OK, I have the lighting fixtures for the top shelf. I bought two of the
double-tube units and have mounted them side-by-side. I'm using the C50
Colortone Full Spectrum tubes.

How far away should I place mottled-leafed paphs (Maudiae crosses) and how
far should mature phals be from the light source? My shelves are
adjustable.

Already I like having the plants in the house, actually in my office. I'm
wondering how they'll do during the winter with little chilling. I do have
a handful of strap-leafed seedlings in the trays also.

I'm running the lights for 14 hours per day. I don't detect any significant
heat being emitted from the tubes. Currently the lights are 8" above the
plants.

Thanks in advance,
Garland Hanson
Midlothian, VA


"J. Del Col" wrote in message
m...
Susan Erickson wrote in message
. ..
On Mon, 06 Sep 2004 17:24:43 GMT, "GARLAND HANSON"
wrote:


I'll be using 48" tubes. The fixtures and tubes seem to be plentiful
at
Home Depot and Lowes. I'd like to have lighting that is effective,
quiet,
and economical. Can I have all three???


Most of us that have used the HD fixtures pick CHEAP. CHEAP
fixtures and Cheap bulbs. So it is generally 2 2-bulb fixtures
per shelf. The effect of 4 lamps. Within a hand span of the
leaves. Ray has an article about light on plants and the drop
off of effectiveness caused by distance. www.FirstRays.com in
his free stuff.

The general rule is that light intensity from a diffuse source is
inversely proportional to the distance from the source.

From a point source the intensity is inversely proportional to the
square of the distance, but a fluorescent light is best considered as
a collection of point sources.

(See, Ray, I remembered from our first encounter umpteen years ago, I
think)

Output will decrease with the age of the tubes, too.

J. Del Col