Mags Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 Having moved house the location where I grow my nepenthes and cephalotus will no longer get sufficient light to get them through the winter. I'm therefore planning to supplement the light they will receive through a west facing window with a single large CFL, or several smaller CFLs. I know the topic of lighting for CPs has been done to death, but having read through the archives there was one question that I couldn't quite answer. Is the 6400k spectrum sufficient for decent growth considering they will still receive some natural light from the window or will I need a combination of 6400k and 2700K? Any help appreciated! Thanks, Mark Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexis Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 I wouldn't bother with the red end of the spectrum if you are only looking to keep them ticking over through winter and you're giving them some natural light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Amori Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 I agree, whatever red light they need they'll get from natural sources. I have all my Neps under a single 6400K 250W Envirolite and you can't stop the damn things from overgrowing their allocated space Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
31drew31 Posted October 24, 2011 Report Share Posted October 24, 2011 I also only use 6400k lighting, and they receive ZERO natural light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 6400k will suffice but what will possibly be more important is the intensity. For instance, you couldn't expect a 20W CFL to provide sufficient supplementary light for more than a just few plants. Also bear in mind that the light levels fall off significantly with distance, for instance if you double the distance you half the light. I successfully grew a number of carnivorous plants on a west facing window, supplemented with a 70W metal halide lamp. Of all the plants I have grown indoors, these ones grew by far the best. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mags Posted October 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thanks for the replies everyone. I have zero experience with plant lighting and find the whole concept quite daunting! The area I would like to illuminate is roughly 80 x 80 cm. Was origionally looking for a couple of T5HO tubes but I can't source them locally and shipping from mainland UK to NI is quite expensive. I was thinking along the lines of something like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125w-Blue-Spectrum-CFL-reflector-hydroponics-grow-light-/280755959501?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item415e5bf6cd Metal Halides is something I looked into as well and am quite interested in, but don't fully understand and therefore am afraid of burning the house down! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mobile Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 A metal halide floodlight usually needs a cable attaching to it, via the terminal block inside and a plug on the other end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
manders Posted October 25, 2011 Report Share Posted October 25, 2011 Thanks for the replies everyone. I have zero experience with plant lighting and find the whole concept quite daunting! The area I would like to illuminate is roughly 80 x 80 cm. Was origionally looking for a couple of T5HO tubes but I can't source them locally and shipping from mainland UK to NI is quite expensive. I was thinking along the lines of something like this: http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/125w-Blue-Spectrum-CFL-reflector-hydroponics-grow-light-/280755959501?pt=UK_HomeGarden_Garden_PlantsSeedsBulbs_JN&hash=item415e5bf6cd Metal Halides is something I looked into as well and am quite interested in, but don't fully understand and therefore am afraid of burning the house down! The 6400k cfl lights work really and most plants seem to do ok with them, i use a 200w cfl over a small terrarium, less than 80x60cm and it works well and does not get too hot. Some plants that barely survived under 40w of standard flourescents really started to do well with the higher wattage cfls. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gold3nku5h Posted October 31, 2011 Report Share Posted October 31, 2011 im back! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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