Lights Camera Basil!

The Aquaponic Garden with Grow Lights (20,000 Lumens)

The lights have arrived!

Ive got the system set up now so the lights are on a timer, and the pump plugs into the light, so it will come on when the lights come on.

The water is crazy clear right now. Its so fun to watch the fish darting around! Plants move and grow too, but theyre not as exciting to watch. Ill be interested to see how much they grow with the lights!

The only two herbs they had at the grocery store were basil and mint. I bought a basil and transplanted four of the plantlings into my growbed. The rest will go up to the kitchen for now.

I didnt buy the mint, because mint is crazy. I might set up a "windowfarm" next to the aquaponics units and risk mint in those. Mint is very aggressive and develops roots like theres no tomorrow.

I think if the world were struck by some disaster that wiped out almost all plant life, mint would be amongst the plants that survived. However, no need to give mint a place in my garden.

In other news, I havent heard from the Virginia Department of Game and Inland Fisheries. Theyre the folks who need to inspect my setup prior to me getting a license and purchasing tilapia.

Im tentatively planning to go with 25 male fingerlings from TilapiaFingerlings.com. That way I shouldnt have to start off dealing with the issues of breeding females, fingers crossed! 25 male fingerings will run me $102, which includes shipping.

My approximate costs to date have been:

$150 for tank and grow bed
$141 for the grow lights
$12 for gravel
$30 for the air pump
$45 for the water pump
$20 for the plumbing
$80 for the shelving unit
$15 for incidentals (e.g., metal tape, 2x4 sheets of thin luaun plywood)
$30 for vermiculite, seeds, and plants
$22 for licenses
$30 for water testing kit

So my total outlay has been $575. Add fish ($102) and food ($20) and were just under $700. With care, you might be able to knock the price down even lower than that.

If you didnt have a drill, bits (1/4", 1/2", & 1"), a door knob hole saw, and a saw, youd have to purchase (or borrow) these. Ive got a timer and am decorating to hide the industrial black plastic, but those arent necessary expenses.

Color me happy!

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eBike Electric bike lights

Mrs 120ThingsIn20Years pulled up in her eBike only to grab a hand rail and detach a bit of tendon that should have never been detached.

Ouchie!

Shes under the Plastic & Re-constructive Surgeons knives, scanners, and other bits of kit as I type. So this is part blog post, part self distraction.

We are so lucky in the west to have access to all these amazing experts who learnt all this amazing stuff from all our amazing universities, then went on to work at places with amazing tech that can do amazing things.

Head transplants and so forth.

Sometimes medical staff (oneofmyformerelderlyGPs) forget they didnt get there on there own, but rather because we wanted them to be put there so found the cash to teach them, and that perhaps the poor people in the hospital where they used to work were poor because they were sick or something, and not just because they loved daytime television.

But more often than not they are an awesome bunch of people.

So thanks medical type people everywhere. If it wasnt for you, I would have been dead ages ago, many times over.

Now...

Tail lights and indicators had nothing to do with this mishap, but I cant help feeling it might be nice to not have to take your hand off the front brake (right hand) to signal a right turn across traffic (we drive on the left). If you dont signal you run the risk of getting killed, and if you do, you will almost certainly be killed.

Especially by that loony driver who was driving on a moonless night with their lights off. Thanks loony driver for near missing me. A near miss is always better than a light graze.

Anyway, I thought Id make some indicators and brake lights and things.

I figured Id use a PICAXE programmable chip to make everything work.

I further figured the feature list should be ...

• Headlight control so I can set strobe, always on, hi/low beam or whatever. This way I can add my own light directly to the eBike power supply at some stage, and turn the world into daylight if needs be. When we are on the road, a strobe headlight is always a good thing so you dont get lost amongst all the other white lights. But we have a lot of cycle tracks in Adelaide Australia, and when youre on the tracks, being able to see is more important, so you want solid bright light.
• Turn indicators with a handlebar mounted three way thumb switch with off in the centre, and some kind of beeping sound that reminds you that they are on. Maybe a auto cancel function after 30 seconds (with an extra beep to let you know or something).
• A brake light that does something dramatic to draw attention to itself, and when its not being used as a brake light, should just go about acting like a normal tail light.

I think its important to have a solid red light (most bike tail lights here strobe) to give the indicators a point of reference. Its will be difficult for a driver to tell if your indicator is the left or right without a red light reference point I think. 

For the brake light drama, Im thinking along the lines of a rapidly increasing strobe that flashes faster and faster, then settles on solid bright red light. The flashing stage would take perhaps one second and should continue even after you take your hand off the brake, so you can use it as a "HERE I AM, LOOK AT ME" kind of thing. Just touch the brake when you think people need to be reminded of your being made of soft squishy stuff that goes all rancid when all your blood falls out, and then you can get back to escaping from them.

Then one last feature should be a "strobe everything" function in case of emergency. I might also attach that to the warning device.

My current warning device is a bell, but its soon to be upgraded to a container ships fog horn, and a baseball bat with a nail through the end of it.

Actually I think I might start a campaign that says a green flashing light on the end of a flexible fibre glass rod that extends two feet into traffic means that there is a diamond on the tip of the rod ready to gently (without disturbing me in the least) draw a line down the length of your cars paint if you get too close.



120 Things in 20 years thinks that the emergency "strobe everything" function would be best voice activated by a scream.

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DIY LED Grow Lights

There are a number of problems associated with grow lights

• Expensive to purchase
• Require expensive ballasts
• Expensive to operate
• Short limited life spans
• Hazardous materials
• Fragile
• Excessive heat
• Limited K values

 
After quite a bit of investigation I have come to believe there are two types that stand out

• Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH)
• LED

Neither is cheap to purchase and at this time LED is very expensive, but I just found components to build your own LED light bar which exhibit none of the problems Ive listed above!

A Standard LED Grow Light

The components to build and equivalent 400W 36000 lumen grow light at less than 1/2 the cost!

 To build the equivalent grow light would require one PCB and 40 LED Chips at a cost of about $100 plus some labor and a few items like Power supply, solder, wire and box.

This is just one of many LED K values that are available and a wider spectrum could be made by including other K valued LED Chips.

12V power supplies are very inexpensive thanks to the computer industry. 

Total cost about $200

While searching for your components you may find some bulbs are listed in mcd rather than lumens.  Here is a converter calculator to help you design the grow light you wish to build. 


Coming Soon!  New LED technology
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-22106718

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Lights

The more I learn about this the less I feel I know.  This is a draft and will continue to be edited.

UPDATE: 4 August, 2012
Ive taken some flak for using CFLs  with a recommendation from Jon Parr
to use Ceramic Metal Halide (CMH) bulbs.  If I continue to supplement light next Winter I will switch over to CMH.

This is what Jon had to say:

Jon Parr  (LINK) - ."CMH are not necessarily the best, but they are my favorite. MH emit blue light for veg, HPS emit red light for flowering, and CMH emit full white beautiful spectrum, including UV. Photosynthesis uses a fairly narrow spectrum of the blue and the red, and non at all in the green, in fact reflecting it, which is why plants are green. The jury is still out on how exactly UV is used, but side by side comparisons show healthier plants when a little UV is added, IDK. I do know that HPS are cheaper, about $20 and on the shelf at Home D for a 400W, as opposed to $50 for a CMH 400W. Bob, and Kevin, you will be amazed how cool HID lights are compared to flouros. The bulb itself is hot, yes, but the total heat generated per watt is less, and a vertical CMH bulb needs no cooling at all, not even a fan, as the natural convection draws a cooling air current upwards past the bulb. I pay $.45 per KWH, so efficiency is paramount, meaning no reflectors or glass to suck lumens. I hang a vertical bare bulb, and situate my plants around it in zip-grow style towers. Ideally, I dont want a single photon striking anything but plant. Is the UV dangerous from a CMH? Yes, probably, just as dangerous as it is from the sun. I have never noticed any discomfort, but I am in the sun working every day anyway. Ive read that sensitive people advise wearing sunglasses, long sleeves, or even sunscreen if working around bare bulbs for extended periods of time. I have them lighting up my whole shop, but they are in closed fixtures with a glass panel, which blocks the UV.

I get my CMH here, and ballasts, and sockets are available for about $15 at your local head shop. http://advancedtechlighting.com/cdmed18.htm For flat grows like Bob and Kevin have, youll want to add a wing style reflector to bounce light back down to the plants. The linked site also show some pictures of failed bulbs, and how the arc tube remains contained. The Phillips brand they sell are rated for open fixtures, a big plus for bare bulbers like myself."

For an explanation of why CMH are the preferred grow bulb WATCH THIS.  Basically it is because they have a complete spectrum, and last longer

corvet_gxip4297riox@members.ebay.com
worked out a custom auction for me!
15 - 14W 5000K 800 Lumen CFLs
and
15 - 18W 6500K 1170 Lumen CFLs
for $65.00 including shipping charges!

But the auction he has listed now says
30 CFL Bulbs Total 15-2700K 15-6500K so you may have to ask for what you want.
CLICK HERE

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ORIGINAL POST
All along I have spent the time to find the best values when I had to purchase anything for this project.
With lights I feel that I may still be on the learning curve, but here is what Ive found.
T5 and CFL seem to be the best bargain when heat, energy, and initial cost are all considered.

The luminous efficacy of a typical CFL is 50–70  lumens per watt (lm/W).
A typical T5 HO (High Output) bulb produces 92.6 lumens per watt.

T5 systems come ready made and have a professional look.

CFLs can be slightly less expensive if you are willing to invest the time to build a light bar.  Here is how I built mine.  Its 16 standard E27 bases connected in parallel on a 1 x 6 board.
As an example two light bars each with 8 - 5000K 800 Lumen and 8 - 6500K 1170 Lumen CFL bulbs should produce about  31,500 Lumen when new, but about 25% loss will occur during the lifetime of the bulbs.
Below are some pictures of how I made it.

I first laid out the pattern and drilled 1-3/8" holes

Then I cut out the opening for the electrical connections to the standard E27 light bases

This is the top where the wire get connected.

This is the result. 

The Kelvin scale measures the “color” of the light.  CFL bulbs come in at least 6 different color spectrums. 2700K, 3000K, 3500K, 4100K, 5000K and 6500K.

http://urbangardenmagazine.com/2010/02/plasma-grow-lights-the-promises-of-full-spectrum-plant-lighting/

 
CLICK HERE for a full explanation of Color Temperature.

Expect to pay more for the higher K value. 
2700K tends toward the red end of the spectrum and is good for fruiting while 5000K and 6500K tend toward the blue end of the spectrum and are best for growth.  I plan to mix a few 2700K in for good measure, but I will use mostly 5000K and 6500K.  Alone you may think a 2700K looks bright and white, but next to a 6500K it will look dim.

The cost difference is significant.  I was able to find 2700K at Costco for less than $2.00.  If the package does not have information about the color spectrum or if it simply says "Full Spectrum" it is most likely a 2700K bulb.

The best price I found for 5000K and 6500K was $4.14 at Lowes.  I looked at eBay, but it appeared that the big box stores have the best deals until corvet_gxip4297riox@members.ebay.com helped me out.

The cost of each white plastic E27 base was $1.34 at Lowes.
Total cost for a 16 light, 368 Watt, 25600 Lumen light bar was 21.50 for the bases, and $66.00 for the lights. Plus a 1x6 and some wire for a total cost of about $100.00.  It took about an hour to assemble.

I found R48 - T5 HO Fluorescent Grow Lights for $145.00 on eBay.
Considering the small difference in price the T5 light may be your best option.  

The value if you buy your bulbs at a Lowes is about 200 lumen per dollar for the CFL 6500K and about 160 Lumen per dollar for the T5, but I think the T5 looks better.  If money is an issue or you require a lot of lights then the cost may be the deciding factor.

For more information about lighting reference these links
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lux
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lumen_%28unit%29
http://www.egc.com/useful_info_lighting.php
http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml
http://www.pcgrowcase.com/cflgrow.htm
http://www.apogeeinstruments.com/conversions/lux-ppf.html
https://www.greenpassion.org/index.php?/topic/25726-lux-versus-lumen-par-versus-ppf/ 

An excerpt from Marijuana growers handbook by ed rosenthal, newest edition sums up the math very well.

Lux is a type of measurement of visible light to the human eye, is an industry standard in Europe.
PAR is a measurement of Quanta of light in PAR range, used in Horticulture research, and the a measurement of "daily light integral" accumulated PAR light during an entire day, also used in Horticulture research.
There are other PAR measurements for Energy in PAR range, and total energy, that is used by engineers and researchers.

PAR is usually expressed in Moles, which measure the number of light photons (one mole = 6.02 x 1023 photons) and are frequently combined with units of area and time to give you moles per meter per day.

Page 101:
Light output or intensity is measured in several different units, including candelas, foot-candles, lumens, lux, and moles. Many of these units are based on each other, and some are more commonly used than others. They measure three basic things:
*the amount of visible light emitted (candelas, lumens)
*The amount of light that reaches a defined area (foot candles, lux)
*and the total number of light particles (moles)


envind added this comment in the forum discussion "Lux Versus Lumen & Par Versus Ppf" on the GreenPassion forum
...
Lumens measure the visible light or "luminous flux" emitted in a defined beam. a single candela light source that radiates equally in all directions produces exactly 4(pi) lumens (12.6); a 23 w compact fluorescent emits about 1600 lumens.
...
The lux is similar to the foot-candle in that it measures the visible light intensity (luminous flux) that reaches a particular area, defined as one lumen per square meter. so 100 lumens concentrated in an area of one square meter equals 100 lux. if that same 100 lumens is spread over a space 10 square meters, you have 10 lux.


 

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