What's new
TerraForums Venus Flytrap, Nepenthes, Drosera and more talk

Register a free account today to become a member! Once signed in, you'll be able to participate on this site by adding your own topics and posts, as well as connect with other members through your own private inbox!

T8 vs. T12 VS. Twhatever

I have a couple nepenthes that i have in my dinning room set back about 12 feet from a big glass slidding door. During the summer, the plants would get about 4-5 hours of direct sun, and the rest of the day indirect sun. Well as we have moved in to fall they now get zero direct sun and all indirect. So I was wanting to get lights to suppliment the direct sun. so my question is should i use T8 or T12 or something else, how long should they be on, how far should they be from the plants? I did a search on the forum, but didnt see anything that matched my question. Any help would be most appreciated. thanks for your time
 
T8 or T5 would be ideal. More efficient than T12, T5 produce lots of heat though.
 
I use both T8 and T5. Love the color the T5 gives the plants, but it does run hot. You want to put the lights as close to the plants as possible without burning the plants. I have all my plants 4-12" from the lights.
 
Last edited:
T5 all the way, baby.
 
Thanks for the replies, since some of u like the T5, do u run T5 for ur whole light cycle and do u leave it on when ur not home
 
I run t5's on my des pings and vfts for 18 hours a day. starting at 1 am.. on a $30 powerstip digital timer
 
T8's work fine for all but the highest light plants, now that T5's are coming down in price im messing with them more but so far not seeing a significant improvement over T8's for Neps.......if i had more Heli's i think i could see an advantage.....not sure im gonna buy more T5's for plants though HO T5's seem pretty good for the saltwater tanks i have but im trying to push lots of light through water there....
 
I run my 4 bulb T5 high output fixture for 12 hours/day in the winter and 14/day in the summer. You can leave it on when you're not home, assuming the wiring is done correctly. Although they do get a little hot, they aren't anything to worry about.
 
T5s are nice, but they are the most costly and put out lots of heat. If you use them, be prepared to provide required cooling. A lot on here do so with fans, humidifiers, etc. And to be honest with you, my plants received probably better color with the T12s vs the T5s since I was able to put the lights closer to my plants.

Good luck.
 
  • #10
was never happy with the T12's i tried, they were OK but for the same price T8's give me much better results.....for 8 years T8 fixtures combined with the cheapest bulk bulbs i could fine has done me very well......
 
  • #12
@rattler What do you mean by "bulk bulbs".

I see that some like a T8 and some like a T12. In a light that holds two bulbs could you put one T12 and 1 T8? I really appreciate all the help and advice. Thanks for your time.
 
  • #13
Monkey_cup, if you ever plan to upgrade your collection, you will be able to put a lot more plants under a t5 HO and still achieve desirable lighting for comparatively cheaper energy costs than t12 or t8. Unless the initial costs are too much for you, I don't think the others are even worth considering (unless only temporarily so).
 
  • #14
Ive used them all and grown what I consider some nice looking plants with them all....

One thing I would say, I would rather have a T12 with a good reflector than a T5 with no reflector ;-)

Reflector quality can make a significant difference, remember.... 2/3rds of the bulb is pointed in the wrong direction

I now use T5's with good reflectors and close distances.... but as others are warning you, be prepared to deal with heat and humidity issues.

No black and white answers to this stuff.... too many variables at play.

Av
 
  • #16
Im not mato, but as a rule of thumb... I would recommended a minimum of 25 watts per square foot

One 13w bulb isnt going to grow anything very well if at all...
Just my humble opinion

(Av said what he wanted to say on subject and quietly backs away from table.... :p )
 
  • #17
@Av8t05, thank you very much for your info, i was unaware of the 25watts per square foot

---------- Post added at 02:36 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:33 PM ----------

@av8tor this may be a stupid question but are you saying you strive for each bulb t0 have 25 watts or would 2, 13 watt bulbs be adequate?
 
  • #18
Listen to av8tor on this one, monkey_cup, he helped me get the ball rolling on my lighting set-up.
 
  • #19
Monkey, its just a very broad rule of thumb....

In other words, if you are trying to provide lighting for a rack 4 foot long by two foot deep... you really need 160-200w of lighting*.

*Lower intensity plants would be more along the lines of 15-20w per square foot, higher intensity plants 20-25w

But threre are many more variables at play.... distance to lights, photoperiod, spectrum, reflector efficiency etc etc etc

If you are just starting out... it can be confusing but plants can don't get enough light dont grow well no matter what else you do, it is the single most important factor.
 
  • #20
@rattler What do you mean by "bulk bulbs".
.

i mean i go to Home Depot and buy them by the box for around $20......cheapest i can find....

from what ive seen the average hobbiest way over thinks the light issue for things like neps, especially when starting out and most their neps are small....there is a place for high powered bulbs in the hobby, if your looking to light a big area, trying to light helis but need to worry bout heat, messing with some dews....

for the most part, if most your neps are in 6 inch pots are smaller ect a cheap T8 fixture and cheap bulbs work fine...you should be able to set up a 4 foot by 2 foot shelf for bout $50, 3 two bulb four foot T8 fixtures for bout $8 each and a box of 15 T8 bulbs for $22.....

if your just starting out and dont have a bunch of large vining neps there is really no need to get fancy.....
 
Back
Top