Artificial hydroponics lights are a must have for any gardener that is serious about growing his plants, but making the right choice around them is not always very easy.

Most specialists will probably agree that your two main options should be fluorescent and high intensity discharge lamps, but you really should give each type of hydroponics light a detailed look before rushing in for a decision.

HID vs Fluorescent Hydroponic Lighting

Superman or Spiderman? McDonalds or Burger King? Friends or Seinfeld? Our life is pretty much a string of these very tough, close-call choices and don't think you're off the hook if just because you picked hydroponics, a field that is new enough not to have any traditional hard decisions.

Still, one aspect of hydroponic systems is becoming hotter and hotter, namely the light source you should use to shine over your plants. Obviously, there are a lot of choices, but in the end, the most popular types of hydroponics lights are fluorescent ones and high intensity discharge (HID) lamps.

I recommend you buy your lamps from a trusted hydroponics store that offers a large variety of lightning products, cheap to expensive.

First off, I'm going to introduce you in both of these concepts, then I'm going to try and figure out a few pros and cons for each.

Fluorescent Hydroponics Lights: Introduction

Fluorescent lights were often deemed the poor hydroponics gardener's choice, but in truth, advancements have been made in the field and nowadays, fluorescent hydroponics lights are competitive and some prefer them to HID lights for efficiency reasons, not just for their lower costs.

Fluorescent lights can be split up into two categories, namely standard lights and CFL's, or compact fluorescent lamps. They both use mercury and argon as a source to power the light, but they only need a small internal pressure to operate, which gives them a lot of advantages (we'll see them in a bit).

Here's a detailed view on what fluorescent hydroponics lights are all about and an introduction to the apparent pros and cons of each choice in your setup.

Fluorescent Hydroponics Light: Pros

• saves you a lot of power/money in the long run
• they can provide the two main color temperatures, blue and red for your plants
• requires a small space to be set up
• doesn't produce a lot of heat, thus are less prone to heat-related accidents or altering the temperature inside your greenhouse
• cheap, both in the initial bid and in the long run

Fluorescent Hydroponics Lights: Cons

• not powerful enough to light up a larger area
• produce less yield than HID's
• lacks auxiliary colors from the light spectrum, such as green or orange, colors that are used by several plants for short whiles

High Intensity Discharge Hydroponics Lights: Introduction

HID lights are pretty much considered top of the trade right now. A few advantages of Metal Halide Lamps is that they offer the most intense shine and the widest range of spectrum color temperatures. Working on an immense internal high pressure, HID lights generate a lot of heat and consume large amounts of power.

Generally, the best HID's are preferred in larger areas, where more intensity is needed, although they work equally well in close quarters.

High Intensity Discharge Hydroponics Lights: Pros

• they are a very intense light source
• they can cover large areas
• can output most of the color temperatures needed by plants, including auxiliary one

High Intensity Discharge Hydroponics Lights: Cons

• expensive
• power hungry
• require a lot of space to set up
• heat up quickly and intensely, being a possible source of injury, especially when combined with high humidity levels