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Oh getting on an airplane today. Mandatory face mask the entire ride. All Annikya’s shit is still in Mississippi from when they shut the college down. They finally posted up a schedule to go and get everything. On super short notice that is. So off to do that and sign her new lease.

Sweet! I’ll be back in the shop later this week and have a new design in mind.

I Finally found time to get my compost barrel built! Came in clutch AF on materials!! Almost all free and recycled. Less than $50 spent, including the wooden bin. Houston WE have lift-off!!! Still need to stain the wood and line the bin with corrugated roof metal. Also complete the last corner of the stone patio. All diamonds in the rough... as with everything I have. LOL Cleo dog giving her approval.

I personally like the Sun Blaze Brand. Otherwise Hydrofarm would be my second choice. with the space you have I would probably get a 6 or 8 bulb 4’ fixture. as far as bulbs they come in standard, HO and VHO. I would stick with the HO. There are only two brands I trust. Spectralux and Quantum. Trust to have the best intensity AND be the correct spectrum and stay that way the longest. Normally I would suggest buy used with just about anything. This is one thing I probably would weigh that gamble. This is how it breaks down. The bulbs are by far one of the largest costs. Because you want quality ones. They are 8 to $15 a bulb for a quality one. The only part other than the fixture itself, is the ballast. Of the half a dozen I’ve acquired used, I’ve had to replace at least half the ballasts. At $20-$40 a whack. Both costs mentioned are before shipping. So a used one that needs $100 in bulbs and possibly a ballast or two, puts you right up close to the cost of a new one. New they usually come with bulbs included. The Sun Blaze is probably one of the most expensive, but comes with Spectralux bulbs. While I imagine most use the same ballast and are just re-badged. I feel like Sun Blaze used a higher quality one, just speculation though. Either way the bulbs are the meat and potatoes of operation. Of course before I recommended much I went and researched a little on what you are growing. Definitely a lot of mixed opinions but most favoring the LED, for lettuce at least. That is if it is a quality LED that actually produces the Lumens it claims. So my question at this point that I hadn’t found the answer to yet. Is should a T5 be ran with half red and blue bulbs. As the first thing I noticed in any of the YouTube tests is they are comparing an LED with both light spectrum’s to a T5 with only blue 5700k veg bulbs. I saw they had came out with an LED T5 bulb. They are more expensive. But claim to last at least five years. Whereas regular bulbs will only last a year tops. Not sure if they produce the pink light, but assume they do. hopefully without the noise at least. Could be worth looking into once you are ready to commit long-term. I can only assume you enjoy my overly elaborate answers, unlike most people. Let me know if I’m off base there. Lol