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Lighting plants at night

  • Thread starter Veronis
  • Start date
Is there a type of light you can use to light your plants at night that they can't see, so I don't disturb their 'overnight' period?
 
Black. :lol:











Honestly, now. Try green.

We did a study in school, they don't photosynthesize well in green light. Of course, you won't see them well, either. ;)
 
I keep the lights on 24h a day in one of my tanks. Other than the obvious power issues, it didn't do any harm to the plants, which were lowland neps and some drosera. I had to do it this way since I used some really hold light fixtures that couldn't turn on unless I was there to flick the bulbs or something. Of course I can't bring myself to do that every morning, so 24h it is.

I'm pretty sure most plants do not care if the light is on 24/7. They can do the dark cycle even when there is light. The only problem I can think of is with temperate species that require a light cycle to regulate dormancy, or with highland neps, which -may- require a day/night light difference (maybe it'll only need the temp difference and it is not dependent on light).

But if 24/7 isn't a possibility, then yea, use green, really red, or black lights :p .
 
There are some green bulbs sold for that purpose, but I think that blacklights might be better. Or something with a deep red or yellow filter, like a darkroom light but dimmer. I was curious for a while about trying to find a combination of bulbs to resemble moonlight, but never came to any conclusions about it.
~Joe
 
How about one of those moonlight LEDs for reef tanks? Corals photosynthesize during the day but they run those "night lights" for them.

My main query would be why do you want to see the plants at night? Corals and inverts do different different things at night than they do during the day but most plants don't do anything exciting in the dark (some Mimosa species fold up their leaves). I did have that one Nep that would put on an all black uniform and go crime fighting in the highland chamber but it was a real rarity - you probly can't get those anymore... :D
 
I'm looking into this because I'm up late and I'd like to be able to look over my plants without turning their light on - occasionally I work on them at night for over half an hour (trimming, etc.), and it's really hard to do that in the dark. I might try a black light or look into the moonlight LED.

In the summer it was easier because I still had daylight after their light turned off - this time of year it gets dark much earlier though.

I suppose I could drag a lamp over every time I want to work on them, but a more permanent solution would be preferable.
 
Silly question but...
Wouldn't a normal incandescent light you probably have in the room work? These do not give off the type of light needed for photosynthesis anyway and due to it's distance from the plants wouldn't contribute much even if it did?
 
When I go stargazing I use a headlamp covered with red plastic so as not to ruin my nightvision - you might try that. Some plants are still sensitive to far-red light, even if it's fairly dim, so try at your own risk.
~Joe
 
Silly question but...
Wouldn't a normal incandescent light you probably have in the room work? These do not give off the type of light needed for photosynthesis anyway and due to it's distance from the plants wouldn't contribute much even if it did?

Not a silly question. The room that they're in doesn't have a light close enough to cast any useable light on the plants. I have to unplug the lamp and bring it over to the plants.

I was just going to buy a cheap lamp and keep it closer to the plants, like you suggested, but I started thinking of the possibility that yielded this thread - can I keep one that's timed to turn on over night that only uses a few watts and keep my plants visible at night? Good responses so far; it gives me stuff to research. :)
 
  • #11
In my online readings I've come across info that people who grow certain plants keep a green incandescent "party bulb" in their grow area so they can work on their plants at night. This is because the plants' dark hours don't get interrupted when using a green light.
 
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