Author Topic: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?  (Read 15436 times)

ThangBom321

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #25 on: October 01, 2018, 01:09:03 AM »
First I will say hello.  This is my first post after lurking for a couple of years.  Also thanks for all the useful information you folks post on here it has been of great help.

I have used a huge T5 unit 4 foot 12 bulb for the last couple of years as a primary light source in winter.I had considered traditional 1000 watt and even cmh 315 watt options but they would have been within inches of wooden support beams so I decided it wasn't worth the risk.  My experience with T5 has been that it will keep the trees alive but they will not thrive under them especially when used as a primary source.  Replacement bulbs are pricey with the risk of breakage in transport.  When I purchased this unit Led lights were expensive and I didn't care for the options.  I need a new light for a single Tangerine tree which will be by itself in front of the patio door.  I have found two options that appear to be good options but I cannot vouch for them at this point.  The first is Quantum boards from Horticulture lighting group.  I have no affiliation with them and will probably avoid them due to high shipping cost to Canada.  If you are in America they ship for free so it might be a good option for lighting. 

The alternative is to build my own Led light using Samsung F strips which ends up being cheaper.  I will be building a light using either 4 or 5 two foot F strips for my Tangerine.  If it works well I will build a unit using 4 foot strips for my trees that receive no sun.  I have not seen either this type of build or a Quantum board build used for Citrus so I cannot vouch for them yet.  Marijuana growers seem to really like both of these types of lights for efficiency and heat reduction as well as good penetration.  I will update on the lights once I see some results.

This link below talks about 3 different Samsung strip leds and a bridgelux.  It also shows grow light configurations that can be built using the strips.  It's a nice little guide.

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

Ah, very good info. I forgot about DIY kits. Again, in reference to feeding, we call them retrofit kits. They are simply the wires, ballast and endcaps or sockets to connect the bulbs. It's a bare bone diy option if all you want is a light system.

Good post North.

Empoweredandfree

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #26 on: October 01, 2018, 02:37:01 AM »
Great breakdown, thank you.....Good point about the amount of lights needed for LED as opposed to Halide. How does T5 stack up to these two?

I also had t5 HO (high output) lighting on my reefing tank. T5 are nice but they have limited use. They don't pack as much of a punch as far as light output but they work well enough. I used them as supplement lighting over my reef. The MH did most of the growing and the T5 in good reflectors supplied the "color pop" for my corals. What you Reflectors are key to getting the most out of T5 HO lighting systems. T5 is actually the size of the bulbs. They are thinner than T8 bulbs. These are the ones you typically see in the ceilings of office buildings and such. Due to the smaller size, T5 you can fit more bulbs in the same space. Adding a good parabolic reflector greatly increases your lighting downward. Reflectors simply redirect light to where we can benefit from it. T5 bulbs are long and tubular. They are usually laid flat on a horizontal plane. The The light shines 360 degrees however, we generally only place plants on 1 side, usually under the light. Well, if we only place plants on 1 side of the 360 degree shining bulb, we will only use 180degrees of the light produced. By placing a good reflector above these bulbs, we are able to reflect this wasted top half (the other 180 degree of light) downward to be used.

A simple break down of light wave length is with ROYGBIV (red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, violet). Colors on the left are easier to produce and require less energy to produce. Natural sun light is something like 5200k to 5700k IRRC. The lower the number the more you go left in color. Just take a look at the bulbs at the big box stores and see what I mean. You will notice that these bulbs of the same type will be cheaper and produce more candles/lumens for watt the more left you go. The opposite is true as you move right. The more violet (right) you go, the more energy (watt) is needed to produce the same amount of candles/lumens.

Thangbom
[/quote]

 Thank you, I don't see T5 as being worth it based on your info and other reading. The thought of high heat makes me nervous as I live alone aside from my Mother who has health challanges. God forbid a fire breaks out.

Empoweredandfree

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #27 on: October 01, 2018, 02:40:44 AM »
First I will say hello.  This is my first post after lurking for a couple of years.  Also thanks for all the useful information you folks post on here it has been of great help.

I have used a huge T5 unit 4 foot 12 bulb for the last couple of years as a primary light source in winter.I had considered traditional 1000 watt and even cmh 315 watt options but they would have been within inches of wooden support beams so I decided it wasn't worth the risk.  My experience with T5 has been that it will keep the trees alive but they will not thrive under them especially when used as a primary source.  Replacement bulbs are pricey with the risk of breakage in transport.  When I purchased this unit Led lights were expensive and I didn't care for the options.  I need a new light for a single Tangerine tree which will be by itself in front of the patio door.  I have found two options that appear to be good options but I cannot vouch for them at this point.  The first is Quantum boards from Horticulture lighting group.  I have no affiliation with them and will probably avoid them due to high shipping cost to Canada.  If you are in America they ship for free so it might be a good option for lighting. 

The alternative is to build my own Led light using Samsung F strips which ends up being cheaper.  I will be building a light using either 4 or 5 two foot F strips for my Tangerine.  If it works well I will build a unit using 4 foot strips for my trees that receive no sun.  I have not seen either this type of build or a Quantum board build used for Citrus so I cannot vouch for them yet.  Marijuana growers seem to really like both of these types of lights for efficiency and heat reduction as well as good penetration.  I will update on the lights once I see some results.

This link below talks about 3 different Samsung strip leds and a bridgelux.  It also shows grow light configurations that can be built using the strips.  It's a nice little guide.

http://ledgardener.com/diy-led-strip-build-designs-samsung-bridgelux/

 Thanks for your info. This looks quite interesting and a good way to provide light without as much heat or energy usage. I'm actually thinking of doing an LED and CFL lighting system. I'm thininking now how to arrange the lights...Clamp lamps? shelving?

poncirsguy

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #28 on: May 19, 2020, 10:42:07 AM »
They grow really fast under lights








brian

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #29 on: May 19, 2020, 01:31:23 PM »
That's a really nice design for small trees.  How do you handle drainage?  Do you try to water "exactly enough"  Or water to excess and drain the excess somehow?

poncirsguy

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #30 on: May 19, 2020, 07:12:49 PM »
I place the plant over a tray and water to excess then I let it drip dry then place it over a vacuum chamber and use my shop vac to pull the excess perched water out




quatttro

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #31 on: July 20, 2020, 11:58:52 PM »
spammer :)
« Last Edit: June 26, 2022, 09:06:27 AM by JakeFruit »

brian

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #32 on: July 21, 2020, 12:16:53 PM »
When I had my "garage attic greenhouse" I used a slanted bench to channel water from a whole row of container trees into a tub at the end, then drained the tub once in a while.  Worked pretty well with minimal effort


poncirsguy

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #33 on: July 21, 2020, 11:28:03 PM »
With sumer more than half over I will be designing my lighting setup.

franklazar26

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #34 on: July 24, 2020, 10:21:32 PM »
I’m sure you got good ideas from the rest of the people on the forum, but I use 2 600W (212W actual) Hystorm panels last winter without any natural light and my trees did very well. I hung them rather close though, I didn’t need to even harden them off for the summer sun. I had Expanded my varieties over the summer, so I’m adding an 1800W (550w actual) 6 light COB fixture. All in all, my actual wattage consumption will be around 800-1000w with my other little additives like germination mats for root heat. I ran for 14 hours a day, roughly costed $10-$30 extra a month when I run the lights depending on what times I select.

If you’re looking for a good quality LED though with a GREAT output, I’d go those Hystorm panels on amazon. If you’re looking for bulbs with a high output, to the SANSI 24W or 36W. They have great PAR values for their size and price.

Got a nice grow tent too this year, I’m hoping this winter will go even better than the last!



« Last Edit: July 24, 2020, 10:26:42 PM by franklazar26 »

Daintree

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #35 on: July 26, 2020, 06:09:53 PM »
Wow! That purple light makes all the plants look totally invisible!  ;)

Carolyn

LeahTerry

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #36 on: April 19, 2021, 04:49:02 PM »
spammer
« Last Edit: July 21, 2022, 08:57:37 AM by JakeFruit »

poncirsguy

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #37 on: April 19, 2021, 11:00:28 PM »










socalbalcony

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #38 on: April 20, 2021, 12:36:34 PM »
I would imagine something like a spider farmer LED would be great, I haven't tried it with citrus, but it works so well for fruiting vegetables I never run mine more than 12hrs at 75% strength.. you'd probably put on some good growth too though

LeahTerry

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #39 on: April 29, 2021, 06:45:35 PM »
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« Last Edit: July 21, 2022, 08:57:18 AM by JakeFruit »

SoCal2warm

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #40 on: April 30, 2021, 09:36:12 PM »
There are already several other older discussions on this topic.

Regular white 5000K LED works perfectly fine, and you are not going to get much improvement using anything else.


Red+blue LED can theoretically be more energy efficient (twice as much, if you were curious), but in the less expensive options being sold to amateur growers are actually going to be less efficient than a regular white LED bulb.

Babushkas

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Re: Indoor citrus/fruit tree grow lights?
« Reply #41 on: March 10, 2022, 03:40:47 PM »
spammer
« Last Edit: July 21, 2022, 08:55:38 AM by JakeFruit »