Newbie lighting help

[court_b]

Hi!
This year I bought several new orchids besides Phals and I'm concerned about lighting, heat and humidity for these new orchids. I purchased an indoor greenhouse with the plastic cover. I need to figure out proper lighting for it. I have been reading all the threads in this section and researching lights. It seems that people like the T5 and T8 lighting and that is what I am leaning towards. I have a few questions but let me give you a little bit of info... The greenhouse I purchased is 5ft tall and a little over 2ft wide, it has four levels. My orchids consist of 3 no ID Phals, a hybrid cattleya, dendrobium and oncidium sharry baby. The height range for them is from 3inches to 3ft. I live in Colorado where its super dry and my fiancé likes to keep our house chilly so a light that gives off some heat wouldn't be an issue.
Questions I have:
I know my Cat needs more light then my Phals, so can I arrange to have my Cat closer to the light and my Phals on a lower shelf?
For my oncidium, it's super tall so it will also be on a lower shelf, would it be receiving enough light?
Is a T5 2x2 Hyrdofarm EnviroGro fixture too little light? Would you suggest 4x2? I am afraid that my Cat will get sunburn.

I'm sorry about this long post but any help would be greatly appreciated! I really want to have the knowledge and correct lighting for my orchids now and future ones!
Thanks,
Court

[WhiteRabbit]

[Leafmite]

I just switched from window growing to lights this autumn. I really like the T5 6500K bulbs. I bought 3 4ft, 4 bulb Hydrofarm Envirogro fixtures as I bought a four foot shelving unit with four shelves (the upper shelf is just for attaching the upper light fixture). The lights keep the room warm during the day but the heat disappears quickly after they go off. I use a timer so I don't need to remember to turn them on and off.
I used S hooks to get the lights to fit snuggly against the shelves so I would have more room for my plants underneath. The Cattleyas have been just fine, no burning, and they are about three or four inches away from the light. Phals and lower light plants need to be a little further away. I hung my Burr. Nelly Isler on the side of the shelf as the leaves are too high to fit under the shelves.
Here is a picture of the set up to help you:

[Leafmite]

The bottom shelf has most of the Cattleyas. I was able to adjust the shelves so there is 15 inches between the shelf and light for that shelf, 17 inches of space for the plants on the middle shelf and 26 inches for the upper shelf plants. Good luck! I think you will love growing under lights!

[court_b]

Originally Posted by Leafmite

I just switched from window growing to lights this autumn. I really like the T5 6500K bulbs. I bought 3 4ft, 4 bulb Hydrofarm Envirogro fixtures as I bought a four foot shelving unit with four shelves (the upper shelf is just for attaching the upper light fixture). The lights keep the room warm during the day but the heat disappears quickly after they go off. I use a timer so I don't need to remember to turn them on and off.
I used S hooks to get the lights to fit snuggly against the shelves so I would have more room for my plants underneath. The Cattleyas have been just fine, no burning, and they are about three or four inches away from the light. Phals and lower light plants need to be a little further away. I hung my Burr. Nelly Isler on the side of the shelf as the leaves are too high to fit under the shelves.
Here is a picture of the set up to help you:

Thanks a ton! This is helpful! I think going with a T5 light set up is a good choice. That's a great idea for the taller plants as well. I was fiddling with putting them in their last night and it was slightly painful. My Onc. is super tall so that may work well. I think I'm going to start with one light fixture on the top to start and see how it works. Thanks for letting me know how far your Cats sit from the light as well! I'll start with that distance and see how it works.
I'll post a picture once its all done..may take a week or so!
Thanks again!
Court

[court_b]

Update: Here is my orchids new living space, although I have already decided I need a bigger one since I got 3 new orchids for Christmas and I have another one my friend is giving me within the next week. The lighting is perfect, I only use 2/4 lights on, 4/4 was burning the cat. The Cat, Tulu, and Onc. "Calire" (which I still know nothing about), are on the top shelf. The Phals, Paph, Onc. Sharry and Dend. are on the bottom shelf. Even in Colorado, where currently it's 16 degrees with 10 inches on snow the temp and humidity stay around 75 degrees and 45-70 percent humidity. We rarely turn on heat in our house so our inside temp is in the 60's. I have two dishes in there with rocks and water for humidity as well as a fan. It's a good beginners start but I will be making some adjustments in the future. Hope this helps anyone starting out just like me!