lighting for keeping plants indoors over winter

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I was thinking of getting two 20 gallon cement mixing containers and putting them in the basement with my water garden plants over the winter, it would save me a couple hundred bucks in the spring. Does anyone else do this? If so, what kind of lighting do you use? I noticed at a pet store near me they had this enormous light over a large aquarium, it had stands on the four corners that lifted it above the water about 10 inches and the light had some fans built into the hood on each end. It had some bright lighting that really showed off the plants in the tank (it was a plant only tank).

Would something like this be cost prohibitive? The basement can get a little cold in the winter, it is not heated, probably in the low 60's F. Would the light be enough to keep the plants and water in the cement mixing container warm enough? Would I need an aquarium heater?

I also figured I could use the dirty water I pull out of my aquarium during water changes since that would provide nutrients to the plants.

Any ideas would be greatly appreciated!
 

DrDave

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That sounds like a great idea.

I am going to have a series of tubs that cascade untill they dump into a sump where it will be pumped back up to the highest tub. These tubs will be placed inside the hot house and I hope to keep a variety of plants for the spring.

I actually have had this going since June I just need to build the outdoor hot house around them to experiment this winter with.

Here in Escondido, it does get into the lower 30's during the winter nights, so I'm hoping to do this without providing heat at night.
 
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You can use a strip florescent lights you find at any of the Big Box Stores. Buy two plant grow lamps for it and your all set. Those lamps give the light spectrum needed for plants. The lights you see at the fish store are generally setup to help grow coral they have a wider light spectrum and give off different types of light (if you use them you generally have to have a filter on the light to avoid UV damage) which is built in to the setup. They get hot and need the fans to keep the lights cool and keep down the temps in the tank. They do have florescents also. But that is expensive overkill.

An inexpensive heater will keep the temps up. You just need to add a little water movement to keep it all working. Keep the lights on for about 8 to 10 hours and your all set.

Thomas
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I use a fluorescent light i got from Bunnings for 30 Bucks, the plants grow fast ^^.
 

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