Midwest Hydroponics only offers top of the line hoods/reflectors. We offer H.I.D. Horticultural lights from the top 3 selling manufacturers in the United States. Even these companies offer lower quality reflectors. (Econogro and Ultralite Reflectors) In the past, we sold these hoods. After listening to our customers and reviewing the facts about light illumination, efficiency, and uniformity, we decided to stop selling lower quality reflectors. Our philosophy is, if you're going to spend $200-$350 on a H.I.D. light, saving $20-$30 on the reflector was not a value to our customers. Now, many new companies are selling hoods that they manufacture. We have seen some of these hoods and saving $20-$30 is not worth it! We recommend going with a reputable manufacturer (SunLight Supply, Diamond Lights and Hydrofarm) that have spent $100,000's making sure their hoods are the best available. The efficiency of a H.I.D. lighting reflector is essential to indoor gardening success.

Choosing the right lighting system for your indoor growing system will directly affect your indoor growing success. Review lighting facts below.

Fluorescent lights are OK for seedlings and low light plants. Attempting to grow vegetables and large plants under fluorescent lights is very slow and futile. An average fluorescent bulb produces 2300 lumens. 41,000-46,000 lumens are needed to grow tomatoes. That means you would need 20 fluorescent light tubes to equals one 400 watt HID light.

HID Lighting stands for High Intensity Discharge Lighting. These horticultural lights produce 5-6 times as much light compared to incandescent lights of the same wattage and will last 10-30 times as long. These durable systems have a life span of 15+ years of daily use.

The BLUE SPECTRUM of HID Lights will promote vegetative growth. METAL HALIDE (MH) lights produce a strong output of the blue spectrum, which will promote strong vegetative growth. If you wanted to grow only leafy plants such as lettuce and herbs, then a Metal Halide light is all you need. There is enough Orange-Red spectrum for fruiting and flowering. New color corrected (MH) bulbs produce more red spectrum than ordinary (MH) bulbs. The Agrosun gold has 38% more red, the Agrosun Classic has 49% more red, and the Sunmaster warm deluxe has 50% more red than a regular (MH) bulb. This bulb-upgrade is recommended for fruit bearing vegetables.

The ORANGE-RED SPECTRUM of HID lights will promote fruiting & flowering and over all production of the plant.
HIGH PRESSURE SODIUM (HPS) lights produce a strong output of the orange-red spectrum, which will speed up and increase production of plants during the fruiting and flowering stage. 430 watt Son Agro (HPS) bulbs will increase the blue spectrum by 30%. 1000 watt Hortilux bulbs will increase the blue spectrum by 25%. These bulbs will promote compact growth.

Orchids grow and bloom the best under an HPS Light.

The ideal lighting option is using a Metal Halide and a High Pressure Sodium light at the same time. The Agro-Sun and Son Agro Bulbs have created an affordable alternative to using 2 lights. The MH Agro-sun bulb option is recommended if you want to grow more plants such as lettuce and herbs. The HPS Son Agro and HPS Hortilux bulb option is recommended if you want to grow plants such as peppers and tomatoes. Our most popular light for a 3’ x 3’ growing area is the 430 watt HPS with Son-Agro bulb.

The most effective lighting option is to grow your plants during the vegetative stage with a Metal Halide light. Then removing the Metal Halide light bulb and replacing it with a HPS Conversion light bulb during the fruiting and flowering stage. This only works well if you plan to harvest all of the plants at the same time. Once again the Agro-Sun and Son Agro Bulbs have created an affordable alternative to using 2 bulbs. The complete spectrums provided by these bulbs allow you to grow various plants at different stages of growth all the time. See LIGHT BULBS

Putting Mylar on the walls of your growing area will increase the over all light level in the room by up to 7%, depending on how close the light system is to the walls. Almost 98% of the light striking mylar will be reflected. Mylar is a metallic film that is similar to a paper thin mirror that is either taped or tacked to the walls in a growing area.

Attention Minnesota in-store customers. The prices for certain products, (example lighting systems) may be higher at our retail location. (3440 Belt Line Blvd St. Louis Pk, MN. 55416) We apologize for any misunderstandings this may cause. Please call to confirm our in-store prices.

All dimensions in feet