I'm bringing in the Catts that have summered outdoors. They grew. Not
all of them will fit under the HID lights/south-facing window anymore.
I've heard there's a new high-intensity flourescent light that is
suitable for Catts and Dendrobiums. Does anyone have any experience
with them? Know a good place to buy them?

I've seen no data one way or another, but based upon the way they work, I
doubt that HI fluorescents have as much output as the HID's. Might be time
to invest in a higher wattage version of the latter.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm bringing in the Catts that have summered outdoors. They grew. Not
all of them will fit under the HID lights/south-facing window anymore.
I've heard there's a new high-intensity flourescent light that is
suitable for Catts and Dendrobiums. Does anyone have any experience
with them? Know a good place to buy them?

"OrchidKitty" wrote in
ups.com:

high-intensity flourescent light

Hi
I also looked into the 40 watt high-intensity fluorescent lights and
found that it is only the groove in the tube design that increases the
light output. Also the small amount of light gain does not equal the
excessive cost. I use 40 2 bulb fluorescent strip lamps placed side by
side to give me 8 lamps across on shelf 28 inches wide. I've grown &
bloomed catts, Phals, and dens under these lights although I have burnt
a few catt leaf tips when they touched the lights.

Note: I have seen some fluorescent lamps in the Farmtek catalog but they
are also too pricy for me to try. Note; do not try the cheap shop
lights, 1. you cant place them close enough I.e. side by side. 2. They
seem to eat lamps in a short time.

Grow well and bloom magnificently
dusty

Doug,

Have you considered ducts and blowers to draw the heat out of the HID's and
vent it elsewhere? Also, if they're "too bright for some of your plants,
you just have them under too much wattage or they are simply too close. The
trick is to move the lamps higher, then make shelves that place the
higher-light plants closer.

Dusty,

FWIW, I bought one of the FarmTek full spectrum CFL fixtures with the 125W
bulb, and the total delivered cost was under $100, about the cost of 4
decent quality shop lights. I have it illuminating a 5' x 4' bench from a
distance of about 3 feet (it actually covers a larger area), and I am very
pleased with it.

--

Ray Barkalow - First Rays Orchids - www.firstrays.com
Plants, Supplies, Artwork, Books and Lots of Free Info!


"Dusty" wrote in message
. 17.102...
"OrchidKitty" wrote in
ups.com:

high-intensity flourescent light

Hi
I also looked into the 40 watt high-intensity fluorescent lights and
found that it is only the groove in the tube design that increases the
light output. Also the small amount of light gain does not equal the
excessive cost. I use 40 2 bulb fluorescent strip lamps placed side by
side to give me 8 lamps across on shelf 28 inches wide. I've grown &
bloomed catts, Phals, and dens under these lights although I have burnt
a few catt leaf tips when they touched the lights.

Note: I have seen some fluorescent lamps in the Farmtek catalog but they
are also too pricy for me to try. Note; do not try the cheap shop
lights, 1. you cant place them close enough I.e. side by side. 2. They
seem to eat lamps in a short time.

Grow well and bloom magnificently
dusty

I think you're talking about the T5 fluorescent lights. I got a fixture at
a local hydroponics store but haven't gotten it hooked up yet, need to
rearrange part of the orchid room to clear out space for it. At least one
person in our society is using them and is happy with the results. I've
seen a reference to a good mail-order source but I can't find that
newsletter right now.
-danny

"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm bringing in the Catts that have summered outdoors. They grew. Not
all of them will fit under the HID lights/south-facing window anymore.
I've heard there's a new high-intensity flourescent light that is
suitable for Catts and Dendrobiums. Does anyone have any experience
with them? Know a good place to buy them?

danny wrote:
I think you're talking about the T5 fluorescent lights. I got a fixture at
a local hydroponics store but haven't gotten it hooked up yet, need to
rearrange part of the orchid room to clear out space for it. At least one
person in our society is using them and is happy with the results. I've
seen a reference to a good mail-order source but I can't find that
newsletter right now.
-danny

"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm bringing in the Catts that have summered outdoors. They grew. Not
all of them will fit under the HID lights/south-facing window anymore.
I've heard there's a new high-intensity flourescent light that is
suitable for Catts and Dendrobiums. Does anyone have any experience
with them? Know a good place to buy them?

Yes, that's what I heard about. I checked on the Net, and there is a
retailer who sells four 4-foot tubes for $300. I'd like to get another
HID fixture, but based on past experience, it would involve another
visit from an electrician... Thanks--



danny wrote:
I think you're talking about the T5 fluorescent lights. I got a fixture at
a local hydroponics store but haven't gotten it hooked up yet, need to
rearrange part of the orchid room to clear out space for it. At least one
person in our society is using them and is happy with the results. I've
seen a reference to a good mail-order source but I can't find that
newsletter right now.
-danny

"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
ups.com...
I'm bringing in the Catts that have summered outdoors. They grew. Not
all of them will fit under the HID lights/south-facing window anymore.
I've heard there's a new high-intensity flourescent light that is
suitable for Catts and Dendrobiums. Does anyone have any experience
with them? Know a good place to buy them?

I think we got our fixture for $200? It doesn't look quite as nice as the
$300 one (same shape but aluminum instead of a nice black painted finish),
but it came with bulbs so it was MUCH cheaper. None of my lights need to be
hard-wired, I currently have 3 400W metal halide fixtures and a bunch of
normal fluorescents. One nice thing about the T5 fixtures is they are a lot
shallower than the HID and they disperse the heat and light a little more
evenly, so you can put them under a shelf and have two layers of plants.

"OrchidKitty" wrote in message
ups.com...
Yes, that's what I heard about. I checked on the Net, and there is a
retailer who sells four 4-foot tubes for $300. I'd like to get another
HID fixture, but based on past experience, it would involve another
visit from an electrician... Thanks--

Specialty Lights has a T5 fluorescent grow light with 8 bulbs, 4 feet
long. The fixture puts out 432 watts of light, which seems pretty good.
It costs $409, which is pretty much what I paid for my MH 400 watt
fixture. All things being equal, I think I'd rather have the T5s
because they generate less heat and are not as ugly as the big hood on
a HID fixture.

The bulbs are expensive, about $15 each to replace, BUT they say they
last for 20,000 hours. Hum. I wonder if this means that this is the
burn-out point, and the effective light drops like a rock after about a
year? I replace my other fluorescent bulbs ever year. Anybody have a
guess?




danny wrote:
I think we got our fixture for $200? It doesn't look quite as nice as the
$300 one (same shape but aluminum instead of a nice black painted finish),
but it came with bulbs so it was MUCH cheaper. None of my lights need to be
hard-wired, I currently have 3 400W metal halide fixtures and a bunch of
normal fluorescents. One nice thing about the T5 fixtures is they are a lot
shallower than the HID and they disperse the heat and light a little more
evenly, so you can put them under a shelf and have two layers of plants.

With a $20 light meter you can watch the output and only change as
needed.
Joe T
Baytown

OrchidKitty wrote:
Specialty Lights has a T5 fluorescent grow light with 8 bulbs, 4 feet
long. The fixture puts out 432 watts of light, which seems pretty good.
It costs $409, which is pretty much what I paid for my MH 400 watt
fixture. All things being equal, I think I'd rather have the T5s
because they generate less heat and are not as ugly as the big hood on
a HID fixture.

The bulbs are expensive, about $15 each to replace, BUT they say they
last for 20,000 hours. Hum. I wonder if this means that this is the
burn-out point, and the effective light drops like a rock after about a
year? I replace my other fluorescent bulbs ever year. Anybody have a
guess?




danny wrote:
I think we got our fixture for $200? It doesn't look quite as nice as the
$300 one (same shape but aluminum instead of a nice black painted finish),
but it came with bulbs so it was MUCH cheaper. None of my lights need to be
hard-wired, I currently have 3 400W metal halide fixtures and a bunch of
normal fluorescents. One nice thing about the T5 fixtures is they are a lot
shallower than the HID and they disperse the heat and light a little more
evenly, so you can put them under a shelf and have two layers of plants.