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Setup for a single bulb growlight?

So basically I noticed the tree in our front yard grew leaves and is now casting a shadow on my window during the evening which kinda deprives my plants of some light, so I picked up a cheap 40 watt CFL bulb for supplemental light (2800 lumens, 6500k) and I currently have it setup as such:

kuj8j4a.jpg


So it shines down on the Nepenthes below. However this is really bad and inneficient and Im also concerned about the bulb being in a high humidity space, so I was wondering if there was a better way to go about placing this thing to ensure not much of its light is wasted and that its being spread around to as many plants as possible?

Also is the high humidity an issue? If so Im just going to put it ouside of the tent and shine it onto one rack.

Thanks for any responses!
 
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I haven't noticed any issues with lighting in high humidity, my light bulbs stick directly into my terrarium and don't cause issues. I also know that several experienced growers use bare CFL bulbs in their greenhouses without any problems. However, I keep my terrarium clear of condensation, so I don't know how that would effect the electrical components of the light. If you do keep the light inside, you'll want to make sure that no water drips down the cable and into the outlet, that would cause unpleasant issues. As for lighting efficiency, I would move the light closer to the plants, since lumen output decreases exponentially as distance increases. Make sure the heat from the bulb doesn't burn the plants, though. Putting the light on the same rack as the plants and arranging them in a kind of cluster close to the bulb might be helpful.
 
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So this bulb started smelling like burnt plastic, its been removed and is going to be disposed of tomorrow, thanks for the response SerMuncher. (This bulb was nice while it lasted :|)
 
May I ask what company it was from? Some of my bulbs initially had a similar smell, then I removed them from my terrarium and used them elsewhere, and when I put them back they were fine!
 
May I ask what company it was from? Some of my bulbs initially had a similar smell, then I removed them from my terrarium and used them elsewhere, and when I put them back they were fine!

Feit Electrics.
 
That's the company I got mine from, and they're doing fine now. Don't toss the bulb yet, use it somewhere else and see if the issue resolves itself!
 
Alright, Ill try turning it on outside in a different lamp and leave it on for awhile (Outside so Im not dying from mercury vapors D: ) Ill see if it still smells.
 
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Hey that seems to have fixed it! I swapped lamps then put it back into the,original after running it for about an hour and it no longer smells of burning plastics. Thanks! Hopefully itll last.
 
Another update, looks like the bulb was faulty/used or something. It burned out after 3 hours of use today :| Google search says the smokey smell is a sign the bulb is burning out, also was taking awhile to glow which is also a sign its going to burn out, so I guess they sent me a cruddy bulb. Darn.

Back into the box and to the recycling.
 
  • #10
Sashoke, may I suggest going for something without mercury on your next attempts to avoid any further panic. lol

If you plant on replacing it with another fluorescent in the same fixture, then here is what I would use as an equivalent: http://www.amazon.com/EcoSmart-Equi...8&qid=1435089380&sr=8-4&keywords=a19+led+grow

Bulbs with around 5000-65000K light spectrum are fine for growing & comparable to the fluorescents. There are numerous high end grow-lights, but the link provided is an affordable alternative.
 
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  • #11
Definitely wont be buying CFL anytime soon again, Ive had enough stress for one day.

Would the 450 lumens on those bulbs be good enough? Wouldnt I have to float those just a couple of inches above the plants to get much out of such a low lumens count?
 
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  • #12
A chainsaw would be simpler.........
 
  • #13
I believe that lumens are unimportant when it comes to plant growth but I'll look into this & add as its been a few years. But those bulbs don't produce much heat if they'll be close.
 
  • #14
Lumens don't directly quantify the wavelengths responsible for plant growth, but as long as you compare apples to apples (or for example CFL to CFL or LED to LED) it can be useful.
 
  • #15
A chainsaw would be simpler.........

Its a very old tree, and its big enough to where just trimming it wouldnt be enough, so I think supplemental lighting for Summer would be a better thing to do. I like that tree afterall.
 
  • #16
I may have been wrong, & right. lol
Lumens measure the amount of light but not necessarily the amount of usable light for plants. But, generally you do want more lumens when attempting to cover a larger area with more depth. The color temperature is more important & what is the best to usually go on when looking for full spectrum lights in the 5000-65000k temp range... unless you buy your own LEDS & make your own fixtures which I have done in the past. You can then selct the best possible PAR when buying single leds which measures the light energy available for plant use & isn't always listed. If you really want to get technical then you would go with an array of lights on the spectrum; but, just as standard fluorescents work fine, most others in that same range work just as well.

Some of the floodlights by the same brand or in the same category are listed par20 & 30 which are known to be great as plant growlights & coral growlights. Those lights I listed don't have a par rating so it would be a guess but I would assume they would work just as well if not better than a comparable fluoro based on experience with both. I may have confused more than helped. lol
 
  • #17
Lumens measure all visible wavelengths. For growing plants, PAR, photosynthetically active radiation measures the specific wavelengths that plants actually use. The reason you need to compare apples to apples with lumens is because LEDs tend to produce a higher PAR value in relation to fluorescents. This can result in an LED fixture that doesn't appear as bright to the human eye but gives better growth than fluorescents.
 
  • #18
Lumens measure all visible wavelengths. For growing plants, PAR, photosynthetically active radiation measures the specific wavelengths that plants actually use. The reason you need to compare apples to apples with lumens is because LEDs tend to produce a higher PAR value in relation to fluorescents. This can result in an LED fixture that doesn't appear as bright to the human eye but gives better growth than fluorescents.

Well put SubRosa :bigthumpup:
 
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