Very nice and within the budget of many too. I'd agree with you on at least 4 more light fixtures so you have 2 on each shelf. Gives you a much bigger light footprint and prevents the seedlings on the outside edges from getting leggy.

Good luck with your seedlings. :)

Dave

Impressive for a first start! You did your research and some smart shopping. I would definitely double up the fixtures. I actually use 3 per shelf on some of my shelves. Last year I started using cheap 1" white styrofoam insulation boards on top of the lamps to reflect the light. It worked well.

I am surprised anyone is shipping plants to zone 5 this time of year. I am assuming those are all plants you will grow in pots and bring them in over the winter months?

I was too! Wellspring reassured me though as long as temps are above 30 (we had a little of a "warm" spell for a few days) they'll be fine. And sure enough, other than your standard shipping trauma, they were perfectly alright - they do a great job effiecently packing their stuff too. The borneo giant and the GWBOP will be going in large planters outside for the summer so the neighbors have something to gawk at. The black coral, puckered up, and another black colo will be going directly in the ground once soil temps get cozy in a side bed with gold lysimachia and lime green sweetpotato vine and some blue-ish hostas underneath to really set off the contrast scales. I just dig them up in the early fall and put them in nursery pots full of orchid bark potting mix or something similair mixed with soil they were planted in and over winter them in a sunny window in large storage tubs (so fancy). I've got two I've aready done this with from last year that are maybe slightly less than happy, but will survive non the less and take off again once they hit the soil. The GWBOP and BG will be taking dominance of my living room this next winter (assuming what I've read of their growth rate is true and our iowa winds don't knock them over too much)... ha

On your set up under 3 lights, were you putting your trays end to end (2 per shelf like me) the long way or doing 3-4 trays per shelf?

I have some reflective insulation I plan on putting on top of them, i'll post more pictures when I get to it. Getting close to the first group going in!

With multiple lights 2 or 3, the trays are side by side. 4 trays per two lights is the standard way to do it. I have been known to squeeze in 5 trays when I run out of space, and just rotate them so the ones on the ends don't get leggy.

All of those tropicals in Iowa sound great! I read about someone in Iowa that has full size Palm trees in his front yard. Wraps them with christmas lights and then blanket insulation and then plastic, and they make it through the winter.

Beautiful! You are really going to like the fact that you can mess around with the levels of your shelves. Those restaurant shelving units are great! It's also nice because you can take it apart and move it if you need to. I agree on the number of lights. If you double your lights, you can double your plants! :) Of course, that's not for everyone.

Went out and got 4 more lights, found 4 2ft grow lights in my back closet, and got everything set up... Borrowed a light meter and yeah... definitely glad I put in the additional lights. Entire set up below...

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Put this set up into the $200 range. I like the american lighting brand of cheap plug in shop lights from walmart a lot better than the ones I got from menards... bigger reflector, much easier to install the lights (the ones they carry at walmart don't have to have the ends popped out like the others) comes with 4 s hooks for both hanging and mounting and is about a dollar more.

Nice set-up! I have a similar rack and system that I use. I am very worried about your safety pins on the light chain. Can you use something else? Zip ties, stronger wire, string? I just feel that the weight of the lights on the safety pins could make them fail and crash down on your plants.

This is basiclly my set up lol. except i went with the 200watt round CFL's and just two levels so i can adapt it to over winter stuff or grow larger plants that need a lot of space. you can check out my youtube channel and see, would love to hear from you chat and share fun gardening ideas =)

Here is a link that might be useful: TheItalian Garden

Most have been changed out now - with s hooks or the like.

I've actually had more problems with the lights falling because the s hooks that came with them don't fit in the holes on the top of the light fixtures - nothing some zip ties couldn't fix, but annoying none the less.

I drilled bigger holes in mine so the s hooks would fit.

I thought about that - but the wiring and ballast is right there on several of them. I'm devising some kind of pulley system next year.