outside the cab.
Click to expand...
I like it. Did you see a noticeable difference in size or quality?
 
longroot

longroot

Well-Known Member
I just wanted to thank all who responded. I worked all night last night and got my side lighting installed. Gonna give my girls an extra 1200 watts at 2700K. That should help for sure.

Please continue to post with your variations of side lighting, I know we can all learn new things from each other. Thanks again!
 
Undercover Cop

Undercover Cop

Active Member
PAR specific T5's for side lighting w a 400wHPS/cool tube, 2 four bulb t5's would be good for up to 8 plants (small crop now cuz of fucking males)

2011-12-20 21.00.28.jpg
 
Undercover Cop

Undercover Cop

Active Member
$100 each on ebay, you could put two WavePoint bulbs (reefwave and redwave) for 10ea x2 fixtures =$40 for specialty bulbs, then you can have them come w 50/50 generic bloom and veg 3000k and 6500k bulbs, two blooms plus specialty aquarium bulbs and 2 fixtures, 432w for under $300... if you get really into PAR specific lighting and more specific wavelength bulbs, you can use T5's from veg thru full flowering alone and get dry wt yeild comparable to HID, only slightly less dense. I like em for side lighting tho cuz the panels are easy to raise up/down and change angles.
 
B

Beta420

Member
Undercover Cop said:
$100 each on ebay, you could put two WavePoint bulbs (reefwave and redwave) for 10ea x2 fixtures =$40 for specialty bulbs, then you can have them come w 50/50 generic bloom and veg 3000k and 6500k bulbs, two blooms plus specialty aquarium bulbs and 2 fixtures, 432w for under $300... if you get really into PAR specific lighting and more specific wavelength bulbs, you can use T5's from veg thru full flowering alone and get dry wt yeild comparable to HID, only slightly less dense. I like em for side lighting tho cuz the panels are easy to raise up/down and change angles.
Click to expand...
Lol. Clearly I have a lot to learn. Your first 2 sentences read like this to me: "$100 each on ebay, you could put two &%*^*# bulbs (4qasdf and 186+asd87) for 10ea 2 fixtures....PAR. Now, here's something that looks like Greek here. Followed by what that may or may not be a literal translation from the Rosetta stone... or perhaps ancient Klingon war chants."

Got some reading to do - which for me is as fun as the actual results. (well, almost ;) I tend to go down a lot of rabbit holes on subjects I enjoy, so this is perfect for me. I have to say one thing I dig most about your set-up is the symmetry of it. Reflects a thoughtful approach to good design, not just slap something together and hope for the best.

Thanks for sharing. Sets a high bar for once I stabilize my first attempt. +Rep if it let's me.
 
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