5 replies to this topic

[nadja77]

I have at last finalized my grow room and the only thing left to do is the lighting.
A few of my plants have outgrown the terrarium and I would like to utilize the ceiling to hang my neps and orchids from so ceiling light(s) is preferred.
The dimensions are 3m x 3m x 2.5m or roughly 10' x 10' x 8' and the walls will be clad with reflective foil.
I will be growing a variety of plants in there, which are receiving a great deal of light from my current setup and I would like to match that with the new lighting (if possible). The current setup is 4 x 80w fluorescent tubes suspended closely above the plants.
I did search the forum for lighting related topics, but I can't seem to find any information with regards to larger spaces.
If anyone has a grow room or can otherwise help me with some info, I would appreciate any help.
There are a few products advertised on the internet such as Sun Agro 430w, are they any good?



Nadja

Edited by nadja77, 12 January 2011 - 13:47 PM.

[will9]

nadja77, on 12th January 2011 - 13:46 PM, said:

I have at last finalized my grow room and the only thing left to do is the lighting.
A few of my plants have outgrown the terrarium and I would like to utilize the ceiling to hang my neps and orchids from so ceiling light(s) is preferred.
The dimensions are 3m x 3m x 2.5m or roughly 10' x 10' x 8' and the walls will be clad with reflective foil.
I will be growing a variety of plants in there, which are receiving a great deal of light from my current setup and I would like to match that with the new lighting (if possible). The current setup is 4 x 80w fluorescent tubes suspended closely above the plants.
I did search the forum for lighting related topics, but I can't seem to find any information with regards to larger spaces.
If anyone has a grow room or can otherwise help me with some info, I would appreciate any help.
There are a few products advertised on the internet such as Sun Agro 430w, are they any good?



Nadja

Hi Nadja,you are from South Africa and make a special grow room ,why?How is the temps year round where you are living ,i think it s not so cold there,i so think you have plenty off light ,so why you want to grow them in a terrarium or in a special room?Meaby you live in a flat and have no space outside?
I live in a match colder area like you and thinking many times ,iff i must live in a warmer country i can cultivate all the tropicals outside whitout any extra costs,am i so wrong off these?,or do you make meaby a room for the temperate ones?Meaby it s to hot in summer for the most plants,or to dry where you live?
For your Quest ,i use TL lights from Philips,36 watt,1 cool white and 1 warm white in combination,for a place like yours you have need more off these i think ,This is very good for my plants,allways mix the cool and the warm lights,if you can use sunlight ,it s the best light there is!
Cheers Will

Edited by will9, 12 January 2011 - 20:46 PM.

[Martin Hingst]

Hi Nadja,

for large spaces, esp. large distances, metal halide lamps would be my suggestion. For me by far the best grow lights for plants anyhow.

Highly effective (but not very pretty light) are sodium high pressure lamps.
Equally effective, with much better light colour (both for growth and colouration, but more expensive) are HIT lamps (e.g. HCI/Osram or CDM/Philips). Would be my suggestion, in 942 light colour.

Regards

Martin

[nadja77]

will9, Unfortunately the temps are just that little bit too hot in summer and too cold in winter for my Nepenthes, and all plants with similar requirements. I leave my Dionaea, Sarracenia and SA drosera outside year round, but the rest has to come inside especially since winters here are very dry.

Martin, Thanks for the advice, I have a better idea on what to look for :)
How many of those bulbs (MH or HIT) would I need to adequately light the room?

Thanks!

[Martin Hingst]

Hi Nadja,

depends on the natural light the room gets and of the plants you like to grow.

I am a bit - hmm, extreme in artificial lighting, for me it is the main cultivation parameter (at least when natural light is low), and most plants look better and better the higher the light level is. Better colouration, more compact growth; in Nepenthes that means shorter vines (smaller internodial distance) and smaller leaves with bigger pitchers on shorter tendrils - all points that I like very much. But I have to be careful with my suggestion, because artificial lighting is expensive, and I am not very sensible in this point ;-) Ideal HIT lighting for me would be 500W per square meter in about a meter distance.

I have a little bench on a north facing window, base area about 1/4 sqm, that is lit with 150Watt HCI in 1.5 m distance. Plants are healthy, but could take much more for sure.

Most Nepenthes aren't that light hungry, and if your room gets some light from outside, one 400W High Pressure Sodium (those Sun Agro 430w are among the better HPS lights) or better: two 250Watt HIT lights would make a good start. The plants will show you after some time if they like more, you can add more lights if you want better colouration and more compact growth then.

Do you have a picture of the room?

Edited by Martin Hingst, 12 January 2011 - 22:40 PM.

[nadja77]

I agree that the more quality light plants receive the happier they are. My plants were doing ok until I put them under HO T5 fluorescent tubes, and that's when they really started to produce nice growth. Electricity here is not quite as expensive a commodity as it is in your part of the world so I don't need to worry overly to keep the cost down, there is only the environmental factor to be considered...

Below are some photos of the room. Unfortunately there is virtually no natural light since the window is tiny.
Thanks for your input!!