Do I need special lights?

[gren0ble12]

I’m just starting out with hydroponics and wondering if I need special grow lights. I’ve been using a regular desk lamp for my lettuce, but growth seems slow. Do hydroponics setups need specific lights?

 

[lavenderfields02]

I tried the desk lamp trick too when I first started, and my lettuce barely grew. Then I switched to a basic LED grow light from Amazon and wow, the difference was huge. Hydroponics really needs that full-spectrum light to copy the sun.