Thanks, Mac -- maybe I'll just try replacing the tubes in a couple of my fixtures (I have 6) with T8's and see how it goes!

Sandy, that's probably the best way to go. Try them and see how they work. The 6500K lamps I linked to in post https://garden.org/thread/view... are fairly inexpensive, if you have a Home Depot nearby. I think they sell them per-each if you only need a few. I don't think Lowes stocks them. I'd be curious to see how they work for you.

Mac. : hey 😁
You got me curious ?😕?
I've never heard of any seedlings or plants , that you leave the lites on 24 hours.
I've allways heard 16 on and 8 hours off.
Enrich us. PLEASE !!!😇😇😇!!!
Thank You :-)
😎😎😎

Philip, I grow vegetable starts indoors. I keep all of them under lights 24/7 until they get the 2nd set of leaves, sometimes longer. I understand that some require an unlighted "rest" period but I haven't had any problems with mine. Fro plants the live indoors I would imaging the the on/off time would vary by the type of plant. Some surface planted seeds need 24/7 lighting for normal germination. I'm no expert, just relating what works for me . Your mileage may vary.

Mac 😁😁😁
I'm a vege guy myself. This is my first year with lites. I'm learning. Gonna change some things up , for next year. Like 😁 Take your advice about 24 hrs for first ? 3 or so weeks. My biggest mistake this year, was, what sounded like a good ideal. Was, making newspaper pots. 👺👺👺!!! Nope ! Nope ! Nope !
Tank You !😁!
😎😎😎

Hi Philip. It's all a learning process and what works for one person can be an epic "fail" for another. I've had pretty good luck making newspaper starting pots. 2-1/2" diameter or so seems to work ok. I've got to get busy and get my starts "started". We're going to have a very early Spring if our current weather trend continues.

I use T-8 and T 12 "daylight" and "grow bulbs" (fluorescent) whichever is on sale. By the case, they are cheap.

I have a 4 shelf metal stand with 4-bulb fixtures attached under each shelf.

Yardenman, I have a similar setup. I built my own shelving unit to accommodate 5 10x20 trays per shelf, and use 2 2-lamp fixtures for each shelf.

I have exactly the same shelving unit as Yardenman, but with two 2-light fixtures per shelf, hung on chains so I can adjust the height above the flats. The shelves will hold 4 flats each.

I built mine 52" wide to fit 5 trays. Reflective foil helps spread the light to all the seedlings. Yep, lamps hung by chain .

There have been several previous threads about grow lights. Here is one:
The thread "Favorite grow lights?" in Seeds forum

If you have lots of plants, the two bulb T8 shoplights are readily available. They are cheaper than T5's, use less energy than the old T12 fixtures, and although LED shoplights use even less, their higher initial cost means that it would take quite a few years (how many depends on your electric rate) before the cost per year was better than the T8's. When LED costs come down, it looks like that may be the way to go.

As far as color goes, any Kelvin rating from 4500°K on up (cool white or daylight white) should have enough blue light for seedlings. If you are using it to illuminate established plants, they could benefit from some red light too, so you might consider putting a warm-white (2700°K) bulb in the fixture along with the cool/daylight white bulb. There are LED fixtures with a mix of red and blue lights for this purpose but I wouldn't use them to start seedlings.

The 6500K lamps I use for seedling starts have a highly blue content, but as Don mentioned above, for growing indoor plants you need a mix. This article gives a similar perspective: http://blog.lightingsupply.com...

FYI (using today's prices from HomeDepot and Lowes for the least expensive options)

1 4ft shoplight plus 2 6500°K T8 bulbs:
64W, 5700 Lumens, $21
64W, 5750 Lumens, $41

1 4ft LED shoplight (all LEDS were rated at 4000°K):
55W, 4000 Lumens, $55
36W, 3200 Lumens, $40

You can draw your own conclusions.

Mac : my newspaper pots got moldy. I guess because I didn't have fan blowing directly on them while sprouting. I also have little gnats , I can't seam to get rid of.

Don, your Home Depot prices must be far different than mine.

4 ft T8 32 Watt 6500K 2750 Lumens $10.97 per box of 2 http://www.homedepot.com/p/Phi...
5500 Lumens cost $10.97

4 ft T8 32 Watt 6500K 2850 Lumens $29.98 per box of 10 http://www.homedepot.com/p/Phi...
5700 Lumens cost $6.00

Philip, I've never had a mold problem with mine. I don't know but your gnats may be fruit flies. Some vermicomposters have problems with them in their worm bins. I don't, but here's some suggested cures: http://everydayroots.com/how-t...

Thanks Mac I'll check that out.
😎😎😎

The gnats are most likely Fungus Gnats. Their larvae (maggots) live in the growing medium and feed on the roots of the plants.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...

ZM

I've been watering with peroxide in water. I tried watering 3 weeks in a row with neem oil. There still around.

Philip, I'm aware of fungus gnats but never encountered them, at least not that I was aware of. We should probably move this discussion to another forum since it's getting away from the original topic. What do you think?