Archive for the ‘Hydroponic Shop’ Category

Whether to use HID or T5 Growlights

Monday, June 6th, 2011

Many Indoors Gardeners are now using T5 grow-lights in their indoor Gardens. The reasons are numerous, the T5s run on less power and much less heat than HID lamps, they are relatively inexpensive and will last 18 months or so before they need to be replaced, and they can be placed at any level where the light will be easier on the eyes than HID lights.

Even with all of the advantages of T5 fluorescents, HID lights aren’t without their own advantages. They are able to cover a much larger area than a t5 light while still producing a very high lumen output. Even still, the T5s are usually your more more economic solution and do not take up nearly as much space. Because of this most growers have slowly been switching over to them in the last few years.

At Garden Indoors we stock the latest supply of both HID and T5 Grow Lights, please browse our selection and feel free to call or email us with any questions!

Facility Tour; Garden Indoors of New Jersey

Thursday, March 25th, 2010

Setting up Your Indoor Garden

Thursday, March 18th, 2010

Before you can begin growing your indoor plants, the garden itself must be properly constructed. Here are some step-by-step instructions to follow for getting your garden ready to use.

  1. Step 1: Location - The best locations for your indoor garden will be areas that are out-of-the-way, and see little to no traffic on a day to day basis. TheĀ  corner of the basement, or spare bedroom are both ideal. Ceilings lower than 5 feet should be avoided if possible, as sufficient space for plants to grow may not exist. However, routine pruning and/or using smaller wattage lamps can compensate for this is there is no other alternative
  2. Step 2: Enclose the Room & Paint it White - If the room is not already enclosed, make it so. Furniture, drapery or anything that does not pertain to the garden should be removed, as they may harbor plant-killing fungi. Erecting makeshift walls out of plywood or plastic is also an option. After this is accomplished, every reflective surface should be painted white to maximize the light energy reflected in the room. When done correctly, HID lamp effectiveness can increase by as much as 20%.
  3. Step 3: Air Ventilation and Water Supply - A constant supply of fresh air from the outdoors is essential; This can be accomplished by ducting in air from the outside through a door or window. A Garden also will also require a large supply of water, so running a water hose to the indoor garden is usually much more efficient than carrying it in manually.
  4. Installing HID Lamps - Hooks must be mounted on the walls / ceilings for each HID Lamp fixture that will be used. Each of these hooks must be able to support at least 30 lbs. It also is a good idea to hook up an adjustable chain or pulley to the system to allow for easy adjustments to the light fixtures.

And that’s it, Your Garden is now ready to house your seedlings and plants!

High Intensity Discharge (HID) Lights

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

HID lamps can be used by indoor gardeners to emulate natural sunlight indoors and grow a wide variety of successful plants. Compared with all other forms of Lamps, they are the extremely efficient and are the most balanced across the EM spectrum.

HID Lamps create light by passing electricity through a mixture of chemical gasses that determine its color.

HID Lamps can be broken down into a few different varieties

  • Mercury Vapor
  • Metal Halide
  • High Pressure Sodium
  • Conversion Bulbs

Popular wattages for HID Bulbs include:

  • 150
  • 175
  • 250
  • 400
  • 430
  • 600
  • 1000
  • 1100

In order to regulate the voltage of an HID Lamp, you need an HID Ballast, which acts a transformer for specific voltages.

Click here to Buy HID Lamps from Garden Indoors

Click here to Buy HID Ballasts from Garden Indoors

The Garden Indoors Hydroponic Blog is Now Live

Tuesday, March 16th, 2010

Welcome to the Garden Indoors Blog!

We plan on posting all sorts of articles about indoor gardening and hydroponic solutions!

If you are looking buy hydroponic supplies, please click here to return to the main site.

Thanks for visiting the site!

Garden Indoors