hydrofarm grow lights, ballast, reflector

Easy to assemble, super bright natural light. Within a week I see the plants looking towards this lamp as it has a light spectrum closer to the sun than anything else I have. Will get another one soon.

UPDATE: 4/15/2010:: Bought a second unit via Amazon.. They must have recently changed design as now it is a bit different from the picture. Exactly same bulb(very bright/very good) but the mogel base is different. The older design (pictured) has elongated base with the electrical cord coming out of the rear totally clearing the back of the dew guard (reflector). This allowed the unit to be flush against a wall (vertical mount)or ceiling (horizontal mount) or on any flat surface and project its light outwards.

The new version: the rear end is shorter and the electrical cord is coming out of the back. This causes the unit to not be able to lie completely flush against any surface. Out-of-the-box it will be tilted some at best. To remedy this, I bent... Read more

Arrived in good condition. It's hard to imagine how it could get broken the way it was packed; very professional packaging. The quality is good and the unit works as expected. Bright enough for my small (1.25' X 4') hydroponic lettuce garden. For a small area or for supplemental light in a larger area, this unit is perfect. It is nice that it can handle a 200W fluorescent bulb and comes with bulb supports for both the 125W and 200W bulbs.

Okay that title is a bit much. But this lamp makes me happy. At only 125 watts, I finally have something that works, unlike those lights which call themselves the sun then fail to make my plants want to do anything other than shrivel up and die.

It turns out that, for me, I can't use just LEDs and had to supplement them with 100-watt equivalent flouros I'd bought from Home Depot. This was okay, but awkward to adjust and aim the light.

So I got this thing and hung it, and it works beautifully for about three flower pots, all I need.

Then, when I had to move it, I found I could just set it on the desk upright, not even hanging, and arrange my plants around it, and it still works. The plants are growing better than ever, in a very small space, and I didn't even have to hang the thing.

It's cheap, it's sturdy, and it takes hardly any wattage. It is, in effect, awesome.