Some lighting recommendations please?

[varda.elentari]

Seeing as no one seems to be using the lights I asked about in another thread, I thought I'd ask for more general recommendations for an LED grow light. I've looked through some of the threads here but the problem is a lot of the lights I've seen recommended like Sunblaster don't necessarily publish their PPFD data, which is what I've been trying to use to sift through the myriad of options out there. So I'm hoping to get some recommendations from growers who grow the genera I'm hoping to keep.

I'm planning to grow mostly Cymbidiums, Neofinetias and Phrags, maybe a Phal or Paph or two. I know the last two will need less light than the others so I'm thinking of making a tiered set-up where the high-light loving orchids would be closer to the light than the low-light loving ones. So all the plants would be under one light, as opposed to on separate shelves, each with their own light source. The light from the window is practically negligible so I'm looking for a light I could use year round.

Based on what I've read about PPFD and DLI, I'd need a fixture that would provide at least 250 umol/m^2/s at a reasonable distance from the top "tier" of plants in case that's relevant.

I'd really appreciate any recommendations. If it's easily available in Canada that would be a big plus! Thanks in advance!

[Dusty Ol' Man]

It seems several folks here (including me) like the lights sold by The Orchid Hobbyist. Check out their website. Orchid Hobbyist

[varda.elentari]

Thanks for responding! Yes, I've seen a lot of people mention them but I notice even their strongest ones produces only 635 foot candles unless I'm misunderstanding something. That's not strong enough for Cyms unless I buy multiple fixtures which would be out of my budget especially with international shipping.

[Ambrose]

I presently grow my Phals. and mini Cattleyas under a bunch of 54 watt t-5 lights. They have been doing quite nicely so far. Never being satisfied unless I can tweak stuff further, I recently purchased an LED grow light fixture from a Canadian company called MarsHydro. It is the TSL 2000W model. I have not yet set it up so stay tuned. See the specs at:
Mars Hydro TSL 2000 LED Grow Light for Indoor Plants Full Spectrum 300W 2ftx4ft 3ftx5ft coverage for sale,buy Mars Hydro TSL 2000 LED Grow Light for Indoor Plants Full Spectrum 300W 2ftx4ft 3ftx5ft coverage - Mars Hydro

Stay safe..............

[varda.elentari]

I checked it out and those are some very impressive PPFD values. Too high even for what I'd need but I'd be very curious to hear your opinion!

---------- Post added at 05:07 PM ---------- Previous post was at 04:52 PM ----------

I'm considering these:
Amazon.ca

Each fixture puts out 142 umol/m^2/s at 12" so I figured two or three would be enough for my cymbidiums if I keep them on for 12 hours a day. The only thing I'm concerned about is that no one seems to have heard about them on this forum and though many reviews mention succulents, no one mentions orchids...

[thefish1337]

The orchid hobbyist lights are great but they are designed as fluorescent tube replacements for people who want to grow in rack setups that want to maximize density and *in some cases* efficiency by putting the lights close to the leaves. This is fine for lower light orchids and plants with smaller stature. The problem I have with them is that the lower intensity means that your ideal light level with this has a very shallow "z-height". You also lose out on efficiency gains from diffusion of photons.

I'd rather hang a higher intensity source higher because I have more usable "z-height" to grow plants in a tent or larger shelf and you get a lot of benefits from diffuse photon emission from the light source aka better canopy penetration. Personally I grow with horticulture lighting group 65 watt panels and with dimmers, and HLG-sabers with dimmers. With hanging higher intensity sources higher I can grow both larger stature/higher light loving plants in the same space as lower light plants because of better light penetration into my grow area. You simply wont get that if your lights are 6-12" away from the tops of your plants.

[varda.elentari]

That sounds exactly like the kind of set-up I'd like to have. I've heard of HLG Saber lights but they don't seem to be available on Amazon. As for the panels, do you mean something like this?
Amazon.com

[thefish1337]

Originally Posted by varda.elentari

That sounds exactly like the kind of set-up I'd like to have. I've heard of HLG Saber lights but they don't seem to be available on Amazon. As for the panels, do you mean something like this?
Amazon.com

yes those are the exact panels I have. I have two hung in a 2' by 4' by 3' shelf. I have two sabers in another shelf that is a bit taller. they are sold out of the sabers currently. there is also a silicon shortage which may be impacting their ability to get enough chips.

I use these dimmers to dial it down for seedlings and for my eyes:
DC rotary dimmer

[varda.elentari]

Thank you. My growing area would be about 2' by 4' too so I'll probably need two as well. More than I wanted to spend unfortunately but I'll definitely consider it. Or do you think I could get away with just one panel if I position the Cyms close?

What genera do you grow under them?

[estación seca]

2' x 4' - how many Cyms do you plan to grow?