Plant growth light really dim?
- Thread starter allllllen
- Start date
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Jonasburns
New Member
This is the standard for the T-12 "daylight" and " plant bulbs" they are known to be very weak in terms of output. You could try a T-8 or T-5 fixture they are brighter.
Most hobby growers will use Metal halide and high pressure sodium bulbs.
I am grappling with this myself as i don't feel the standard plant bulbs will do for the distance of my cage and amount of foliage. But the cost of such expensive systems like HPS and MH would offset the usefulness. not to mention heat output is likely to be very high.
What I'm doing for now is just monitoring the growth or lack there of since I don't have a light meter yet.
you can see how close i put these bulbs to my tomato's My food stuffs
they are literally inches from the plants and do not burn them.
I recently bought a 24" T-5 dual fixture. I have no plant bulbs in it yet but im going to try to get some soon.When i get the bulbs ill talk to the guys at the hydroponic shop to see if they have any other solutions.
Most hobby growers will use Metal halide and high pressure sodium bulbs.
I am grappling with this myself as i don't feel the standard plant bulbs will do for the distance of my cage and amount of foliage. But the cost of such expensive systems like HPS and MH would offset the usefulness. not to mention heat output is likely to be very high.
What I'm doing for now is just monitoring the growth or lack there of since I don't have a light meter yet.
you can see how close i put these bulbs to my tomato's My food stuffs
they are literally inches from the plants and do not burn them.
I recently bought a 24" T-5 dual fixture. I have no plant bulbs in it yet but im going to try to get some soon.When i get the bulbs ill talk to the guys at the hydroponic shop to see if they have any other solutions.
Jonasburns
New Member
I decided to go to the shop today and start getting the skinny from the guys at the shop.
The general consensus was that T-12 fixtures cannot penetrate well past 2 feet. Light loses strength for every foot it has to travel. Beyond 2 feet the T-12 bulbs will not do.
What they recommended was to use T-5 dual fixtures will a full spectrum bulb. and this should give fairly good coverage up to the four feet of an average cage.
Now having said that. The guys at the shop also keep chameleons. they are using full spectrum metal halide or high pressure sodium bulbs. A 150w for the smaller cage it looked to be the 18x18x30 inch variety and a 400w bulb for a pretty large island of plants that resident veiled chameleon lives on.
They were careful to mention that you would want to monitor these types of lights more closely than florescent bulbs, but once you go the right distance for the bulb it should remain relatively solid temps. Keep in mind these are more powerful lights and require more space than the average household or florescent bulbs.
Here are some pix.
The general consensus was that T-12 fixtures cannot penetrate well past 2 feet. Light loses strength for every foot it has to travel. Beyond 2 feet the T-12 bulbs will not do.
What they recommended was to use T-5 dual fixtures will a full spectrum bulb. and this should give fairly good coverage up to the four feet of an average cage.
Now having said that. The guys at the shop also keep chameleons. they are using full spectrum metal halide or high pressure sodium bulbs. A 150w for the smaller cage it looked to be the 18x18x30 inch variety and a 400w bulb for a pretty large island of plants that resident veiled chameleon lives on.
They were careful to mention that you would want to monitor these types of lights more closely than florescent bulbs, but once you go the right distance for the bulb it should remain relatively solid temps. Keep in mind these are more powerful lights and require more space than the average household or florescent bulbs.
Here are some pix.
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Jonasburns
New Member
allllllen
New Member
Thanks a lot for taking the time to ask and get some answers jonas!
really appreciate it. Well for now, since im still using my small enclosure, my T12 should be ok, but when i do upgrade his enclosure to a 2'x2'x4' then im going to have to find a t8 24" full spectrum light. Hopefully some of the stores around here carry some!
really appreciate it. Well for now, since im still using my small enclosure, my T12 should be ok, but when i do upgrade his enclosure to a 2'x2'x4' then im going to have to find a t8 24" full spectrum light. Hopefully some of the stores around here carry some!
summoner12
Avid Member
20w T12 lamps don't produce a ton of light when stretched across 24".... you might do better with 6500K CFL lamps at 24W.. maybe place one or two across the cage.
Using aluminum foil helps a lot to get more light into the cage... I use this method. I also use CFL's on some cages.
Using aluminum foil helps a lot to get more light into the cage... I use this method. I also use CFL's on some cages.
