indoor lighting questions

[geffcardo]

is it ok to grow sundews and butterworts in a cabinet with 4 47w cfl's that are on for 18 hours a day?

 

[naich]

well alot of factors vary this like
what species
how far away are the light
how many lumens
and the amout of kelvins

 

[geffcardo]

wow i dont know any of that lol

 

[swords]

I think they will get pretty hot "in a cabinet" if there is no fan, even though CFLs are pretty cool running you still have 188 watts going which can warm up a small enclosed space with no air movement pretty fast. I would say the bulbs should be enough for a small area 20 gallon long fishtank size maybe 30" L x 12" x 12" .

When you buy new twisty CFLs make sure they say 6500K Daylight on them so the plants get a proper spectrum. Usually they are sold in blue packaging with the word DAYLIGHT in large letters and regular soft whites are in yellow packaging. Unscrew one and check the base of the bulbs you have they will generally say either "6500K"(which is Daylight) or "2700K" (which is soft white) somewhere on it.

 

[geffcardo]

yea ill b sure to check for that when i go get some tomorrow
also i will get a fan but probably a small one

 

[swords]

Most tend to use the small 12V fans used to cool a PC desktop case to cool our terrariums and plant shelves. A 20" window box fan would be a bit too much for a small space!

 

[geffcardo]

uhhh i want grow carnivorous plants alongside another plant.............a special plant

 

[swords]

hmmm... I don't have any experience growing plants any more "special" than carnivores, orchids and succulents.

 

[geffcardo]

lol
uhhh i got two 40 watt cfls and 2 24 watt cfls goin right now

 

[GregNY]

no expert here but that seems like some potential hot/dry conditions. Correct me if I'm wrong but a 40w cfl = about 150w regular bulb. Having two of those and 2 24w cfl = 75w regular bulbs seems like a lot of light and possibly a lot of heat without proper ventilation. I think pictures of your planned setup would help greatly with members helping you out....

 

[geffcardo]

ok ill post up pics when i actually get the cab lol

 

[Clint]

Greg, You count CF's as 40 watt, never what they're supposed to look like to the human eye. You'd consider it to be 64 watts.

 

[geffcardo]

MEH im getting lazy
im just gonna leave them outside lol

 

[brandylorton]

Well regarding the lights so many factors are there. The distance from the plants also matters. which kind of lights are used also matters.Here the intensity of light and the voltage also need to be taken care of.

 

[MICKEY]

why not just get a2' t 8 there cheaper than 4 cfl and less heat problems ,better bulb selection and will spread the light better