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Just wondering if anyone has any knowledge on these things?

do they work effectively for plants such as cephalotus?

here is an example:

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/LED-GROW-LIGHT-BULB-...6#ht_1827wt_904

If not then what can i buy that will simply plug in? or something simple to set-up( i have no clue when it comes to light fixtures etc)

ronnie.

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Here is Carl's experiment on the matter with an H. pulchella.

http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38372

Carl's experiment is with white led light (although looking at his results I think that could work for a Ceph too) he is asking about the blue and red grow light led panels on ebay.

Edit-- http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?s...051&hl=leds

This thread is the one you want although its not the exact same led light panel you were looking at it is similar.

Edited by mattybadboy44
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Hey Ronnie, the thing about those lights which are predominantly blue and red LEDs, is that they produce more of the UV (blue)spectrum as opposed to the white LEDS which produce a more natural almost sun-like(yellowish) spectrum that plants love...

I know this cause I have been in the marine reef hobby for 10 years, and similar lighting and color spectrums are used. When I use a higher UV(blue) spectrum, my live coral responds by throwing out more colors to protect itself from getting "light bleached" . But on the other hand, when I use the more natural sun-like (white to yellowish) spectrum, the coral doesn't produce as much color but the growth is phenomenal.

Youre probably saying "Coral and plants are two different things" , and the answer is yes and no. Yes they're different cause coral are tiny animals and plants aren't animals, and no they're not different since both behaves exactly the same in terms of photosynthesizing.

In my opinion if you use those lights on ebay, your plants will produce more color than growth , but ultimately you can try it for yourself and find out....Hope this helps....Good luck

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Edit-- http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?s...051&hl=leds

This thread is the one you want although its not the exact same led light panel you were looking at it is similar.

Nice thread by the way Matty...very interesting...

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thanks for the info guys.

What light would you suggest? you'd need to show me the whole set-up. ballast etc aswell. Because i don't know how it all works.

I'm hopeless :flag_of_truce:

These may help

http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=38943

http://www.cpukforum.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=37898

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sheesh, too complicated :flag_of_truce:

would this thing be any good??

http://www.greenandeasy.co.uk/product/Garl...ght-Garden.aspx

I wouldn't know about that item but looks like it could do the job it has the right bulbs by the sounds of it.

I'm a beginner with lights and terrariums myself I'm afraid so I don't have much experience to offer but hopefully one of the experts on here will chip in at some point, but I believe its best to use a daylight bulb 6400k or something similar I think cold white are ok too.

I can tell you what I use and although I haven't been using them long I did research lighting for CPS a lot on here and elsewhere first and all plants seem to be doing really well so far.

I know you didn't ask about terrariums but I have added that information too so you get an idea of how its all set up.

I use this with two set ups--- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...42#ht_788wt_905

with this terrarium --- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Exo-Terra-Reptile-Gl...#ht_2096wt_1139

And this one--- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/Exo-terra-reptile-te...8#ht_500wt_1156

With this bulb--- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...IT#ht_519wt_905

The other set up which is larger I use a fish tank with a fish tank lid fitted with two of these bulbs--- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...#ht_1669wt_1139

using these fittings http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...T#ht_522wt_1139

I also use this fan for cooling--- http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...#ht_2330wt_1139

I did raise the level of the terrariums so the plants are closer to the lights, I have read that People on the forum have had success with similar set ups hopefully this will help you out somehow.

Edited by mattybadboy44
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I have recently treated myself to a Greenhouse Sensation heated propagator called a Vitopod. It is approx 500mm x 500mm square and about 250mm high. The heater is 50 Watts and controlled by a superb thermostat with a large LCD display. The temperature sensor is on a lead and you place the sensor in the surface of the compost.

A double length propagator is available and also extra panels to extend the height upwards for growing taller plants.

The total cost of a double length unit with the extra height panels is not a great deal more than the one I bought and would be more versatile for growing other plants that need warmth.

I have mounted two nlite T5 lamps (24 Watts each) on the top of the lid (where they will not be subjected to any moisture) and I have draped a piece of reflective plastic over the top to reflect as much light as possible on to the plants. I have got a temperature probe measuring the air temperature. With the lamps on the air temperature is about 26 centigrade ( I have the thermostat set at 25 centigrade). The lamps are timed to be on 16 hours per day using a segment timer.

The nlite lamps have a purple output i,e a spectrum consisting of red and blue light.

I am using this set up to grow Venus Flytraps from seeds and they are doing very well. I have also got some Sun Blaster T5 lamps which are a more normal coloured output but I have not compared how well they compare with the nlite ones.

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Sorry mate, I just noticed this thread.

I've been using these panels for about 3 years and I think they're great.

I only use them for neps which are kept in a clear plastic tank with the lights about 6 - 8" above them. The neps seem to think they're great too as they all grow quickly and put on decent colour. The only down side is that when you look at the plants under the lights they are really dark green, almost black.

I find them really reliable too, out of 4, only one has burnt out in that time despite them being on for 13 hours a day every day.

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Carl's experiment is with white led light (although looking at his results I think that could work for a Ceph too) he is asking about the blue and red grow light led panels on ebay.

I have tried a smaller 3W white LED lamp on Cephalotus and it got real good colouration but was only suitable for a small plant. The problem with a lot of the cheap LED panels I have seen is that they have insufficient light penetration to sustain tall plants, but they are ideal for seedlings. You could always mount them vertically and horizontally to achieve this, but that would get expensive. The 7W Philips LED lamp shown in my post has focussing optics, which gives it a tight beam which helps achieve penetration. Currently I think that CFL give best value for money but this might change in the future as the price of LED technology decreases. A 20W daylight CFL fluorescent costs ~£5 and in my experience is sufficient for growing Cephalotus.

Edited by mobile
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Thanks for the link, pat. I've got it in my favourites.

mobile, where would i get the daylight CFL? and the fixtures for it?

Matty, what do you grow in your terrarium? I';d grow them in a terrarium but then theres the point that i'm a novice and i think alot of problems would arise.

ronnie.

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Thanks for the link, pat. I've got it in my favourites.

mobile, where would i get the daylight CFL? and the fixtures for it?

Matty, what do you grow in your terrarium? I';d grow them in a terrarium but then theres the point that i'm a novice and i think alot of problems would arise.

ronnie.

I just have mainly Cephs, Heliamphora and one or two nepenthes it's obvious though even after a small amount of time since moving the plants into the terrarium with the extra lighting the Heliamphora and Cephs have benefitted greatly.

I consider myself a novice Ronnie we all gotta start somewhere, the good thing about a terrarium is you can channel the lighting onto your plants better and use reflective sides to increase it, you can also control the environment better for your plants giving them optimal growing conditions and increasing or decreasing humidity and temperature when you need too making it better for your plants.

If you set it up right you shouldn't have many problems and any problems you come across could be easily fixed, most people on here have come across all of them and could help you out.

I use the daylight CFL bulbs in all my terrariums they are in a link in my earlier post with the fittings I found these were the cheapest and best option lighting for my needs.

Edited by mattybadboy44
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mobile, where would i get the daylight CFL? and the fixtures for it?

eBay has dozens of them. HERE's one but a search for the term 'daylight fluorescent' on eBay will find all sorts of wattages and fitting types. The lower wattages, ~20W or maybe slightly higher will fit in an anglepoise style lamp - just make sure you get the right fitting type to suit the lamp, e.g. ES or BC. ES are more common so you might want to consider a lamp with that type of fitting. Ikea had some lamps at reasonable prices last I visited, such as THIS one, but you'd need to check that your selected CFL would fit - with that lamp, 11W is suggested on their webpage but it would handle a larger wattage, though the CFL might protrude beyond the shade.

Edited by mobile
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