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So.. I've been thinking about this for awhile. And Brokken's most recent updates have fueled my want to get this underway. I want to lessen the light intensity from my T5's. My moss is burning, my plants are slighty sun burnt, and I feel they'd grow and pitcher better with less INTENSE light. My rational for this is kind of stupid, but logical. The plants furthest from the T5's are growing faster, bigger, and pitchering more frequently than the ones directly underneath it. AND, the pitchers are bigger than the one's on the plants closer to it. I've come up with a couple solutions, feel free to offer any others you may have. BUT, changing lights, spending money, or moving the GH itself are out of the question.
Here's what I'm thinking.. I can either:
1. Take the tables out and drop the plants to the floor. But.. where do I put the A/C? And is that TOO far from the lights for the smaller plants?
2. Drape something under the T5 fixture to filter the light. But.. would that be a fire hazard? And how would that affect heat build up?

Also, I have added extra insulation to the back wall to keep the cool air in, and the hot air from the window out.
I took some pics this evening.. None of which really turned out, or meet my very low standards of a quality GH thread pic. I didn't want to just delete them all, nor did I feel they were worthy of my picture thread. So.. take a gander and offer any suggestions, thoughts, or ideas you may have. As you can see, I've already dropped the ceph, VFT, and sarr trays down a bit.


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Pay no attention to the ugly Hummer's Giant there. It just came in, and it's only been a few days since I took 32 leaf cuttings from it. :awesome:

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Like.. this pitcher seems a bit small for a plant this size.

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I don't think your light is too intense. Your plants just need to adjust. Sometimes it takes months up to a year before the plant will begin growing well.
 
Do you think if I removed the tables, the plants would suffer.. or profit by being further from the lights?
 
Hard to say. Some may benefit while others suffer. Having more vertical space will definitely be an advantage once your neps begin to vine though.
 
bending over to pick them up off the ground to move them gets old after a bit. Slab concrete might add cooling affect....
 
Yeah.. I was thinking about both of those facts. I know it's just a matter of time before the tables will HAVE to be removed. As far as benefiting and suffering.. I know my albomarginatas, and truncata stuff LOVE being directly under the lights. While things like my N. x Trusmadiensis, spec x aristo, and aristolochoides seem to only pitcher off to the side a bit. Wish I could find some sort of step style rack with built in trays. If I wasn't such a tool, I could just build one. But I'm not exactly a handy man.
Hmm.. concrete eh'? Cooling isn't really the issue though since the AC unit easily cools the entire space evenly. It's just the crazy intensity of light from the T5HO's.
 
You could always remove one bulb from your fixtures and cover the light slots with something so water/humidity doesn't short out the rest of the lights.
 
What if you moved the light fixture to the other side of the ceiling then angled it towards the plants? that way you wouldn't have to move so many plants or put up any sort of filter.
 
What if you moved the light fixture to the other side of the ceiling then angled it towards the plants? that way you wouldn't have to move so many plants or put up any sort of filter.

I like it!! Now why didn't I think of that?
 
  • #10
What if you moved the light fixture to the other side of the ceiling then angled it towards the plants? that way you wouldn't have to move so many plants or put up any sort of filter.

Again.. this is a great idea. I took a look and figured out exactly what I'm going to do. Gonna be a busy busy day in the GH. :rolleyes:
... To Be Continued.
 
  • #11
Now I'm interested in seeing what you came up with haha
 
  • #12
Wanna know what I do?.......grow the light lovers under the light...the shade lovers go around the perimeter of the chamber.
 
  • #13
Wanna know what I do?.......grow the light lovers under the light...the shade lovers go around the perimeter of the chamber.

Wish it were that easy Mark. Gotta remember I have a lot more plants than you. So trying to use the limited space and one real light for all of them is more of a pain than you'd think. ;)

So rehanging this fixture was not as easy as I planned. It's got stupid cables rather than chains, so it was almost impossible to hang it at an angle. Once I got it where I wanted, the light was way too soft and far away. So.. I had to RE-rehang it. I think I've got it just right. Angled slighty to face the plants, far enough away to avoid burning, yet close enough to aid healthy growth. Only time will tell if this will help everyone or not.
Also, the instant change in light conditions showed an instant affect on the plants. Many of my upcoming pitchers popped prematurely. Four neps with upcoming pitchers all popped them open early, at almost the exact same time.


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SG N. eymae x jacq may just be a coincidence. I think it was just time for this one to pop.

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N. spectabilis x truncata

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SG N. (fusca x veitchii) x coplandii 'Mt. Apo' opened WAY early!!

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N. 'Viscarla' also opened WAY early.. See what I see, just to the left of the pitcher? BASAL!!

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And "Vigorous Clumping" even opened a pitcher at the same time as the neps.

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  • #14
Hey it looks good!
Hopefully it's not too dark now so you don't have to mess with rearranging that light fixture again.
 
  • #15
Hey it looks good!
Hopefully it's not too dark now so you don't have to mess with rearranging that light fixture again.

Hopefully.. I'm thinking worst case scenario I'll just have to rearrange a few plants.
 
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