P
PROMETHEUSRISING
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I'm poor. And working that into my growing is important for my survival. Being disabled I'm always looking for the most efficient, and least expensive option. Having said that, I like to shoot for best possible results. Just throwing out ideas and work arounds I've come up with.
Lights: The absolute cheapest solution I've come up with is a little hair brained, but also possibly the best. General house hold LED bulbs. With cheap extension cords, maybe some wiring, you can cut the the bottom round half off LED bulbs, and turn them into basically flood lights. A 100w replacement bulb puts out 1500 lumens at 14W. If you like you can suspend the bulbs at any height individually, for maximum effect.
My favorite solution however is LED shop lights. Available at Walfart and Harbor Freight for ~$20. 5000 lumens, and 5K color work great, and gives the effect of a four foot t5 bulb. They pull 1.1 amps usually, so you could have ten in a tent with little heat problems and probably lowest energy cost.
General supplies: DollarTree all day. Small waist baskets, Black buckets, oil change pans for drip trays, plastic net baskets... all a dollar each. Seasonally you can also find precision clippers. A little string, some masking tape and you can make little label collars for the base of your plant to keep it identified. Net baskets and poly wool can make a very effective pump filter that won't clog. Measuring cups, shower curtains for floor protection.... think outside the box for uses.
Walfart has emergency blankets for a few bucks. That's a cheap source of mylar for reflective lining. Be sure to secure it adequately to minimize fire hazard.
Lights: The absolute cheapest solution I've come up with is a little hair brained, but also possibly the best. General house hold LED bulbs. With cheap extension cords, maybe some wiring, you can cut the the bottom round half off LED bulbs, and turn them into basically flood lights. A 100w replacement bulb puts out 1500 lumens at 14W. If you like you can suspend the bulbs at any height individually, for maximum effect.
My favorite solution however is LED shop lights. Available at Walfart and Harbor Freight for ~$20. 5000 lumens, and 5K color work great, and gives the effect of a four foot t5 bulb. They pull 1.1 amps usually, so you could have ten in a tent with little heat problems and probably lowest energy cost.
General supplies: DollarTree all day. Small waist baskets, Black buckets, oil change pans for drip trays, plastic net baskets... all a dollar each. Seasonally you can also find precision clippers. A little string, some masking tape and you can make little label collars for the base of your plant to keep it identified. Net baskets and poly wool can make a very effective pump filter that won't clog. Measuring cups, shower curtains for floor protection.... think outside the box for uses.
Walfart has emergency blankets for a few bucks. That's a cheap source of mylar for reflective lining. Be sure to secure it adequately to minimize fire hazard.