Whether you are new to growing marijuana or a longtime lover of growing cannabis, setting up your hydroponic grow system is always an exciting time. Watching our little seedlings sprout and flower into one of the most beautiful plants on earth, reaching for the sky with bountiful colas full of our favorite bud is reward for our tender loving care. Home growing quality cannabis, however, does not have to be difficult with a little direction from your friends at Rainmakers and the right grow system for you including high quality hydroponic LED grow lights.
Quality Grow Lights and Photosynthesis
With different types of hydroponic grow systems, growing equipment and a wide selection of cannabis seeds, you can customize your home garden to get the plants and the bud you desire with the space and resources you have available. Lighting is one of the most crucial components of a hydroponic growing system, with many different types of lighting available that will affect your plants in slightly different ways. Green plants need light for photosynthesis to occur, which is the process of plants capturing light and using it to convert water, minerals, and carbon dioxide into oxygen and energy-rich organic compounds.
Plants need light to give off oxygen and to thrive, with all plants varying in how much light they need from low-light houseplants to tomatoes which require a brighter light to produce fruit. Seedlings need a lot of bright light and will weaken and get leggy without enough light. Setting your seedlings in a windowsill is not enough intensity for seedlings to thrive. Ask one of our hydroponic growing experts about the best lighting for your grow system with the right intensity and duration for maximum yield.
Types of Hydroponic Grow Lights
There are different types of lighting that you can use for hydroponic growing with varying levels of intensity. The intensity is the amount of light that reaches a surface from the light source at a particular distance. Therefore, a dimmer bulb could provide the same level of intensity as a brighter bulb if it were closer to the surface.
The duration of light exposure is another critical element in providing your plants with the right lighting for optimal growth and development. The duration of light exposure is based on a 24-hour period and can be programmed with a timer for easy maintenance.
All grow lighting is not created equal. The ideal hydroponic lighting system uses minimal electricity, stays cool and delivers a good spectrum of light. The most common types of hydroponic grow lights include florescent bulbs, high intensity discharge (HID) lights, and Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs). Most people often wonder if they should choose fluorescent or LED lamps for their hydroponic grow system.
Fluorescent or LED?
Fluorescent lamps are more affordable than LED and might be a good choice to start with if you are only growing a few plants. High intensity discharge lamps (HID) risk burning the plants and have an even shorter lifespan than fluorescent T5s. To get the most out of your hydroponic grow system, we recommend LED grow lights such as the LED Technology from nextlight.com.
LED lamps are better at stimulating stronger roots while enhancing photosynthesis, making them better for your plants with much more efficient operation. LED lamps use half of the electricity as fluorescent lamps and last up to five times longer. They do not use Mercury tubes and will not shatter like glass making them more eco-friendly. Switching to quality LED grow lights will save you a lot of money on energy and bulb replacements.
Rainmakers Supply is a hydroponic grow store and homebrew store with everything you need for successful home growing. We offer a large selection of high quality hydroponic growing equipment and supplies such as grow tents, pumps, grow media, nutrients, pest control, and hydroponic lighting. Contact us or stop by the store to choose from high-quality hydroponic LED grow lights.