Lights for 12 x 12 x 18 Terrarium

[thegreenpanda]

I am going to give terrarium growing a try. I'm starting out small to see how it goes.
I will be growing mostly miniatures & seedlings. I found some t5s lights and want to see if you all think they would work.

Here's the info on them:
21 inch bulb
14w
Cool White
700 lumens
4200k
CRI 84

I bought 2 of them for my 12 x 12 x 18 terrarium and hoping they do the trick. I've been trying to find info and my head is spinning.

Do you think they would work or back to the drawing board? Any feedback would be helpful. Thanks!

[Paul Mc]

You should probably go for a higher actual wattage than 14W, not "equal to" wattage. Also, see if you can get a daylight bulb because that would be closer to the natural spectrum, with around 6500K temperature as opposed to higher or lower. I believe Home Depot sells a bulb similar to that, it's a bit expensive but that's what I use. I bought a dome clamp light fixture and hung it on a light holder you can buy at PetSmart and it seems to work great. Just remember that you will need to replace the bulb on a regular basis to get it's full benefit.

[thegreenpanda]

Thanks so much Paul! I saw the high output replacement bulbs with 6500k temps, I was just hoping to get some use out of these ones.

[littlefrog]

Have you considered LEDs? This is our best seller for terrariums of that size. Right now I only have two flavors, a 13W with 6500k chips, and one with a mix of 6500 and 4500k.

As a side benefit, these should last a lot longer than T5's... Don't need to change the tubes with LEDs.

just a thought

LED Plant Lighting - Live Terrarium Plants

[thegreenpanda]

Originally Posted by littlefrog

Have you considered LEDs? This is our best seller for terrariums of that size. Right now I only have two flavors, a 13W with 6500k chips, and one with a mix of 6500 and 4500k.

As a side benefit, these should last a lot longer than T5's... Don't need to change the tubes with LEDs.

just a thought

LED Plant Lighting - Live Terrarium Plants

Interesting! I might just go that route. When looking at the hood that fits, it only holds one bulb. Would just one 6500k bulb be enough light?? I have about 30 miniatures that I'll be putting in it.

[littlefrog]

The 13W LED is easily enough for 12x12x18. It doesn't sound like much, but it is super bright. Probably the equivalent of a 75-100W incandescent.

[shinv]

Does anyone know the 14 W, 6500K compact fluorescent light is enough for the 12 x 12 x 18 terrarium? I thought 830 lumen light output is not enough.

[littlefrog]

Depends on what you are growing, really... Might be enough.

[shinv]

Originally Posted by littlefrog

Depends on what you are growing, really... Might be enough.

Cattleya seedlings

[littlefrog]

See if you can go to 23W CFL, I think you'll be happier. Or one of the 13W LEDs...

I wouldn't get bogged down in the color temperature. Your plants won't care, in my opinion. As long as it is reasonably bright.

Rob