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Enough light ?

Im currently using a 10 gallon terrarium to grow cephalotus, heliamphora, mexican butterworts and some drosera. the question i have is do i have enought light ? im using two 18inch t8 fixtures. one is a cool white 15ww bulb, and the other is a natural sunshine 15ww bulb. is that enough ?

kgrudz
 
I'm still pretty new, so don't take my word for it.. BUT, I'd say the cool white may have no effect on them and you should try to get at least 30W bulbs. But then again, that does seem like a lot of light for a little 10gal., which is good. More light the better..
 
The most important thing to a plant is the color rating and amount of lumens it produces. I believe anywhere between 6500k and 4000k and the more lumens the better.
 
The most important thing to a plant is the color rating and amount of lumens it produces. I believe anywhere between 6500k and 4000k and the more lumens the better.

Most of us noobs have no idea what that means. In fact, I still don't..
 
Well, the color temperature rating is the different light wavelengths the light produces. 6500k is what we see here in the north, and is blueish. 5000k is what you would see on the equator. Its important because plants can only use certain colors of light to make sugars, for example, green light is useless. Lumens is just a unit used to measure the amount of light there is. More lumens = more energy a plant can trap in sugars.
 
Minimum for neps, mexi pings, and other (relatively) low light species is 3,000 lumens, so I'd say about 6,000 lumens for the helis and cephs.

By the way, n00bs (like me) can figure out color rating and lumens fairly easily... just look on the box that you got the lightbulb in! :-O
 
just look on the box that you got the lightbulb in! :-O

what if our bulbs came from friends and without a box? ???

I'm using:

2 ~ 35 watt T12 Sunshine lights
1 ~ 35 watt T8 Dalight light
 
what kind of bulbs produce a lot of lumens. all of the t8's at homedepot that were between 4100k-6500k dont go above 950 lumens. so where can i get a stronger bulb ?
 
what kind of bulbs produce a lot of lumens. all of the t8's at homedepot that were between 4100k-6500k dont go above 950 lumens. so where can i get a stronger bulb ?

try Lowe's.. they seem to have more to offer than Home Depot.
 
  • #10
i have purchased one from lowes as well. anything for 18in is only 15ww. so i dont no how people can get the many lumens for a 10 gal tank by using this size
 
  • #11
Those sound fine, I would just buy 1 more fixture for them. If you place a reflective surface in the area you are growing them it will help make the area brighter. (If you place aluminum foil on the sides and the bottom, or even use mirrors/buy mylar.) I would see how they do before you decide it isn't good enough. If they aren't working out you could invest in T5 fixtures. They are more efficient then T8 and last longer, though they produce a lot of heat and can be costly to buy in the beginning.
 
  • #12
so for my 10 gal i have a total of 1580 lumens. everything is growing fine (except my ceph, its healthy just doesnt grow much) and that is enough ?
 
  • #13
I would try and get that a little higher if you can. Also a nice and long photo period will help in lower light levels.
 
  • #14
i have about a 16hour photoperiod. im trying to find mylar. who sells it ?
 
  • #15
The florescent tubes don't usually put out many lumens, by nature. If you want a LOT of lumens, use high intensity discharge lamps (HIDs) like metal halide (the best), mercury vapor, or sodium vapor lamps. The mercury vapor and sodium vapor lamps tend to emit more in one end of the spectrum and little in the other (mercury = too much blue/violet, sodium vapor = too much yellow/red). Metal halide lamps produce an extremely bright blue-white light that is amazing for plant growth. However, these lamps are not for small spaces; they emit as much heat as they do light, and produce way too much light for a ten-gallon. They are also sooooo expensive!!!

By the way, something to consider is that lux (luminous flux: lumens/meters^2) is just as important as lumens. A smaller space will need less lumens than a larger one.
 
  • #16
I believe online hydroponics stores will sell it. If you can't find them mirrors look really cool in a terrarium. (they make then look bigger.)
 
  • #17
I believe online hydroponics stores will sell it. If you can't find them mirrors look really cool in a terrarium. (they make then look bigger.)

I have to agree! My grow box is mirrored on 3 of 4 sides. Looks like never ending plants..
 
  • #18
thanks for the help. to obtain the most amount of lumens i raised my terrarium on my other grow shelf so that my mounted 4ft fixture is on the back side of the terrarium. then i have 2 18in fixtures on the top. so i have a total of about 4800 lumens now. im looking around the house for any extra mirrors and if not ill be purchasin some mylar.
 
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