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Generally, a 1000W of lighting is sufficient to penetrate about 15-25 square feet of grow space. Most of the times, a reflector and / or light mover is used along with hydroponic grow lights for effective indoor growing. Some of the grow lights even require a ballast to ignite the bulb.

Fluorescent Grow Lights

Fluorescent grow lights usually available in compact size. They are basically cheap in price, making them very affordable. They also emit very low heats. Therefore fluorescent grow lights are a popular choice among small hydroponic growers. However, they are not as effective as HID lighting as they are not able to produce enough lighting.

Fluorescent grow lights are best used to grow low-growing plants like lettuce and spinach. They are also effective for plants that require indirect lights such as African Violets.

It is common to place the lights close to the top of the plants when using fluorescent grow lights. You don’t really have to worry about burning the tips while providing sufficient lighting to your hydroponic plants.

HPS Grow Lights

High Pressure Sodium bulbs are vowed over their efficiency and long life span. HPS grow lights produce brighter lighting, which are high in the red and yellow ranges of the light spectrum. These lights resemble the sun in autumn and are best used during the flowering stage of the plants.

However, HPS grow lights are always associated with high cost. The high heat emission from HPS bulbs also makes it a setback, though it can often be neutralized with a proper ventilation of your garden.

Metal Halide Grow Lights

Metal halide grow bulbs are good at producing full spectrum lights. The emitted blue lights closely imitate the summer sun making them a perfect choice for growing vegetables. There are even metal halide bulbs that designed to only emit certain color of the light.

Metal halide grow lights are good for growing leafy vegetables such as spinach or lettuce due to their elevated blue light. Cool spectrum light is known to be good in promoting rapid growth of leaf development.

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Usually pieces of porous material with high absorbent power like nylon ropes are used as wicks. One end of the wick is placed at the bottom of the growing container, and the other end is left hanging down the nutrient solution. The wick draws the water and nutrients from the reservoir up into the growing medium in the container.

While you can basically use any types of growing medium in the Wick hydroponic system, it is recommended to use growing mediums that can retain more water and nutrients for example, perlite, vermiculite, and / or coconut fiber. A mixture of perlite / vermiculite in the ratio of 1:1 works great in the Wick system, though the combination of perlite and coconut fiber is common too.

As the Wick system does not have proper aeration for the roots, it is usually wise to install an external air pump to supply oxygen into the nutrient reservoir. Run an airline from the air pump into the reservoir with the other end attached to an air stone. This will slowly oxygenate the nutrient solution in the reservoir. When nutrient solution is supplied to the root zone, it allows the roots to breathe.

There are few issues you need to consider when using the Wick system:

1. It is hard to achieve the correct moisture level for the plants as the wick used might not be able to pull sufficient water and nutrients to nourish the roots. You need to constantly experiment with different types of wick and growing medium in order to get the right growing environment.

2. The plants may use up the nutrient solution faster than the wicks can provide if the plants are big or if they take up large quantity of water.

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Light is very important in hydroponic gardening. Sunlight is generally always the best, but it is not always available. Therefore many people use hydroponic grow lights. Using hydroponic grow lights tends to produce bigger, juicier, and tastier fruits and vegetables than regular sunlight. This is because hydroponic grow lights put off an electromagnetic spectrum to enhance plant growth. This spectrum is said to better the effects of photosynthesis in plants.

Another great part about using hydroponic grow lights is that you can grow your plants at any time throughout the year. Hydroponic gardening can be done all year long both indoors and outdoors. So you can have garden fresh vegetables every day straight from your own garden.

There are different types of bulbs that are used in hydroponic lighting. The ones that are most commonly used are high-pressure sodium lights (or HPS lights), and metal halide lights (or MH lights). These bulbs are good for use in hydroponic lighting because they are very efficient and very powerful. These lights tend to encourage the process of photosynthesis, which encourages quick and fuller plant growth. Hydroponic lighting and gardening also encourages fuller and bushier plants. This is because the plants do not have to search for light or nutrients. It is all readily available, and plants that are grown in a hydroponic garden grow faster than plants grown in soil.

Hydroponic gardening is the way of the future. So if you are concerned with the chemicals being used on your store-bought fruits and vegetables get some hydroponic lighting and start your own garden. It can be as large or as small as you want. You control the hydroponic lighting and the area that you want your garden to cover. You also control the fact that there are no chemicals. The end result is a very beautiful, time efficient, cost friendly and nutritious garden full of wonderful fresh fruits and vegetables available all year round.

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In modern days, with skyscraper buildings it becomes sometimes difficult to depend upon natural light sources. In such a scenario, you may utilize hydroponic grow lights to achieve the same results.

If you feel that the power consumption of such grow lights may increase your electricity bills then you may even opt for LED grow lights that would consume very less energy. Moreover, LED hydroponic grow lights are free from any type of harmful vapors like mercury. You may also benefit from the low heat radiation property emitted by such grow lights and see your plants grow quickly.

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