What are the specs of your setup, and what do you grow?

[Tim C.]

I've been looking for a thread for a long time that has the specific details (bulb type/model/manufacturer, wattage, lumens, degrees K, FC, distance, etc) of everyone's artificial light setups. Across many different orchid boards I haven't found anything remotely close to this, so I figured I'd start one.

Here are my specs, copied from a reply I made to another post in this forum:

- Growing area is 27" deep by 49" wide by 3 foot tall.
- 2 GE Daylight 40watt T12 fluorescent tubes, 6500K, 3050 lumens per bulb.
- 2 GE Kitchen and Bath 40watt T12 fluorescent tubes, 3000K, 3400 lumens per bulb.
- 3 Bright Effects Daylight 26watt compact fluorescent bulbs (the screw-in type), 6500K, 1600 lumens per bulb.
- 3 Bright Effects Soft White 26watt compact fluorescent bulbs, 2700K, 1750 lumens per bulb.

All of this comes to roughly 23,000 lumens in my grow area. My footcandle readings are, in distance from bulbs: 5" = 5000 FC, 10" = 3500 FC, 18" = 1500 FC. I grow standard sized Catts in this setup, their leaves all sit within the 3500-5000 FC range. No scorching, no burning, nice green leaves with some purple edges. Lots of big blooms.

I've included some pictures of my setup. If anyone has specific questions about my setup, please feel free to send me a PM and I'll be happy to discuss it further.

Thanks,
-Tim C.