Have some method of raising the lights as the tomatoes grow. I have mine hanging from small chains and I move the lights up a link at a time to keep the distance between the top of the plants and the lights constant.

A dozen seedlings under a 2' fixture would be pretty crowded after about 4 weeks. I'd go with a 4' , 4 bulb fixture if you have the space. I use 4 bulb T8 fixtures and they work very well.

Covered with 23 watt day light CFL in reflective 2 story 5 gallon buckets

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uncovered

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They grow like weeds

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similar bucket light fits over top

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Tomato, egg, and pepper plants grow like weeds. I am citrus so I have no pictures of my vegetable plant starts

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This will get you a really large start for after frost spring planting

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While I can't answer your question this might be an alternative or helpful to someone else. I have never done near as well with any kind of T8/5 tube lights.

That looks like a lot of work, maintaining things. You have to take your contraption apart just to see the plants.

Just lift the bucket up, water, and put the bucket back. Its a lot easier than fussing with tub bulbs 2 inches over top. The buckets aren't screwed together. The trash can hangs from a rope through a pulley. Pull the rope and cleat it , water, then lower the bucket back to place.

Steve

I just water. No lifting. No rope. No cleats. I can see the plants immediately. Fussing with bulbs? My T5s just sit there, for weeks at a time, above the plants. Then you prop them up a few inches. Interesting design, but it looks like make-work to me.

The wire was free, the light sockets were free The buckets were free, The octagonal electric boxes were free and Our electric company gave out 24 CFL bulbs for free and I was unemployed at the time so my labor was free. It was a given that my destiny in plant lighting choices was set in zero$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$. T5's are expensive and use more energy for the same growth The buckets last for years once made. The soil is 65F The base of the plant is 70F and the top of the plant is 90F in those enclosed buckets.

Steve

A four foot T5 fluorescent bulb is $7. A new two bulb fixture is $20. Lots cheaper if you get it used. That setup costs about a dollar a week in electricity use. How cheap are 24 bulb fixtures? I'm pretty sure a given wattage T5 makes the same amount of light as the same wattage CFL. Throw a blanket over a fixture, and you get heat if you need it.

But I'll admit you have a creative setup.

T5 have come way down in price from the $50 shop light. Those are worth looking at. The main advantage to my buckets is all the light is reflected to the plant and the heat is contained and held on my plants. I get less lumens per $ but more growth per $. I have no place to put a 4 footer but lots of small places to through up a bucket here and another there. The bucket is still the best way for me and someone else reading this may be in the same canoe as myself.

Steve

Well,, if you have no place to put a long fluorescent fixture, that's the best reason for doing what you're doing. You might consider a square fluorescent fixture with four 12-inch bulbs, though. Those are a little harder to come by, though.

four 12-inch bulbs. That would work very well for me. Unfortunately the bulbs are cost prohibitive and so is the fixture. Best brocoli ever

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works well for variable size trees

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Gr, 4 bulb 2 footer isn't over kill, But T5 bulbs only come in 22 in, 34 in, 46 in and 58" lengths.

A look at the amount of light (lumens) those bulbs would give off compared to the sun:

The average Lums those 4 bulbs (22 in bulbs) would give you is 5400 lums measured 1 foot away and for the sake of simplicity covering 2 square feet. So lums per sq. ft equals about 2700 lums.

The sun gives you 9100 lums per square foot so you're at about 1/3 the light intensity of the sun with those bulbs and is enough light. Question is, can you fit a dozen seedlings under the one fixture?

If you used High output fixtures the lumens would increase to about 8000 lums or 4000 lums per square foot, better, but still wondering about the real estate below for plant space with a 22" fixture.

poncirusguy6b452xx, your bucket idea is genius for a limited amount of plants.

You're flooding and reflecting the equivalent of a 34 inch T5 florescent tube. I like it, but wonder about the heat buildup, ventilation and air exchange for CO2?

I use 8 four foot T8 bulbs for my indoor seed starting, for small seedlings it works fine, only problem is when plants grow to high and bush out the bottom leaves will turn purplish green , not enough light below, high output T5 fixtures with some reflection would be nice.

I mounted the fixtures (all bolted together) on a pulley system so I can easily raise them as the plants grow.

My reflecting buckets get a lot of light to the lower leaves by reflecting what misses the high leaves. Temperature rise is about 15F-20F. I have peep holes in the bucket that lets air flow through. The dirt draws in new air as the plant uses up the water and the bad air is pushed out when I water them. I also aerate the base to pull out extra water after watering.

Steve

I would strongly consider using LED grow lights over T5 fluorescent lights. More efficient, effective and run cooler. Prices have dropped considerably in the last few years making them very practical. Several grow experiment s on you tube showing the difference. I used both LED grow lights and T5s. LEDs lights are so much better.