You do not need a special fixture. Grow light bulbs are available in the same sizes as the regular bulbs. Grow light bulbs come in the same wattages as regular bulbs and, therefore, are not more expensive to run. They may be more expensive to buy. However, regular tubes would probably give results that are just as good. The imortant part is to get the bulbs close enough to the plants, like a few inches away.

Thanks John! Good to hear, I really didn't want to have to but special fixtures. Thanks again!
Daniella

You've misunderstood the answer, I think. Yes, domestic fluorescent tubes ARE theoretically suitable for photosynthesis... but NOT at the low light intensity you'll achieve in a normal room setting. Only by having the leaves extremely close to the tubes will you get healthy growth without yellowing or legginess - and that's not going to be remotely possible with your normal ceiling fixtures. Nor will there be enough tubes up there to do the job - you need a lot of light output to trigger healthy plant growth and that means investing in proper kit.

Don't be tempted to use standard incandescent fixtures either - that's not sensible, either on plant health grounds or safety.

You should do some proper research into growing under lights before diving in. Plenty of sources out there...including gardenweb's own dedicated forum, of course.

Right now I am using flourescent light fixtures from fish tanks, and they are within 6" of the tops of the plants.
Do you know if I can get grow lights that I can use with these fish tank fixtures or will the wattage be too much for them? I also have reg flourescent light fixtures that dangle from the ceiling on chains in my basement, the kind that takes 2 tubes, and are about 3 feet long.. was thinking of bringing them up, hanging them from the ceiling. I do know that the lights on my ceiling aren't low enough, that's not what I meant, lol. I tried finding my answers by googling grow lights, but I really didn't find the answers I am looking for. That's why I posted it here, I know I can get answers to my questions on here.

I use a regular reading light fixture for my palm seedlings. You can buy a 'light bulb for indoor plants' at your local home depot. They havent made any miracles happen, but they seem to do the trick!

Can you buy 'grow lights' for your aquarium lamp fixtures? Well yes, your fishtank dealer will sell you specialist tubes for a lot more dollars than your regular domestic retailer will charge for cool white fluorescents. But the benefit to your plants will be negligible relative to the extra cost - you might just as well stay with the cheaper domestic lamps. And you certainly CAN'T put higher wattage lamps in that circuitry for long - you'll burn out the ballast. Stick with the length of tube they are designed for.

And yes, a compact fluorescent lamp in a regular reading light fixture is sufficient to illuminate a very small propagator box, provided it's right up close. But a set of low-mounted tubes and reflectors will spread a more even light over a larger area and is much more practical for seedling work than a reading lamp. I've got a sizeable bottle garden growing under a single 20 watt compact in a reading lamp - so they do have their uses in the appropriate context, no doubt about that. But not for bulk propagation.

This probably isn't the best place to solicit advice on growlights - but you can quickly get up to speed by scrolling through some of the newbie threads on the Gardenweb forum Growing Under Lights. That's ALL they discuss there!

You don't need to worry if the wattage will be too great. If the bulb fits in the fixture, it's the right wattage. A 2 foot tube is 20 watts, whether it's a grow light, or a cool white. A 4 foot tube, of either kind, is 40 watts, etc., etc. We've used grow lights on aquariums, but the main benefit is that they make red fish appear brighter; they didn't seem to have any effect on the plants.

Boca Joe, that is exactly what I plan on doing, thank you very much for your input.
Thank you too John, that's what I wanted to know.
Daniella

If you want badly enough to believe a puny 120 watts, at six foot above the ground, will adequately illuminate an 8 x 10 cactus growing area [BocaJoe] - and that your aquarium lamp end-caps will safely take higher wattages than the ballast was designed for [John] - then who is anybody to say otherwise!

Here is my arrangement. THey are wide spectrum grow bulbs which I buy a Walmart. Some of the fixtures are just from Walmart or Lowes others are more expensive ones that I sent away for but they aren't that much better. As you can see I grow african violets on these shelves, start leaves and seeds. The distance from light to plant is about 6 inches and they are on a timer and on 12 hours per day. I hope this helps.

In other words...a few low-light plants placed very close to a lot of lights. That's the inescapable reality of growing entirely indoors.

Stephen, what's up your butt? They do it and say it works, so why the attitude and sarcasm? Boca Joe knows what he is talking about, since I came to GW and started reading the forums I have seen his posts and he is very knowledgeable, and grows beautiful plants..maybe you should listen to some of his advice. I would take his advice over most people's on here, no doubts in my mind.

The African Violets look absolutely beautiful Barb..I wish I weren't allergic to them. I tried having them in the house, and the closed up throat and headache just wasn't worth it, though I tried, lol. What is hanging out of the bottoms?
Daniella

Stephen...Well that's correct, low light plants placed close to lights. If I put the african violets outside, they would be dead within the week-too hot, too cold, too many bugs, too sunny, not enough sun. I don't know how they ever survived outside. And they are an enjoyment to me at night or when it's too hot out or too cold, I have plants to look at and they require less light than some of the orchids that people grow inside under lights.
Daniella I have them on wicks-a piece of acrylic yarn that is wound around the bottom of the plant pot and hangs into a salad container of rain water or purified water with a small dose of fertilizer. So they are relatively low maintenance. I'm sorry you're allergic, they looked so nice I had to take they're picture. They're cute, the little fussy baxters.

This was the information I needed. Thanks!

I wonder if Stephen ever got whatever was up his butt taken out

Will not work with Cannnabis.

I just started using it. It seems to be working. All I want to know is if it's ok for our eye sight to be using it all the time in the same room as we are in. My eyes seem to bother me when I walk in my bedroom. And my grandson talk my husband into using one in the living room.