Grow Light Set-up

[HHLL38]

So, Orchids are taking over my kitchen and I've decided to purchase a wire rack on which to put them.

I want to mount three two foot two bulb florescent shoplights on the underside of each shelf, so some of my plants can get the light they need. I'm thinking I'll have a low light, medium light and high light shelving, perhaps one devoted entirely to Neofinetia's, but sure yet.

But my question is, what brand offers a full spectrum two foot florescent bulb, should I consider something other than full spectrum? Can anyone sell me on LEDs?

Thoughts/Opinions?

[Cjcorner]

I've used l.e.d. panels to add to the light my plants got while in a garage last winter. But since i'm not one of the indoor growers that know more, i'll bump your post for you.

[HHLL38]

thanks for the bump!

[Brutal_Dreamer]

not sure about growing under lights. Kmac (Kathi) does and Naoki does. Maybe one of them will see your question.

cheers,
BD

[cakedaddy]

I grow some things under fluorescents. I use two four foot fixtures with two bulbs each, alternating warm and cool spectrum bulbs. Can't think which brand I bought last but its one of the widely available ones. Nothing expensive. Any well known brand available at big box stores would work fine.
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[opaline]

This issue can swing both ways in terms of financial outlay. The very expensive is not one I can comment on, but the cheap and improvised end I can. I decided to supplement the light by my east facing window at mo due to cloudy and dull days, little sun and shortened photoperiod.

Many hydroponics specialists provide good clear picture leaving the choice up to you and the most applicable.
I am using simply one warm white 4ft tube and one 4ft cool white tube. They are not so specialist at all. I plunged into the 'well its better than nothing and see no bad/negative results occuring' mode - such as weak leggy lanky growth. Good growth actally.

The warm white is an expired uva/uvb reptile vivarium tube by zoo med. Used for 12 mths for dragons and replaced.
Warm white is red spectrum = flowers/blooms/ spikes.
Cool white is a bathroom flo .tube Cool white is blue spectrum for leaf/growth.
Thats it. Before companies went to war marketing all the new brill equipment, simple flourescent tubes were used by hobbyists with no complaints. Opinion? Comes from maturer growers with no financial motives.

Sun worshippers (vandecous) are really not gonna find this sufficient but my catts, dends oncids phals catasetinae, gongora bulbos show acceptable signs of growth. for the cheaper end, plants need to be close to tube within inches so a bit of organising and logic essential.
use mine 6 hrs a day, the rest is natural sunny or not.
gro-lux, hydroponics, interpet, zoo med, exo terra, arcadia for tube research

[HHLL38]

I've been considering full spectrum seeing them as the closest to what I want to replicate, the sun. But I suppose if I combine cool and warm burning bulbs that would do the same, probably cheaper too.

Thanks for the input, I'm having second thoughts as if it will make any discernible difference in regards to growth.

[opaline]

Thanks for the input, I'm having second thoughts as if it will make any discernible difference in regards to growth.

It will trick/alter the rest/ slow down periods of some plants with the season change i.e cooler,duller,shorter day so plants such as catasetinae that have strict dormant criteria would continue as normal if they have adhered to a slightly confused growth/dormancy pattern. many have skipped dormancy and gone straight to shoot and grow. As far as discernible difference in growth is concerned, having used lights for the first time, i will do it again next oct/ nov. as growth interms of allround has been more than obviously noticeable. Roots shooting out has been the most noticeable as are the maturing and setting of spikes/sheaths.

[Naoki]

Hi, Sam. Since I noticed Bruce mentioned my name as one of the 'under-the-light' growers, I would like to share it with you. My setup, however is with 4 x 400 HID light. Here is the thread I posted before to show how my Vanda house gotten bigger. As you can see, all 4 lights are connected with pieces of tubes. They, then are connected to a fan, which sucks the hot air out when the temparature hits a certain number during the warmer weather. The lights are also controlled with a timer, which comes on and off automatically ( summer months up to 15 hrs, winter months 12 hrs ).

http://www.rv-orchidworks.com/orchid...-progress.html

[Kassie]

I suffered no small amount of brain damage last winter trying to figure out whether to get LEDs or some other expensive lighting system. I now use cheap 4 ft T8 shoplights, half warm and half cool spectrum bulbs, with good results. One thing that I did manage to retain of all the information I studied is that full spectrum bulbs are unnecessary because orchids use a certain wave length for growth and another to bloom and the rest of the spectrum is just wasted energy.