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!

Best light type?

I am planning on buying a new 10-20 gallon terrarium for my new neps and sundews. Can anyone tell me what would be the best kind to get. (fluorescent, incandesant, coil?)
And also, what would be the best wattage for these size of terrariums?

Thanks
 
I don't know what is best, but a shoplight with 40 watt bulbs will work fine, lol.

Cheers,

Joe
 
The Wal-Mart here has 24" under cabinet type fluorescents. I use two of those with foil making a reflector. They are only $8 with the bulb.
-Nick
 
Steer clear of incandescents, I know that much. They're way too hot and dim. Otherwise, it really varies with the bulb, so far as I can tell. There are fluorescents, high-output fluorescents and HPS bulbs which all give similar performance with respect to certain parameters (lumens, photosynthetically active radiation, etc.)
Ordinary fluorescent shop or strip lights are the most efficient, in my opinion; they give satisfactory output (exceptional output if you set things up right,) are easy to find, have bulbs and fixtures both relatively cheap, and run cool enough to not burn plants. I have two double-bulb fluorescent shop lights with ordinary cool and warm bulbs in them; when I get some money, I'm going to invest in some high-output fluorescents for my succulents and high-light CPs.
For a tank as small as ten gallons, you could always get some of those incandescent fixtures that clip on to flat surfaces, and put compact fluorescent bulbs in; my roommate is growing a D. capensis and several strains of eucalyptus with such a setup. Strip lights or short shop lights would probably be a better choice for a 20 gallon tank.
For ordinary fluorescents, go with 40 watts. For compact fluorescents that screw into incandescent sockets, go with as much as you can get, I guess. I know they have grow-bulb versions which are probably of the appropriate wattage, but household models are as low as 15 watts, which is a waste of a socket in my opinion. If you buy a household ('warm-white,' 'cool-white') compact, go with at least 25 watts (often sold as the equivalent to a 100 watt incandescent.) I don't know about any other types of bulbs, but in the greenhouse thread there was a big post on lighting, I think... if you use the search function I think you'll find that this question has largely been answered already.
Best luck!
~Joe
 
To add on, keep in mind kelving rating too. Kelving rating lets you know what kind of light it produces (white, warm, blue).

Plants use more of the light in the 5,000-7,000 kelvin rating for photosynthesis. Nepenthes specifically being tropical benefit most from the 5,000-5,500 light spectrum (the closer to the ecuator you are, the lower the kelvin rating (~5,000 being the lowest, ~7,000 being the highest) Northern US plants benefit most from ~6,500 light spectrum. Most flourescent or compact flourescents are 3000-4000.

Don't get hung up on the numbers just try to get something thats as close to 5,000 as you can find and afford. It isnt something thats you totally need but it can make a difference.

Just something to think about when buying lights for your plants.
 
Now there's something I hadn't heard before... thanks for the tip AE!
~Joe
 
I use the fluorex 65 watt compact flouresct flood lights. You can get the fixtures at Home depot, Costco, Walmart...shop around, as the prices vary, but you can find them CHEAP. They are perfect for a 10 gallon tank.

Specs: 65 watts, 6500K, ~6900 lumens (if I remember right....might be a little more than that). Another benefit of these lights is that they are only warm to the touch, instead of sear-the-flesh-off-your-hands hot.
 
In my other terrarium i only have 2- 11 watt coils, is that enough light? My plants seem to be growing very fast, but I really have nothing to compare there growth with.

My terrarium comes with a top, and it only can fit a certain size light in it. Is it possible to get a light that is about 12 inches long, but has more power then 25 watts?
 
Turner, without know the other specs on those coils, I would say no way. The light I mentioned is about 12 inches lonag (give or take...might be 10 or 14..didn't actually measure), and is about 6 or 7 inches wide.....almost a perfect fit for a 10 gallon tank.
 
  • #10
Does the kelvin rating really matter that much? I've seen a bunch of "Aqua-Glo" lights that have a 18 000 kelvin rating. And on the box it says that they are great for promoting plant growth.

I'm confused
smile_l_32.gif
 
  • #11
And they also only have about 270 lumens. Do the lumens matter too?!
 
  • #12
of course lumens matter. Actually they are teh only thing that matters. Refering to a lights output by using "watts" is highly inaccurate. Its just easier to say because no one really walks aroundwith a light meter.

Thats why when you see those spiril flourescent lights at lowes and home depot they say "150 watt output" but its really only the equivilent to an incandescent bulb. Those spirils are really only about 42-44 watts of actuall power usage. Thats why people think they are more efficeint because you're comparing them to incandescents. Compare that to a metal halide and lets see whats more efficeint.:laugh:

For my grow chamber I'm using a 400 watt MH with an osram 5500K bulb (BTW its kelvin,not kelving
smile_m_32.gif
) it puts out insane amounts of light. But I have to be careful when I get new plants to acclimate them accordingly. I acidently burnt the leaves on one of my plants. I think most people don't use MH though because of two things, cost and heat. I can understand the cost because it can get expensive. But if you're mindful of your setup heat should never be an issue. Infact I have to run three heating pads in the chamber right now since its "sooo cold" here in socal
biggrin.gif
When it comes to lights, go big or go someplace else. You can always do something about to much light, like shading and stuff, but you can't suplliment to little light
 
  • #13
oh yea when I switched from using spiril flour. to the MH I noticed a huge spike in growth...
 
  • #14
If you look in the greenhouse and terrariums forum (or whatever it's called) there's some threads stuck at the top that have more info on lights than you can possibly need.

If you just want a simple answer, as has been said (mostly summarizing):
- No incandescents. They are an abomination of inefficiency and waste. Plus the heat will cook your plants. ;)
- You want fluorescents of some kind. There are three options.
1) Buy that fluorex light everyone here worships (i've heard of sun worshipers, but this is definitely odder yet). It is in a reflector that will fit well over a 10 or 20G terrarium. 65 watts of fluorescent light over a terrarium that small will make it very warm and very bright in there, though. Maybe too much so. I have a fluorex and it is good for some uses, but i would (and do) stick with option (3) for a terrarium.
2) Buy an ordinary compact fluorescent bulb (the kind that screws into a socket, just like an incandescent). Buy the one with the most lumens you can find at the hardware store or Home Depot/Lowes. This will be the cheapest option, but less light. You can buy one of the shiny metal clamp-on reflectors they sell there for about $10 as well, if you like.
3) Buy shoplights or some other straight-lamp fluorescent fixture. If you go the shoplight route you'll have a longer light than you need. That's good. Put more plants under it. 8) Also if you go the shoplight route, get the HD brand (can't remember what it's called- Commercial Electric, i think) that is about $15 and takes the smaller (not shorter, thinner) T8 tubes. It will be brighter, cooler, and last longer than the big kind of lamps (T12s).

Have fun
 
  • #15
Lumens are a good measure of light output, but not the definitive one for growing plants. What you're really interested in is PAR, photosynthetically active radiation. Lumens measure light that the human eye senses; PAR measures light that most plants can use to make food. Often, the two are surprisingly different. Unfortunately, most bulbs are not marketed for use by indoor plant enthusiasts, and so PAR ratings are unavailable most of the time. Thus, many people go by lumens (which is better than just watts.) However, some nice person posted a link to a big list of PAR ratings for common bulbs a while ago - you can probably still find it in the greenhouse section - so you might give that look before you make a final decision.
~Joe
 
  • #16
<span style='font-family:Teletype'>Check out my last post in the greenhouse pictures thread in "Greenhouses, Terrariums and Bog Gardens"... I'm not too sure about lumens and stuff, but what I'm doing is pretty much illustrated in that post and it's working pretty well.</span>
 
  • #17
Sooooooo, is 270 lumens enough for my small 10 gallon tank then?
 
  • #18
That's all you get from the two 11 watt bulbs? My guess would be no unless you just have mid to low light nepenthes, but if it's working for you, keep with it. It's amazing what works sometimes. If your plants are "stretching" toward the light, then you'll need to come up with something better.
 
  • #19
Seedjar is right, lumens are of no use in measurement for plants. 270 lumens............I didn't know you could have that few of lumens.

Incandescent - NO
fluorescent - yes ; use a combination of warma and cool white. Overdriving is even better.
CFL (Compact fluorescent) - yes ; better than standard fluoro. Shoot for VHOs
HIDs - the best ; Metal halides are excellent but provide much headache for small enclosures/ too much heat.

You can NEVER have too much fluorescent light- only too much heat
 
  • #20
halides don't cause headaches, seesh. You just have to know how to set them up properly. Of course they're going to cause heat issues if you have them set up in the wrong manor, but one can easily say that about any type of lighting. Its all about how you set it up.
 
Back
Top