Best lighting solution for indoor bonsai grows w/ artificial light as primary source?

[ChefRico]

Hi all,

I am an inexperienced gardener who has had the green thumb for some time now, and am currently growing various different trees for the purpose of bonsai as a hobby. My current collection consists of:

7x Monkey puzzle (2x One year old & 5x Freshly sprouted seedlings)
3x Cactus (No idea what species, can anyone please identify? Pictures included)
1x Aloe Vera
1x Ginkgo Biloba
1x Dawn Redwood
2x Black Walnut seedlings
+ 60 cell propagation tray which will be filled with seeds post move

I am moving house soon, and the natural lighting conditions where I am going are not at all ideal for indoor plant care, especially ones such as these which thrive in full sun and I would greatly appreciate any information on cheap, affordable lighting solutions. I have spent the entire day searching for information on indoor grow lights but it is impossible to find relevant information as everything seems to be very specific to indoor cannabis growing which is not very helpful for my case!

All the plants are very small, and I intend to keep them that way via regular pruning, I guess on one level they would take up say 5-6sq. ft. of space if not crowded but I wish to build a 3 tiered shelf structure with lighting on each level. These lights would be the primary light source and I was looking at something like these:

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/MarsHydro...866?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cee328082

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Marshydro...395?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_3&hash=item3cdf177d8b

These do of course seem to be very specifically tailored to a cannabis grow so I have no idea of they are over kill, or what. I was also considering these, but they don't come with cable, so would have to manually attach and have been advised they are only good as supplementary light, not primary light source as they are quite weak:

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Floodlight-Waterproof-Flowering-Hydroponics-Vegetables/dp/B00LXXN18G

I would be grateful for advice from anyone experienced in indoor growing as to what lights they use and what would be best for me. I am on a budget so looking for cheap and cheerful with low power drain.

(Pictures have been included so you have an idea what I'm dealing with, for the bonus prize, is anyone able to identify either of the three cacti? It's been bugging me for a long time)

Many thanks in advance.

 

[Ian]

Welcome aboard ChefRico, sorry your post didn't appear right away - it ended up in the automatic moderation queue as it had lots of links for a first post, but I've approved it now and hopefully someone will be able to offer some advice very shortly .

 

[dave david]

I have not much experience with the LED grow lights, but I am sure they will be cooler and use less energy. We have always used fluorescent tube "grow lights" and had great success with them, and they were well priced for our budget. You are on the right track with these lights and I will be watching for more information and news about your challenge.

Pics look great, thanks Ian for pushing them through.

 

[ChefRico]

Thank you Ian, I had presumed as such, or worse still thought I might have already earned myself a ban because an auto moderation system thought I might be blatantly asking about a cannabis grow set up

Ideally, the goal is to set up shelves with two tiers of lighting, the lower level having 3-4sq. ft. grow area, which will house the more mature plants, those with higher light requirements close to the very centre i.e. the monkey puzzle and cacti, and the rest organised outwards.
Seedlings and the propagation tray will probably go on the higher tier, that's the plan anyway.

Will probably end up going for the 300w MarsHydro as it gives out a cracking amount of lumens in the usable spectrum for pretty much a steal and save for one negative customer service experience it seems to have an outstanding reputation among indoor growers.

If anyone has any other affordable brand suggestions before I commit to the purchase I would be more than grateful.