It has been SO LONG since I have grown CPs that I have a CFL bulb needing replaced and actually thought I could get some at Lowes/Home Depot still! XD Boy was I surprised to see the complete takeover of LEDs! Moving on to strip light LEDs is the perfect time right now as I am just coming back into CPs after a job change, move and big life change.
Sorry to add another LED lighting question, but I have been doing all my thorough research and felt good about my decision until the units arrived in the post today.
Long story short: I bought Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Light and don't like them. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7OTHTC/ref=twister_B00EAZ469W?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
@Elgecko, where you at, my friend!? I saw your messages twice in my research of older threads and saw you liked them and they appeared to give me what @Naoki was trying to teach me to build here at: http://orchidborealis.blogspot.com/search/label/LED without having to build them. I felt that the extra money was worth the ease of an Amazon purchase and wait 2-days over getting together tools I don't have and take the time to build the DIY Samsung Linear LED.
But now I am confused whether I have a good enough product in Current USA or if my best bet is building some DIY LED Strip lights or some T8 LED Fixtures. Especially confused because the info out there on LEDs gets outdated so fast and there might be something way smarter out there.
Anyone have experience with these lights?
Elgecko or Naoki, you guys around to see this by chance?
I am curious about the following:
I don't want to have to keep FOUR $35 lights per 10-gallon tank of growing space when I can just get T5s or T8 fixtures from Lowes and be done.
LASTLY, MY GROWING SPACE
A discussion on lighting is pretty useless without explaining my growing space.
Current Look of my space with old CFL box and using the Spectralux HO fixture
PLANS
Any feedback on the Lights is greatly appreciated and if you read on to the plans of my growspace, any thoughts are welcome too. Glad to be growing CPs again in this new apartment and hope I can get the right lights for an easy on the eyes LED setup.
Thanks!
Sorry to add another LED lighting question, but I have been doing all my thorough research and felt good about my decision until the units arrived in the post today.
Long story short: I bought Current USA Satellite Freshwater LED Light and don't like them. https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00C7OTHTC/ref=twister_B00EAZ469W?_encoding=UTF8&psc=1
@Elgecko, where you at, my friend!? I saw your messages twice in my research of older threads and saw you liked them and they appeared to give me what @Naoki was trying to teach me to build here at: http://orchidborealis.blogspot.com/search/label/LED without having to build them. I felt that the extra money was worth the ease of an Amazon purchase and wait 2-days over getting together tools I don't have and take the time to build the DIY Samsung Linear LED.
But now I am confused whether I have a good enough product in Current USA or if my best bet is building some DIY LED Strip lights or some T8 LED Fixtures. Especially confused because the info out there on LEDs gets outdated so fast and there might be something way smarter out there.
Anyone have experience with these lights?
Elgecko or Naoki, you guys around to see this by chance?
I am curious about the following:
- Replacing my old CFL bulbs is QUITE a drop in visible light. But these are LEDs compared to CFLs so quite a difference in Lumens. Are two 18-24 inch Current USA LED Strip Lights equivalent to say 4 CFL Bulbs as far as the plants are concerned? Even though it looks dim to me?
- Are the LEDs in these Current USA setups comparable to the strips Naoki recommends in their 2-year old blogpost referring to Samsung H-Series Linear LEDs? I try to use numbers to compare but they just don't come with comparable numbers to a layman to LEDs. For instance, Naoki refers to Luminous Flux and efficacy that is lumen/w. The number on the box states 300 Total Lumens. (That number was not written anywhere online by the way...) So the Total lumens of 300 is way low to my old use of CFLs of course, but seems way too low for Naoki's numbers that are in the 1000s for luminous flux and way too high for Naoki's efficacy numbers. My best guess is that Naoki has more LEDs than I have on this 18-24 Inch Current USA strip and if I add up the 300 lumens of all four that I bought it would be comparable but I am at a loss for feeling confidant there...
I don't want to have to keep FOUR $35 lights per 10-gallon tank of growing space when I can just get T5s or T8 fixtures from Lowes and be done.
LASTLY, MY GROWING SPACE
A discussion on lighting is pretty useless without explaining my growing space.
Current Look of my space with old CFL box and using the Spectralux HO fixture
PLANS
- I would love to move from my really hot CFLs and Spectralux HO fixture to something that runs cool
- Move all drosera over to the Tray Method like the Pings and run the lights as close as I can to the plants.
- Keep the Highland Neps in that tank
- Use the other 10-gallon tank for lowland neps and plants that are okay without a drop below 70f
- That shelf can be modified and another level added. So I will be resizing the gaps based on the lights. I can lay the LED tracks above the plants on a rack if I make the gaps closer.
Any feedback on the Lights is greatly appreciated and if you read on to the plans of my growspace, any thoughts are welcome too. Glad to be growing CPs again in this new apartment and hope I can get the right lights for an easy on the eyes LED setup.
Thanks!