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Type of bulb

  • Thread starter RAWCOLA
  • Start date
ok, so i hve a "spot-gro" bulb. couldnt get white warm flourescent cause of the size and socket type.
this bulb says br 30 bulb what does that mean
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?
its also 65 watts and 120V
instructions say for best results 1-3 foot close to plant and never closer than a foot, what would be optimal for me specifically.thanks
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It sounds to me like you bought an incandescent gro-light. These put out a lot of heat, that's why they can't go near your plant. Put it in a lamp made for those bulbs (they should sell it where you got the bulb, and it should be pretty cheap) and make sure the plant doesn't get too close, or it will get burned.

I don't think incandescents are ever the best way to go, but if that's what you have, you might as well use it.

Check out the lighting FAQ under Terrariums and Greenhouses. There's a lot of info there.
 
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (D muscipula @ April 30 2003,01:44)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
well yeah its a temporary thing so i can get enough light every day without frying my plant.... i can return it in 90dys when i have more money and no worries, i plan to get the terrarium that pft sells and a light fixture like another member suggests, soon i will have money, lets hope i dont kill my plant by then, it seems to like to be left alone
 
That would be a good idea. And wht are you going to do with the plants later you said the plants are temporary?
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Nepenthes aren't touchy feely kinds of plants, they like to be left alone. You can touch them every now and then but just let them grow and climb where they want to. They don't mind if you stand back a few feet and yell your love to them at the top of your lungs but maybe they wouldn't like that either.
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A better alternative would be a coolwhite compact fluorescent bulb that screws into a normal fixture. One of those in that clip on aluminum reflector makes a nice little light that can go fairly close to the plant without burning. They also put out light that is much more useful for plant growth.

Tony
 
</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Phil traper2 @ April 30 2003,01:55)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
well i plan on temporary lights.....
im not planning for a temporary plant
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</span><table border="0" align="center" width="95%" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="1"><tr><td>Quote (Tony Paroubek @ April 30 2003,02:06)</td></tr><tr><td id="QUOTE">[/QUOTE]<span id='postcolor'>
where would i get one of these, the store i went to a lady showed me one spot, its a plant store, ndsid allthe bulbs are there !. i do need a warm white tho for heat in summer since my house is air conditioned.
whats anluminum reflector ?
why is it more useful ?
 
Any home improvement store or hardware store sells them. They look like a big lightbulb with a tightly twisted fluorescent coil. Sometimes there is a cover over them sometimes not. You can screw them into any regular lightbulb socket.

The aluminum reflector is something you can get again at any home improvement store or hardware store. It is basically a light socket with a metal reflector and a base that looks like a big set of tongs.

They are better because fluorescent lights are more efficient so cheaper to run, create less heat, and produce more blue light than incandescent which is more beneficial to the plant. Warm white is not an indication of how much heat the bulb puts out. It is a general term for the color of the bulb. Warm light has more red/yellow in it which gives everything a 'warm' rosy glow. Plants mostly use blue light for photosynthesis. So a cool white bulb is preferable since it has more blue than the warm white type.
Tony
 
  • #10
type in ALminium reflector on google image and you well see why. the reflector reflecs any light that goes to the sid of the coolwhite bulb so all the ligh goes down to the plants and does it work.
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  • #11
sounds good i will buy this stuff soon as i have some cash.
 
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