Backyard Aquaponics
A place to discuss aquaponics

Im located in Colorado. I have 1500 sq ft of grow bed under 400 watt metal halides, Lettuce has 4-6 week harvest in the middle of winter and the heat helps on super cold nights. Im really happy with the MH but Im building a new 10,000 sq foot system and am going to be using a lot of light during the winter.

Has anyone used other types of light systems, T5, T8, Fluorescent, etc. I want to save on energy, but have to keep good growth rates with dense growth.

Thanks for the help

There have been lengthy discussions hear quite a while ago regarding most efficient lighting. im fairly sure people went into the differences between PAR and lumens in regards to plants. have a bit of a search or maybe someone can link you to passed threads.

Last time i checked MH were still the best.

Been using T8s with good sucess, our crop of Arugula, lettuce, etc. likes 6,500K. Also using some T5s but the fixtures are still too expensive and they give off more heat.