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Terrarium lighting

Hello,

I bought my first terrarium a few days ago.
50cm width, 50cm height and an awesome 160 cm in length. 400 liter / 105 gallon volume. \o/
It’s gonna be a greenhouse style terrarium, just pots it large square water tray (for at least 2 pots each row).

http://mywebpage.netscape.com/PhyrexianIV/emptyterrarium.jpg

My biggest problem currently is the lighting...
I’m planning on buying a 58 watt dual fitting which fits perfectly over the terrarium.
And I’m also taping the backside and the 2 sides with a reflective material.

My questions:

1) Are 2 GroLux 58 watt lights enough over the terrarium? Or should I use 3 or even 4?
2) Can too much (artificial) light harm the plants?
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Any other information about this subject I should know is also appreciated.
 
Welcome to the Forum Phyrex.  I'm sure 2 tubes will "get you by" when growing carnivorous plants, but 3 or even 4 would be better, of course.  There are a lot of factors, like the thickness of glass/plastic you are covering the top of the terrarium with, the distance the plants are below the tubes, the kind of plants you are growing, etc, etc.

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]2) Can too much (artificial) light harm the plants?

Yes I believe so, but that won't be a problem in your setup no matter how many bulbs you decide to use.  Ultimately, the plants will show you if they are happy or not, until then we can only speculate.

hope this helps,

Homer
 
I would hang two dual 4 foot shoplights above the tank. (122cm)
That way you have four 40 watt long flourescent bulbs.  A total of 160 watts.

You can get two cool and two warm to mix the spectrum or something similiar.
For best results - flourescents need to be really close to the plants as possible though, without anything between them like glass or plastic.

Here they are at Home Depot for 8 buks each. Dual 4 Foot Shoplight.
 
Thanks for the responses

[b said:
Quote[/b] ]
There are a lot of factors, like the thickness of glass/plastic you are covering the top of the terrarium with, the distance the plants are below the tubes, the kind of plants you are growing, etc, etc.

Currently I haven’t got a covering. Do I really need one? The sides of the terrarium have about 10 cm glass on top leaving the effective opening only 26 cm. With a light on top I think it’s pretty much covered already (for humidity) or are there any other reasons?

Distance to the plants might be a factor indeed because it’s reasonable high (50 cm). Should I raise the plants, if so; what height away from the top?

Plants I’m growing? Well currently about one of all species (N.Alata/Cephalotus/Dionaea - Royal Red/...).
biggrin.gif

I’m not planning on moving all the plants right away into the terrarium because they are very happy on the sunny windowsill they stand. It’s just for future plants. (Soon)
I’m not quite sure where I’ll specialize in. I especially like Cephalotus at the moment.
smile.gif


What plant types don’t require a dormancy anyway? Having a well filled terrarium all year long seems more pleasant to me to be honest. (I’m also planning on getting a N.Bicalcarata some day. ^^)

Anyway, as you can see I still have a lot of questions but most important is a good light setup first.
 
I don't think you can provide too much artificial lighting, now too much heat from the lights is another story. Perhaps with IF you had like 4 MH's over a plant.........maybe, though the heat would be the likely cause.

Joe
 
You may need some sorta of top to keep the humidity in.  I would purchase a digital Temp and Humidity gauge.

But you also need some kind of air circulation, so don't totally cover it.

Plants can be within 1 inch of a flourescent.  That's where it is most effective.  Flourescents lose alot of strength the further they are from the plants.  You can raise the plants or lower the light.

About Dormancy, someone else could answer that as I donno too many species yet and how they do.  I think Butterworts and some Sundews can be grown year round and most neps.

Here is my new setup: Look how the light is hanging.
smile.gif

terrarium.jpg
 
[b said:
Quote[/b] (LESLIEx317537 @ July 08 2004,2:33)]I would hang two dual 4 foot shoplights above the tank. (122cm)
That way you have four 40 watt long flourescent bulbs.  A total of 160 watts.

You can get two cool and two warm to mix the spectrum or something similiar.
For best results - flourescents need to be really close to the plants as possible though, without anything between them like glass or plastic.

Here they are at Home Depot for 8 buks each. Dual 4 Foot Shoplight.
2 x 58 watt is 116.
4 x 36 is 144
Only 28 difference. I think I rather use the 58 watt shoplights since it covers it nicely and most important: doesn't leave certain area's 'unlighted' (directly).
I think I could fit 2(4 bulbs in total) of them next to eachother but I'll have to check out the sizes.

But wouldn't 232 watt in total be serious overkill? I could add 3 (174) and maybe one normal lamp for a better viewing spectrum?
 
232 watts of Flourescents would be awesome.  50 watts per square foot is nice.  Plus they would run cooler than any other 232 watt setup.

Where did you get 4 x 36 and not 4 x 40 watts?  Are they just labled as 40 watters when they are only 36
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BTW, my Fluorex setup above is pumping out 65watts of 6500K color to those plants which are about 3-4 inches from the bulb. It's about 65 watts in a small 1 1/2 foot square area.
 
A 58 watt shoplight can’t be lowered in my terrarium though.
biggrin.gif

I think I’ll simply raise the small plants while the larger plants (nepenthes for example) simply stand on the buttom.


40 watt? The Grow lamps (Aquarium "optimized for plant growth") I can buy are only 36 watt or the biggest 58. Didn't knew -or have ever seen that- there was something in between.
(I live in The Netherlands btw
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)
 
  • #10
Netherlands, o how cool.

I wanna visit there. I heard you have some cool Cafes.
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  • #11
Yeah mostly in the big cities but not everywhere you know
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By the way, we're talking about the same lamps right?
The ones I'm talking about look like this:
alto.jpg


Just in case...
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  • #12
They look like that but how long are those?
Also, the green caps indicate low pollution.

Here in the states, you can get 4 bulbs in a shoplight going for 20 buks about. They sell them at Home Depot. www.HomeDepot.com and check out lighting.
 
  • #13
The lights I was talking about (And about the only growlights I can get my hands on) cost around 30 euro for a single 58 watt light.

Here in the netherlands we don't have a HomeDepot either.
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  • #14
Yea I know, but just to show you what they look like and prices are here.

Anyways, try it out and see how it is...
 
  • #15
Yeah I'll first buy 2 58 watt lights and a dual shoplight. (About 100 euro in total I guess)
I can always upgrade to another set when needed.

But isn't there an article somewhere that shows optimal lighting(wattage/lumen/lux/whatever) for carnivorous plants?
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  • #16
An article?

Look at the post Terrarium lighting 101.

6500K is more blue and for vegitation, and 2500-3000 is more yellow and better for flowering.
 
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