Hibiscus and grow light

[mirrinias]

Sometimes I feel like I start too many threads! I searched but couldn't quite find the answer I was looking for.

I'm considering getting a hibiscus for my cham, but I'm not sure what to do with the grow light it needs. I'd prefer not to get a tube light as another hood would be way too expensive, and I'm out of room on the top of his cage anyway. Could I potentially use a grow light as a basking light as well? Is there anything at walmart that could work semi-decently as a grow light for a hibiscus?

Thanks.

 

[coldbloodedAL]

Hibiscus seem to need more light to stay alive than the other common plants we use. Since linear tubes are out of the question for you I would say LEDs are probably the way to go. Contact Todd at lightyourreptiles he has some leds available, and is second to none when it comes to lighting. Excellent customer service as well

 

[Wykd]

get a small clamp light and put a 6500k cfl in it, just make sure to get one with around 800ish or more lumens. You would be surprised how much that lil light will put out!

Any not going to be able to use a plant light for basking light, the basking is for heat and the plant is for light. The more kelvins the white the light, the more lumens the brighter the light. To get a light that can do both would put out more heat than you want.

The typical plant grow lights you see are not really good grow lights unless they say 6500k on them.

What all do you have on top of your enclosure that you couldnt fit a small 51/2 work light up there? A basking light, uvb bulb and a dripper... you dont need the grow light to sit strait down on top, and actually may do better if it is tilted so it can angle down thru the plants.

 

[JonRich]

I have a hibiscus in a ExoTerra that never seen direct sunlight. It's under a 18" power compact and a coiled ReptiGlo 5.0 UVB and its doing amazing!! So amazing that I had to trim it last week and it has 12 buds and will have an amazing bloom soon.

 

[mirrinias]

I have one of those combo deep domes (like this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/zoomeddomide.html) that only has one bulb, his basking bulb, in it right now. It takes up a fair bit of his cage top, plus the dripper, plus the 20" hood. I was hoping I could put a grow light in the other side of the combo dome.

 

[JonRich]

Lite your reptile has a nice LED bulb. But it looks like it works better in a horizontal socketed fixture like the ExoTerra fixtures.

 

[Wykd]

I have one of those combo deep domes (like this http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/zoomeddomide.html) that only has one bulb, his basking bulb, in it right now. It takes up a fair bit of his cage top, plus the dripper, plus the 20" hood. I was hoping I could put a grow light in the other side of the combo dome.

put a cfl 6500k in that open slot

 

[JonRich]

Flowersss!!

ExoTerra fixture in the back with a coiled ReptiGlo 5.0 UVB and a 40watt wouse hold incandecent bulb(not shown in pic). In the front is a fixture from off my 10g planted tank with a 18" Hagen Power-Glo Flourescent Bulb <~~ This was going to get swapped out for a 6500k bulb, but never saw the need for it.

 

[mirrinias]

Thanks for the advice, guys. Hopefully next month I can get him a hibiscus. He ate all the flowers off my jasmine plant so I figured he'd enjoy it

 

[lausnordah]

+1 more for LightYourReptiles.com.

Todd is fantastic. His LED lights are, from what I've heard, second to none for plants and illuminating your cham.

I have the Deep Blue Quad T5 HO fixture with 2x Arcadia 5% UVB bulbs and 2x 10k daylight bulbs and a grow light and my hibiscus + 4 pothos + 2 spider plants + 1 ficus benjamina are thriving in the 2x2x4 enclosure.

Hibiscus is 4 feet tall