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I bought this for my basement-

  • #21
They are called incandescent clamp lights.  That and a 45w compact fluorescent bulb would put out some good illumination.  Clamp to the vertical shelf support with one on each side of each shelf.  Only thing with the clamp lights, they are not water proof, so you need to be careful with water dripping from above.
Here is a picture I borrowed from Grainger.
2V647.JPG
 
  • #22
How large of an area would a clamp on light with a 45w compact fluorescent bulb cover?
 
  • #23
Oh would make a nice light for a small terrarium or a 2' x 2' area roughly. Which is why I would recommend for Laura at least 2 for a 3' long by 18-24" deep shelf.

They make higher power full spectrum compact fluorescent bulbs but they get kinda large and if much of the bulb is sticking out beyond the reflector the light won't get directed towards the plants as well. Home centers typically only carry the standard smaller wattage softwhite type for incandescent replacement purposes. While soft white is not ideal .. it will work if it's bright enough.
Tony
 
  • #24
Gosh Tony, I'm going to be a pauper by the time all of you are finished setting me up.

I believe I have purchased the correct clamp incandescent fixtures.

Which bulbs are correct.  I bought two different types.  The young girl at WalMart stated she was unfamiliar with what a 45w compact fluorescent bulb was.  Both she and I looked at every bulb on the shelves in both aisles and this is all we could come up with.

8f8dfc30.jpg
 
  • #25
Those look like incadescent bulbs. I would return them and get some of the compact florescent bulbs. the cf bulbs either look like a florescent tube that has been folded in half or twisted. Actually they come in different shapes and wattages.
 
  • #26
Here's a pic of the "twisted" style of compact fluorescent light.
Compact%20Fluorescents.jpg
 
  • #27
They had those at WalMart.  They were right in front of my face. Just two of those 26 watt bulbs per shelf can provide enough light?
 
  • #28
I'd go for a 6500K color temperature if you can find it. On a typical store shelf I haven't been able to find CF bulbs more than 20 watts at that temperature (usually "cool white" if the exact number isn't given). Walmart is the only place I've seen them actually.

Judging the shelf size from the pictures on the box, yeah I think two of these per shelf could do the trick, IMHO. Especially if they're pretty close to the plants (but be careful of heat).
 
  • #29
I would see if you can find higher wattage. I agree a daylight type would be best, but I wouldn't skimp on power for it.

Tony
 
  • #30
as far as metal halide goes, I seriously would not worry about humidity, I have 2 250 watt metal halides sitting 12 inches over the surface of my reef tank, humidity in the canopy is almost always above 90%, haven't had one shatter yet. Far more important, is to keep the bulb free of oil from your skin, as the quartz shell heats up the oil causes a difference in surface tension and then you get a nice cracked bulb.

More to the point, MH's put off a helacious amount of heat, mount it outside the structure for that point alone.
 
  • #31
Hey all, thanks for your comments.  I'm leaving in a few days and won't be back until the 25th so I'll try to get my "whatever it is" out of the box and set up when we get back. I did pick up more incandescent clamp lights though and set them aside. I think this set up will work for me for what I want it to do. Bye for now, Laura
 
  • #32
[b said:
Quote[/b] ]Speaking of vaporizer, while at Home Depot, a husband and wife came up to my cashier station to check out.The wife asked me if we sold vaprizers. Totally deadpan, I asked, "Is this for producing humidity or eliminating humans?" She had a blank stare, but her husband cracked a smile.

jimscotscoot, that was.... bad. Made me laugh.
 
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