Need a Comparison

[BioWheel]

I'm lucky to have purchased a used Orchidarium on eBay. But - I'm having some trouble growing my Catts. The unit has 6, 55w biaxial CFL's and can put out a lot of light. My question/concern is this: It says on the web in a couple places that Catts need something like 4000 ft/candles. If I use my light meter to put them at exactly a position that achieves that much light they lose their green color quickly and become washed out. So is that too much light? Or - is that kind of light so much that the Catts need more water/fertz? I"m not sure. Anyone else use a light meter and sure they have about 3 or 4k ft/candles and you're growing great?