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Will this light work for everyone?

This is a mixed question but I'm going to put it here. I'm going to college this August and it's not likely my dorm will have enough light (or space where there is light) to keep all my plants healthy. I was wondering if this would be able to keep everyone happy. I have
  • 1 VFT
  • 2 D.capensis
  • 1 large D.binata
  • 4 Ping 'John Rizzi'
  • 4 Phal orchids

And this is the system I'm looking at:

http://www.google.com/products/cata...=X&ei=5JPpTbLTFc2TtweWoKTTDQ&ved=0CFQQ8wIwAQ#

Thanks for any info.
 
Maybe. I'm doubtful though. Also, short T5 tubes are disproportionately expensive because they're primarily marked towards aquarists and horticultural hobbyists. Probably better to go for some four-foot T12 shoplights; you'll be able to do more with them for less money. If you don't have space for something that long, look around for high-wattage compact fluorescents. Try for 100W or more - not "100W equivalent" but a lamp that actually draws 100W. (Would be something like 300W equivalent.)
~Joe
 
Window plus light might be adequate... except for the VFT. What's your major and what classes do you have picked out? Hope ya like dining hall food...
 
Well I've seen the dorms and they're rather small with little windows.
I'm going to get a double major
1. Elementary Education with an emphasis on 7th and 8th grade English
2. Youth Ministries
Then minors in art and theater.
And I know it's bad but I don't have my classes picked out. :p
I'll look for that light; do they sell them at Wal-Mart or should I go somewhere more for plants or like Home Depot?
 
Four-foot T12 shoplights can be found just about everywhere. You shouldn't have to pay more than $15 for the fixture. High-wattage compact fluorescents might be a little trickier to find. Best bet is to order online. Otherwise, look for a hardware store.
When buying lights, unless you're looking to get into HID lamps - which you definitely aren't at this point - never ever buy ones that are billed as "plant lights." You can translate this as "400% markup and/or wouldn't provide enough light to grow a fern." Go for general-purpose fluorescents (never incancesdents,) and try to mix the color spectra if you can. Detailed discussions on choosing lights can be found by searching the terrarium and bog garden subforum.
~Joe
 
I'll let Joe provide the lighting info. He knows more than I. One of the beautiful things about the first 2 years of college is that you can pick anything and even if it doesn't fit directly into a major, it will fulfill the other requirements you need - Social Science, Math / Science, Phys Ed, etc... It gives you an opportunity to reassess your chosen major or for others to declare one, as well just transitioning from home to being more independent.
 
You should wait for others to chime in to be certain, but I believe you're on the right track. Those don't scale up very well to larger setups, but for your purposes they might just be a perfect fit.

I'll let Joe provide the lighting info. He knows more than I.

o.o
I know notzing!
<.<
>.>
~Joe
 
I found 4' T5 fixtures with two lamps (warm white= red spectrum) included at Home Depot for around $24.00.
I then purchased the 6500K lamps (blue spectrum) from my local Grow shop for around $10.00 each. replace one of the reds with a blue, and you are good to go.
The power of T5's for under $40.00.:grin:
 
  • #10
What wattage are those, box? That's certainly competitive...
Sarah, I hate to jinx you but it looks as those this thread might not get a lot of hits from the folks who know substantially more than me. I think that these power compacts you've found are a good choice and worth trying at that price, but I'll encourage you again to search the terrarium/bog garden subforum for previous lighting discussions, if only to help promote your understanding of the options. And hopefully the kindly Mr. Butch or another veteran will pop up soon.
~Joe
 
  • #11
Keep in mind that in college, space is a major premium. Have you tried looking at some two-foot setups? I have one T5HO unit (just a slim strip with one bulb) in my terrarium, and if I redid the whole thing, i would have bought like, four!
 
  • #12
heres my setup:

its a 20 gallon aquarium sitting in the windowsill. i used a piece of plexiglass for the lid and cut holes to fit the lamp fixtures. this picture shows it with two 26watt 6500k CFL and a longer 18inch flourescent behind them. there was room for a third lamp so i recently added another 6500k light but i might switch it to a regular "cool white" spectrum. i feel like it needs more red spectrum in there....

the tank is two feet wide and (including the lamps) is two feet tall. the flourescents total something like 110 watts and is equivalent to over 300 watts

IMG_3704.jpg
 
  • #13
What wattage are those, box? That's certainly competitive...
Sarah, I hate to jinx you but it looks as those this thread might not get a lot of hits from the folks who know substantially more than me. I think that these power compacts you've found are a good choice and worth trying at that price, but I'll encourage you again to search the terrarium/bog garden subforum for previous lighting discussions, if only to help promote your understanding of the options. And hopefully the kindly Mr. Butch or another veteran will pop up soon.
~Joe

The 4' lamps are 54 watt T5HO.
I did forget to mention you need to wire in a lamp cord, simply wire nuts, which are provided with the fixture.
 
  • #14
Just remember if your lamps are not strong enough you can always leave them on longer. Might not bode well with the roomies. All would do ok with house t12 except the vft. They would not be optimal though. I like t5ho bulbs. Like another member said, blue and red spectrum for best results. The full spectrum bulbs have both and can be used but I hear better results with each spectrum bulb. Gives more of the useable colors. Just remember t5ho bulbs put off a lot of heat and could heat the dorm. The t12 or 8's and even reg t5's put off less heat but also less light. All the plants listed if I remember correctly should be able to handle temps into the 90's easy. But still need air circulation in or out of a terrarium.

I like tubes vs cfls because they have a larger foot print. But having multiples could fix the footprint problem. Also the closer the light the better the plant likes it. T12's would need to be closer. Have to be careful not to burn plants. There are many factors to consider with lights. Last I heard (granted 2 years ago now, I really was gone too long) Butch (Avator) was testing LED reds and blues for plant growing. They are pricey last I heard. Still need another light for plant viewing because the LEDs don't look pretty on the plants but they grew well as far as I know. The LEDs would not put off the heat the tubes or cfls would. Or use the power they would either.

Need to know the space aloted. Budget and heat tolerance you and roomie your willing to put up with.
 
  • #15
i grew flytraps just fine. they did great, actually. heres a thread about mine, they were grown in the exact setup above:

http://www.terraforums.com/forums/showthread.php?t=125889

plus they almost doubled in size within a month after those pics were taken. i think if space is at a premium you would do just fine with multiple CFL's. especially if you can put them in a windowsill
 
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