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metal halides

Nepfreak

Nepfreak

Nepenthesian
This summer, I'll be working on a new setup for my highland Nepenthes, and I'll need a light that will provide enough light at a distance of four feet. I was thinking a 400W metal halide, would that work? I'm a bit confused about the different kinds of fixtures. There are flood light fixtures, wall fixtures, and all of these other weird fixtures. What's the best kind for CPs? Also, how much would this end up costing me? So many questions! Sorry if this has been answered before, I did run a search but didn't get much ???
Thanks,
Ben
 
You could probably use a flood light... but for about the same price I'd get a horticultural one if I were you. 400 watts is fine for a 4 x 4 area. Maybe even a 6 x 6 area, as I've never used one more than 250 watts (which I use for a four foot area just fine.)

This is a good, cheap one starting at like... 270 IIRC. Look around the site. There are also compact models with the ballast in the casing. They are fine if you can accommodate the heat.
http://homeharvest.com/hydrofarmSuperGrowProVBMH.htm

I wasn't paying attention to that link above, but if you have a choice between magnetic and electronic, get electronic.
 
Wow... that sounds pretty sweet. I have a 600 watt HPS (high pressure sodium) which I can buy a conversion bulb for (for metal halide). I have been wondering how I might use this to grow my CPs, but it seems like the heat would be outta control... But if I can cover as much area as it sounds like I can, maybe I should try it out. Any thoughts? Sorry for asking in this thread, I just thought it seemed related.
 
Add a fan or two if you can. Put it in an area (like a basement) that's big and can let the heat spread out (and basements are naturally cooler anyway), and figure out a way to remove the ballast from the casing and put it farther away from the terrarium. Can't help you with that, I'm not into tearing things apart but I'm sure it's not that hard. An electrician could probably do it, no problem.

Or just use it to grow lowlanders who don't mind the heat.

I like the Ushio brand HPS to MH conversion lamps. Out of all of the 250 watt lamps I looked at, Ushio made the highest Kelvin rating (conversion lamps aren't usually as blue as true MH) I could find. It's... I want to say 5,500K
 
The reflector I have has holes for using aluminum ventilation tubes (ducting tubes), and the ballast is completely separate. I don't have a basement though =/ (San Diego homes I guess). What Kelvin rating am I looking for in a conversion bulb? I can't recall the optimum CRI for Nepenthes. (I would use the search function but I know ppl have different preferences.)
 
Try and get one around 6,500 K If you can find it. Conversion lamps just don't get very "high" K temperatures unfortunately. Anything around there is good, up to 10,000 K tops but you're not going to find that in a conversion lamp (I promise!) Don't worry too much about the CRI. That just measures how close it looks to natural sunlight

Here's a good graph to use at a glance when buying your light. And BTW, I looked up my lamp (just for you!) and it was 5,200K and 85 CRI. You know what that looks like from my pics.

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0e/Color_temperature.svg

I looked on Ebay for you (that's where I got mine with no problems) and This is the highest K. temp 600 watt conversion lamp I could find. However, it's about 30 dollars cheaper than the others so It's up to you. It could be fine, or it could be crap. I did a google search and all of the pot forums (all that came up lmao) didn't have much to say about them (good OR bad) but one said they thought it was a "Generic" bulb. Someone said it might not last as long. Up to you. I've always heard to not buy the cheap lamps because you get what you pay for, but this might be cheap since it's surplus or something. I've done enough research for you, now it's your turn lol :)

http://cgi.ebay.com/GrowBright-600-...ryZ42225QQrdZ1QQssPageNameZWD1VQQcmdZViewItem
 
If heat will be a problem, and in my experiance it always was, you may want to concider the new T5 fluorscents. I found this one on Ebay and the shipping was a tad less at his website. http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=51907 or http://cgi.ebay.com/Compact-T5-FLUO...6432630QQihZ008QQcategoryZ42225QQcmdZViewItem. It's the right spectrum at 6400K and at 10,000 lumens that you can put inches rather than 4100K, 38,000 lumens Metal Halide several feet from the plants, you'll get equal or better growth and without the heat.
 
Well... I can't really afford to put it just inches away... Nepenthes vine, and they're tall. I will have a cooling system. I'm going to do what rlhirst did, get a shower, put it in the coolest part of the house (unfinished basement, always in the 60s F at the highest, 50s at night) and have an inline fan sucking air out the top and shooting it back under the plants. So yes, I will actually rely on the heat from a MH to warm the enclosure up to 85-ish in the daytime.
Oh, and does anyone know how I might be able to contact rlhirst?
 
  • #10
Awesome! Thanks for the info. Clint :). I think I am going to look into such a bulb.

thbjr: I currently use T5 HO fluorescents, but I was thinking of using the Metal Halide to cover a larger growing area. Right now the T5's produce a lot of heat already, so maybe I will have to stick with them until I can resolve that issue... Summer will be deadly... so then again, maybe I can just make a grow chamber for lowlanders with the Metal Halide.

Thx for the input everyone :).
 
  • #11
I have a 400W and a 1000W (and yet the police still have not come over...)

I use the 400W in my crawlspace for the highlanders and cool growing plants. It is on a track and mounted 45cm above things like Drosera and 75cm above the Neps. Works great that way.

I use the 1000W in the sunroom for whatever I have in there which is currently the tuberous Drosera and a few other odds and ends. It is 1.5m above the plants.

The 400W does not produce much heat, the 1000W is basically a miniature oven, even at 1.5m I can feel the heat from it.

For a bulb I am using the AgriSun Gold which is a combo Na/MH so provides both ends of the spectrum.
 
  • #12
Well I am considering buying a 400 watt mh with a 5 year warranty for under $300 maybe I should try ??? Well there is a possibilty of moving Back to Hawaii again so it may not be needed...... You can get good deals there is a place online where you can bid on police confiscated growlights and stuff. You pick it up somewhere in LA I think......
 
  • #13
Do you notice any difference in the electricity bill at all? 400W is a lot of watts! Also, my parents are concerned that it will be a fire hazard. Is there any real danger in the plants catching on fire or something? Sorry, lots of questions..
 
  • #14
Nepfreak said:
Do you notice any difference in the electricity bill at all? 400W is a lot of watts!
Click to expand...

Well my electric is high but in addition to the 400W I have the 1000W plus 2x shoplights, 2x 3 bulb CF light hoods, 4x CF, incandescent, tube combo hoods (each with a 26W CF a 60-100W incandescent and 24" tube), 5' of 5W/foot heat tape, 3' of 20W/foot heat tape, a 2m heat cable and 2 50 aquarium heaters. And then there are all the "regular" electrical things like TV, normal light fixtures, etc... So... I can not give you an exact amount of how much it increased.

Also, my parents are concerned that it will be a fire hazard. Is there any real danger in the plants catching on fire or something? Sorry, lots of questions..
Click to expand...

If you are allowing flammable material to come into contact with the bulb then there is a potential fire hazard but so long as nothing is touching the bulb/hood then there is no major danger.
 
  • #15
I think im doing this correctly.... but based upon a 16/8 photoperiod and $0.12 per Kw Hour

400w x 16hr = 6.4Kw Hour

6.4Kw x $0.12 = $0.768 per day

$0.768 x 30 days = $23.04 per month

actual cost will be higher due to ballast ineffciencies.. these numbers are for the bulb itself, using the information listed on the ballast data plate will be more accurate

assuming an 85% efficiency = $27.11 per month

this will give ya something to show the 'rents, "it's less then a dollar a day mom..."

Av
 
  • #16
I think our bill increased 20 dollars a month for a 250 watt system. Give or take, could be 18 dollars, could be 22! Magnetic ballast instead of electronic. It's worth ever penny.
 
  • #18
Well I get power for 7 cents per killo watt ,
For my 55 gallon tank since it is going to be for drosera and other things(I am going media on the bottom with sloping for corkscrews and urtics) I may do a compact 250 watt warm metal halide setup not sure though may use powerfull 150 watt cfls
 
  • #19
OK, thinking I might not do the whole shower enclosure thing after all. I'm 15 and when I go to college and get a house... carrying around a shower stall would be weird. And if I can change my mind that fast, I figure I should try something a bit more portable than a shower:crazy: Maybe something to try later on...
Instead, I'm going to try my luck at petiolaris complex dews. I have a 30 gallon terrarium that I could lay on its side, and hook up with one of those 20,000 lumen 4 foot T5 light fixtures that guy has on his eBay store. Then, I could add a reptile heating cable, put a false bottom of eggcrate for the pots to sit on, maybe put in some sphagnum for the natural look, and throw in da plants, namely petiolaris hybrids and some lowland neps like amps. A bit more portable than a shower, but gives me something to do this summer :) Any feedback?
This isn't all relevant to the original topic, though. Everyone else who's benefited from this thread can use it to ask questions about lighting, or whatever.
 
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