LED Grow Light
 

Hello everyone,

New guy here from Vermont. I purchased a banana plant (I think it is a red abyssinian) at my local greenhouse this summer and had it living on my deck until the temperatures started dropping. Its now living in the corner of my living room next to a huge window and sliding glass door. It looks like the red color is fading and it for sure has slowed its growth way down. I cut back on fertilizing it but I'm worried it is not getting enough light. I'd like to purchase a grow light to hang from the ceiling over it...which brings me to my question.

What is the difference, if any, between the blue, red, white, or mixed color LED grow lights I am seeing advertised online? Do bananas have a color preference?

Also, my house is kept a bit on the cooler side...should I be providing some sort of supplemental heat to the bottom of the pot?

Thanks in advance,

Lucas

Re: LED Grow Light
 

I wouldn't recommend LED grow lights period. As far as I'm concerned, they're crap.

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Is the window and sliding glass doors on the south side?
I think LED's stink too. :^)

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LED's are the best someone told me

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Can you grow marijuana with LED grow lights? | Grow Weed Easy

And the plants look kewl under the colored lights

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Thanks everyone!

So there seem to be two camps here. For those who don't like LED's could you make a suggestion of something that you do recommend?

Re: LED Grow Light
 

For cheapsters - I like regular old CFL light bulbs in various fixtures inc clamp lamps. The sweet thing is they are so cool, the plants (taro) can grow right up to them. No power usage to speak of. And I have about 6 of them, 60W = 13W actual, on a simple timer and 16/2 cord. But it is not much light from a plant's point of view, with this plus a window facing SW they mostly just fester waiting til spring.

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Howdy: after looking this post over and reading the info made available, methinks they are over priced and over hyped. I'd put my nanner near the brightest window you have available and watch it for few weeks.

It will tell you real quick if it is happy or not! Tom

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Pretty darn neat, Sunfish!

Re: LED Grow Light
 

For the cheaper option, try fluorescent bulbs. Look for full spectrum bulbs, or those rated at a color-temp around 6500K. Some types of bulbs are specifically marketed for use with plants. If you want to get really serious, buy a high pressure sodium (HPS) or metal halide (MH) set-up.

You might just wanna wait at this point and see how things do without lights.

Oh and pretty sure Tony is being facetious about supporting the LED's.....take the literature provided for what it's worth (and with a grain of salt).

Re: LED Grow Light
 

I'd do T-5's before I shelled out that kinda $$ for LED's. They have 6500 bulbs. :^)

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Okay...so here is my next question. What is the difference between T-5, T-8, T-10, and T-12 bulbs? Is one better for growing bananas?

I looked at HPS fixtures online but my concern is that they get too hot and use too much electricity!

Re: LED Grow Light
 

I think I'm having de ja vu...isn't this where Richard gives his sage like advice...

Re: LED Grow Light
 

MUST USE SEARCH
seriously this has been discussed ad nauseum on canna sites
every single possible facet has been rehashed including iggits who use $200 CMH for the improved UVA UVB output only to place it in a glass cool tube therefore filtering the improved chromaticity right out of existence
:lurk:

t5-8-12 are diameters

T12 is dinosaur nuff said
t5 is only HO with high ambient temps generated by an enclosure THIS MEANS NOT BETTER
T8 is the most common and cheapest for bulbs, ballasts, etc
T832W is the bulb part # prefix
CFL is cheap and available but harder to reflectorize
HPS is most efficient and a burst and fire hazard if not enclosed
MH is a waste of time with all the cons of HPS and none of the pros

electricity use is defined in watts
a 150w HPS uses the same amount as 150W of fluorescent
the HPS will give slightly more LUMENS PER WATT (this is how you get a real answer)

everything is nearly half price if you go to a local electrical store, not a box store


LED=hype

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Check it out.................Kessil Leds..............

Kessil Lighting- The Spectral Revolution

It´s a Dense Matrix stuff...................looks very nice product.............

And they have may spectral choices.................

Re: LED Grow Light
 

Thanks for all the suggestions and wonderful links...but taking into account electricity usage, heat output, and initial investment I think I'll be using a T-5 fixture for now!

Did anyone weigh in on bottom heat?

Re: LED Grow Light
 

EDIT
I really butchered this final draft.
The post was supposed to be a lot less vitriol.
I've been trying to cram the most info with the least words. Sometimes it doesn't sound right.
I'm going to take the winter off from bananas and write some tutorials on a couple subjects on which I can speak authoritatively. Some of the info here is lacking or scattered.
Hope this post didn't turn anyone off.

at the risk of sounding like a jerk
maybe Richard got tired of teaching + and - in his calculus class
This will be my final post on lights until I find a way to distill this complex subject. Maybe I'll make a ULTIMATE GUIDE post and just permalink.


it has become clear that people understand neither lumens per watt nor watts consumed
this is really simple math

if both lights A and B consume the same watts,
if light A makes 95 LPW and light B makes 105 LPW then light B is clearly more efficient and light A probably making more heat

simple

go to the local electrical store and buy
150HPS ballast $23
150HPS universal mounting bulb MEDIUM base $5-10
medium base socket $3
can you get a T5 for $35? NO

be sure to put those T5 light within a foot of the leaves.

this may be too complicated Inverse-square law - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
this is better
Rules for Perfect Lighting: Understanding The Inverse-Square Law

here is the meat

According to the law, the power of the light will be inversely proportional to the square of the distance. So if we take a distance of 2 and square it, we get 4, the inverse of which would be 1/4 or rather, a quarter of the original power – not half.

LIGHT INTENSITY AT 2FT IS 1/4 LIGHT INTENSITY AT 1FT

you must have these flouros nearly touching or you are wasting time and money PERIOD
HPS is more forgiving as a point source inside a cone reflector (but does not circumvent this law)

good luck with your lights