I have this one. Two, actually.

Works well. I don't know if I'd trust one that said 14w. These are probably easier than using Fluorescent tubes.

Before you buy an LED on amazon or ebay I would do alot of research. There are alot of cheap ones out there that will work fine when you start but probably aren't the best longer term Investment ( by months). There are alot of people on this forum that grow under lights. There is even several threads dedicated to it. A few of us went with mars hydro LEDs. I know for me, it was because it was an affordable LED option (still several hundred dollars.) They're also very reputable, and the people on this forum had already done business with them, and even though they had some blah reviews, there are even more good reviews. I am very happy with my purchase. I honestly wouldn't buy an LED light that cheap on amazon especially from Marysville, Ca I live about 20 miles from Marysville.. I personally wouldn't trust it. They have a bit of a reputation for not so good things.

My plants respond really well to LEDs. Check out mars hydro on their website or ebay even. They sell the older models there. My seedlings get really fat and start branching early under LEDS too.

The other option works well for seedlings too. You would have to keep them close and it will get your seedlings to the next step... where do you live? Are you keeping mature plants on your rack or seedlings only? I started under CFLs and T5s.

If you Google search "LED adenium forum" you will find alot of great threads from houzz and other adenium forums.

Keep us updated with what you end up with.

Hope this helps you a little.

I like what I see with the LED lights, but there is definitely a draw back in certain situations (shelving) situation as they are generally required to be placed further away, i.e. Less space for number of shelves.

I am staying with my T5 HO Florescent light set-up as it has worked very well for me for the past 6 years. If it's not broken, don't fix it thing.

From the studies that I had done the length of 4' tubes covered more space than LED light for my situation. The further any of the lights are away from canopy of plants, the less useable light available to the plants.

I hope you find something, Mark.

Rick

Bob, I shelved my Mars Hydro because it was just too powerful for my available space. You really need at least 18" between plants and those lights.

Dain, I agree. I have my LED light all the way at the to the tip of a 6 ft tent and most my plants are on the floor or a shelf about 18 inches off the ground. I set the light up in the corner of my 4'11" tent and now I have several areas with different light levels. I only use LED in my tent and one of my aerogardens uses LEDs. I also have a t-5 for my 4 tier baker rack. I haven't had any real problems with it.

Thank you all!

I have been leaning towards the LED lights based on the results that I've seen on here but I feel like it would take up more space on the shelf with all the spacing that would be needed.

Currently I only have my plants by the window. Only very few plants I have under lights since I am also growing cacti under the lights.

I think I will go with the T5, since it will allow for more usage of space, and maybe in the future try the LED lights if I can find more room.

Bob- I live in El Paso, Texas. We usually have mild winters but we've already had snow, in December. I'm hoping to start the seedlings soon and have them outside by March or April.

Mark

I have never used a Mars light. My LED's are Glowpanel 45's which are no longer produced. There are many similar designs, and they're rated at 45 watts.

They grow plants very well, and I can place them within an inch or less of the plants. I would imagine that the Mars are much brighter - although they don't seem brighter in the pictures.

Still, I only have the two LED panels, and I recently needed more light. So I added another ballast to each of my 4 light florescents as well - almost doubling the light, and basically making them HO.

Mark, based on your plan I would go with the T5s. It's simple, and works. I, myself wouldn't use such a low cost LED light bought offline. Too many bad things going around about them on the different forums. Just my opinion tho.

do you know what type of seeds you want to sow, obesum? arabicum? thai socotranum? mix?

I have a few T5H0 fixtures and like them. I use mine with wire rack shelves similar to your picture, Mark. They do spread the light uniformly over the area underneath the fixture, if you have a fixture with good reflectors (important for T5). But the edges of the fixture will still be dimmer than the middle. Bulbs also do decay continually (though not super quickly) beginning with the first time you turn them on. Depending on how many hours a day you use them, and how picky you are about light levels, replacements will be needed every 6- 12 months.

If you do use lights with wire rack shelves, you'll also want something to line the shelves with so you don't spill water/gritty mix/etc onto the light below. And depending on how your fixture and shelf sizes line up, the edges of your shelves will probably receive a lot less light than the middle.

T5's produce a fair amount of heat, which is a nice advantage in winter, for me at least. But of course that heat also represents wasted power, so isn't really something to write home about.

If you are able to buy a fixture that is UL listed (regardless of tech - T5/LED/whatever), you'll be better off than not. These lights don't draw huge amounts of power, but, it'll be plugged in and lit up 18 hours a day and no one wants to burn their house down. This may limit your options, especially when it comes to inexpensive LEDs, but is a factor with considering. CE certification is also desirable but a lower bar must be met by the manufacturer than for UL.

Hey Bob, I plan on sowing the following seeds.

A. arabicum

A. arabicum tiny ding dong

A. arabicum desert knight fork

A. obesum hybrid star shaped flowers.

yes I will search for other LED sources the one I shared is the first one I found. I will keep you posted.

Hey rooftop, thanks for the advice. Yes I always found something to line the bottom of the pots so water, soil, etc doesn't fall thru. I'm thinking on the edges I could put some cardboard lined with aluminum to reflect heat/light?

I will check for the UL listing, safety first.

Thanks all again!

Mark

awesome, I have some desert night forks that are growing like weeds. you will have to start a thread when you start and keep us posted.