Grow Room Lighting
Most hydroponic growers need to use grow room lighting. In fact, light is one of the most important factors you, as a hydroponic indoor grower, need to consider. A hydroponic indoor grow light mimics the light from the sun, helping your plants to grow strong and healthily.
Generally, the more light your plants have access to, the quicker they'll grow and yield. This is because light is essential for photosynthesis. So in an indoor growing environment, i.e. when using hydroponics, an indoor grow light is crucial. One of Aquaculture-hydroponics complete lighting systems will provide you with all of your hydroponic lighting needs. We also have individual hydroponic indoor lighting products, such as bulbs, ballasts, light movers, lighting accessories, reflectors and relays.
Whilst grow room lighting is vital in an indoor growing environment, the amount of light your plants require will depend on their growth stage. During the vegetative period, your plants need approximately 18 hours of light, followed by 6 hours of darkness. However, to initiate flowering, your plants require approximately 12 hours of light, followed by 12 uninterrupted hours of darkness.
As a hydroponic indoor grower, you also need to be aware of the colour spectrum. This simply refers to the fact that white light is made up of many different rays of colour. Plants require a different color during different stages of growth. To simplify your indoor growing /grow room lighting needs, at Aquaculture-hydroponics, we stock a range of bulbs and lights.
Different types of bulbs and lights on the market:
Fluorescent lighting
A fluorescent bulb has a good overall colour spectrum. The light output of a fluorescent bulb is low, making it suitable for propagation or mother plants. We have a range of fluorescent bulbs to suit your hydroponic grow room lighting needs. Aquaculture-hydroponics' Visi-Lux Complete lighting systems are ideal for your seeds, cutting young plants.
HID (High Intensity Discharge) bulbs
HID bulbs are very powerful and are used for maximising plant growth and yield. In hydroponics, there are two types of bulbs, Metal Halides bulbs and High Pressure Sodium bulbs.
A Metal Halide bulb mainly emits blue light. It also releases a useful amount of red light. This makes it particularly suitable for stimulating photosynthesis. A Metal Halide bulb is generally used during the vegetative growth period.
A High Pressure Sodium bulb, such as a Grolux lamp has a spectral distribution of yellow, orange and red. This means a High Pressure Sodium bulb is an excellent bulb for stimulating photosynthesis. High Pressure Sodium bulbs are used by most growers during the flowering stages of plant growth because they are very powerful lights and efficient. However, they can be used throughout plant growth.
For effective plant growth, we recommend that you use three High Pressure Sodium bulbs to one Metal Halide bulb. This'll provide a good overall light balance.
Light intensity
Light intensity refers to the amount of light falling on a defined area in your grow room. Therefore, when choosing a lighting system, such as one of our complete lighting systems, it's essential to consider how much light it'll give out in comparison to the space you need to cover in your grow room.
Following our simple guide below will help you to give your plants the intensity of light they need to achieve maximum yields.
| Area coverage |
Lamp |
| 0.25m2 -0.5m2 |
250 Watt |
| 0.5m2 - 1m2 |
400 Watt |
| 1m2 - 1.5m2 |
600 Watt |
| 1.5m2 -2m2 |
1000 Watt or 2x600Watt |
To encourage healthy plant growth, you also need to ensure that you evenly distribute light in your grow room. A good light reflector and reflective sheeting will help.