Greetings All,


I am thinking about growing some vegetable seedlings from seed indoors.
Would an aquarium tank with aquarium growlight fluoro tubes be adequate to
do this in an area which doesn't receive natural light ?

Any pointers would be appreciated. My prime objective is to spend as little
as possible.

Robert

Robert King wrote:

Greetings All,


I am thinking about growing some vegetable seedlings from seed indoors.
Would an aquarium tank with aquarium growlight fluoro tubes be adequate to
do this in an area which doesn't receive natural light ?

You can get seedling raising kits (base plus hood) for about $30.
In winter you may be OK placing the seedlings near a north-facing window.


Any pointers would be appreciated. My prime objective is to spend as
little as possible.

Robert

Read "Hydroponics for Everyone" by Sutherland (available at many public libraries).
Your local hydroponics store will have light bulbs that put out the right wavelength of light for plant growth.
http://www.burkesbackyard.com.au/199...ls/hydroponics

gtoomey

On 13/8/04 2:21 PM, in article , "Gregory
Toomey" wrote:

Robert King wrote:

Greetings All,


I am thinking about growing some vegetable seedlings from seed indoors.
Would an aquarium tank with aquarium growlight fluoro tubes be adequate to
do this in an area which doesn't receive natural light ?

You can get seedling raising kits (base plus hood) for about $30.
In winter you may be OK placing the seedlings near a north-facing window.


Yes, thanks for that. I have been raising seedlings outdoor in a little
greenhouse for a while. However given the lack of (practically accessible)
available light indoors I would like to try using artificial light. So I am
looking for several pointers which can help me do this. Specifically whether
an aquarium light might do the trick.

Thanks

Robert

Robert King wrote:

Greetings All,

I am thinking about growing some vegetable seedlings from seed indoors.
Would an aquarium tank with aquarium growlight fluoro tubes be adequate to
do this in an area which doesn't receive natural light ?

My guess is not. Sea plants receive differnet wavelengths to land plants
(water acts as a filter). So an aquarium light might be giving the wrong
balance of wavelengths.

Try a google on growing and aquarium lights.

Yes, thanks for that. I have been raising seedlings outdoor in a little
greenhouse for a while. However given the lack of (practically accessible)
available light indoors I would like to try using artificial light. So I
am
looking for several pointers which can help me do this. Specifically
whether
an aquarium light might do the trick.

The simple answer is yes, it will be fine if its a grolux or similar.

"Robert King" somebody@localhost wrote in message
news:BD4274AC.2BFFA%somebody@localhost...
Greetings All,


I am thinking about growing some vegetable seedlings from seed indoors.
Would an aquarium tank with aquarium growlight fluoro tubes be adequate to
do this in an area which doesn't receive natural light ?

Quite simply, yes.
If they are the same to your small (or large) indoor (say like kitchen,
bathroom,laundry) fluro tubes, cool white then yes, to get your seedlings up
will be fine.
They provide enough light to get seedlings and cuttings up ready for
outdoors. However not good for flowering, which in your case won't matter as
they are only to get the seeds up.
Remember, until the seeds actually germinate and break the surface, no light
is needed, just bottom warmth.
I have raised many cuttings up under a fluro coolwhite tube no probs.
Only thing to be careful with is anything you are growing that will flower
due to reduced light periods. You don't want to give your seedlings 24hr
light, then put them outside only to find they go straight to flower.
Try and match the fluro light time on your seeds to outdoor light time.
Also, a small grow chamber as someone mentioned from a hardware store (Mitre
10 maybe?) would be a good investment. This should fit in the tank, and will
allow better control of humidity by opening, shutting door on it.
Good luck

Any pointers would be appreciated. My prime objective is to spend as
little
as possible.

Cool white tube in fishtank, quite cheap.

Robert