Grow Tent Lighting Options to Consider

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Grow tents are becoming more and more popular because you don’t need to worry about the seasons. You can grow anything at any time throughout the year! Your favorite fruits and vegetables could be growing in your grow tent whenever you want it. Gardeners really like having a grow tent because it’s easy to control the environment inside. Grow tents make it easy to adjust the lighting, the air circulation, or the temperatures within its walls. You’ll need some good grow tent lights so that your plants will grow. Here are grow tent lighting options to consider. 

What Is a Grow Tent?

First, it’s important to understand why you need grow tent lighting. Grow tents are similar to greenhouses. The biggest differences is that grow tents are portable, instead of a permanent structure like most greenhouses. Another difference is that grow tents don’t have any windows and are usually one big piece of fabric. Greenhouses on the other hand are typically made of glass windows to encourage light. This is why grow tent lighting is very important, it’s the only light that your plants will receive. Your plants will not grow without them. The unique thing about grow tent lighting is that you get to choose the kind of light it gets, unlike plants that receive their light from the sun. 

grow tent lighting

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Different Grow Tent Lighting Options

There are a couple of different options for you to consider when it comes to grow tent lighting. Each type of lighting has some pros and cons. There are also better choices depending on the types of plants you want to grow inside your grow tent. Regular household light bulbs will not help your plants to grow, so it’s important that you do your research to have a successful grow tent. Here are some grow tent lighting options that will give your plant the light it needs to grow. 

Fluorescent Grow Lights

Fluorescent grow lights are a great option for a beginner. They’re usually the cheapest option when it comes to grow tent lighting and they also have the biggest spread of light. Fluorescent lights also have the longest life compared to other lights. You’re going to get the biggest bang for your buck with these. However, there are also some cons with fluorescent lights. They aren’t particularly useful in the vegetative or flowering stages of plants. Fluorescent lights have the biggest benefit for plants in the propagation stage. You’ll need to keep this in mind when you’re looking for grow tent lighting options.

Light Emitting Diodes

Light emitting diodes, or LED, is another great option for grow tent lighting. Again, there are some pros and cons to choosing this type of light. LED lights are really bright! They produce more light per watt than most other light sources, including fluorescent lights. LED lights also run at cooler temperatures so there is a much smaller chance of burning your plant. A light that runs hot will often burn the plants that are sitting directly beneath it. The color spectrum can be adjusted with LED lights. This means that you can adjust the spectrum according to which stage your plants are in. The problem with LED lights is that they’re a lot more expensive than other options. This might make someone look or other options. Some LED lights may not be strong enough for plants in the flowering phase. This might not be a concern depending on the crop or plant you’re trying to grow. 

grow tent lighting

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High Intensity Discharge Grow Lights

High intensity discharge lights, or HIDs, actually ignite gas within the bulb. There are two main types of HIDs that people typically use for grow tents. Metal halides (MH) and high pressure sodium (HPS) are the two types of HIDs that will work well for grow tents. MH grow lights produce light at the blue end of the spectrum while HPS produces light at the red and orange end of the spectrum. These two different kinds of lights are useful for different stages of development for a plant. MH is particularly useful for a plant’s development, while HPS is more useful for a plant’s flowering stage. HIDS produce more usable light than than fluorescent bulbs, which means less light will go to waste. The problem with HID lights is that they produce a lot of heat that can burn plants. Take this into consideration when you put it inside your grow tent.

Double Ended Lighting

Double ended lighting is a type of HPS that resembles fluorescent light. It has a tube that connects two ends of a ballast, which is where its name comes from. Compared to a single ended HPS there are some differences. Double ended lighting lasts just a little longer than single ended lighting. More light emits from double ended lighting. However, this can also be a con because when there is more light, that usually means there is more heat. That means there is a greater chance that your plants will burn. Double ended lighting shouldn’t have air blown directly on it, like a circulation fan. This will cause the nitrogen inside the bulb to be less effective and lower its overall efficiency.

Light Emitting Ceramics

Light emitting ceramics refers to a single ended HID light. These light emitting ceramics usually last twice as long as MH or HPS lights. The cool thing about light emitting ceramics is that they’re the closest to actual sunlight, but it doesn’t produce as much heat so the chances of your plants burning are a lot smaller. The light produced from light emitting ceramics will support plants in the vegetative and flowering stage of growth. This is a big benefit because a lot of plants will only support one or the other. Light emitting ceramics are pretty expensive due to their new technology. There is also a large amount of UV rays that are produced from light emitting ceramics. This means that growers should exercise caution and wear long sleeves and sunglasses when they will be exposed to the UV rays for long periods of time.

Summing Up

There are many different kinds of grow tent lighting options. It can be overwhelming to read about all the new options and technology. The good news is that you’ve already made a great start by reading this article to help educate yourself. Don’t get overwhelmed. Continue doing research and you’ll find the best grow tent lighting option for you. Grow tents are amazing because they let people that are passionate about growing things continue to do what they love all year round. Grow tent lights are an important part of your plant’s success. Choose the grow tent lighting option that is best for you and you’ll see success all year long.

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Related Article: Best Grow Tent for Growing Plants – Our Top 10 Choices for You to Choose

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