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Artificial Lighting Recs
I have a ton of orchids in a greenhouse but I want to try some mottled-leaf
paphs inside on shelving under artificial light next to an eastern window. I'm using a wire four-shelf unit on caster wheels that measures 48" x 18". I've got the trays, watering, humidity, and air movement down. What I'm up in the air about is the lighting. Opinions on the web seem to be plentiful. What I'm looking for are people that are successfully growing orchids under lights themselves. 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??? Regarding fixtures... Should I use the 2 or 4 tube units? Both are available. My shelves are 18" wide. Should I try the T12 or higher-priced T8 fixtures? Both are available. I understand the T8 fixtures are quieter and are more economical to operate. They are more expensive than the T12s. Should the fixtures be used with the diffuser panel installed or used with the bulbs exposed without the diffuser? Are there fixtures that are quieter than others? Regarding florescent lighting tubes... Should 32W T8 or 40W T12 units be used? Both are available in full spectrum tubes. How far away should the tubes be from the paphs? These are all PB plants. How long should the lights be on during the day? (I've read anywhere from 12-18hrs/day.) Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I'll post a photo of my setup when it is complete. Garland Midlothian, VA |
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??? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I'll post a photo of my setup when it is complete. Garland Midlothian, VA 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. I always thought 12 hours was it, but I have recently heard from a speaker who had gone from outdoor to indoor and due to less light used longer hours. It worked for her. We would love to see your set up posted to ABPO. Remember no pix on RGO. Good Luck. SuE http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php |
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??? Thanks in advance for any suggestions. I'll post a photo of my setup when it is complete. Garland Midlothian, VA 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. I always thought 12 hours was it, but I have recently heard from a speaker who had gone from outdoor to indoor and due to less light used longer hours. It worked for her. We would love to see your set up posted to ABPO. Remember no pix on RGO. Good Luck. SuE http://orchids.legolas.org/gallery/albums.php |
4 tubes would work great. If you want to try and get away with two tubes,
buy a fixture with a wide reflector. Two of the two-tube shop lights on each shelf will work good. Generally fluorescent fixtures aren't noisy at all. Either T12 or T8 should work fine. I think T8 fixtures often come with an electronic ballast, which uses less electricity and puts out less heat. Distance will depend a bit on the height of your tallest plant, but with most Paphs the base of the plants should probably be less than a foot from the lights. Check the output of the different bulbs, it varies widely. I'm no expert on day length, but somewhere in the 12-16 range would probably work. 18 seems a bit extreme if you have an adequate amount of lighting. I think mine are around 14. -danny |
Your setup depends upon what you want to grow. Paphs and phals
will do fine under regular tubes, either T12 or T8. I've been trying for several weeks now to get more of the dual-tube types that accept either T12 or T8, but there seems to be a complete absence of them in the stores these days. For higher output, you'll need something like VHO (very high output) tubes, with correspondingly higher heat and light output, and higher power bills. They're also more expensive to buy, but are better for growing stuff like cattleyas. I think there's another power group in there somewhere I'm missing. There are simply too many types to keep good track of these days. Then there's the dope-growing stuff, like MH (metal halide) and HID (high intensity discharge), in case you want to have your name appended to some gov'munt watch list. If you go this route, call the electric company and see if they'll let you attach anything to the little whirly-disk in the electric meter, as it'll double as a fan while it goes 'round and 'round. The e-mail in the header is bogus. Send no mail there. Cheers, -AJHicks Chandler, AZ |
Aaron Hicks wrote: Then there's the dope-growing stuff, like MH (metal halide) and HID (high intensity discharge), MH for vegetative growth. HPS (high pressure sodium) for flowering. I've always wondered about HPS for orchids, but they're way too expensive for anything but a cash crop. And I'm a hobby grower ... |
Aaron Hicks wrote: Then there's the dope-growing stuff, like MH (metal halide) and HID (high intensity discharge), MH for vegetative growth. HPS (high pressure sodium) for flowering. I've always wondered about HPS for orchids, but they're way too expensive for anything but a cash crop. And I'm a hobby grower ... |
(Aaron Hicks) wrote in message ...
For higher output, you'll need something like VHO (very high output) tubes, with correspondingly higher heat and light output, and higher power bills. They're also more expensive to buy, but are better for growing stuff like cattleyas. I think there's another power group in there somewhere I'm missing. There are simply too many types to keep good track of these days. Power compacts? See http://www.ahsupply.com. They are wonderful for planted aquaria, and I expect they would be very useful in smaller light gardens and wardian cases where 48" tubes won't fit. Technologically, aquatic plant hobbyists always seem to be a couple of years ahead of dirt plant and orchid growers, probably because their plants are completely dependent on artificial light. Check any of the various aquatic plant lists or newsgroups for further info on the latest lighting fads. Nick -- |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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 |
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