New Wave T5 good? and 6700s or mix?
 

I was going to reuse a CoralLife power compact system I have until I realized that it would cost more than $132 to just update the lamps.

I found a 4ft New Wave fixture with 4x54w for $190 with bulbs (all 6700K.) If I replace two of those with 3000K it will only be $15 a lamp compared to $33 or more per PC lamp so going with the T5s will easily pay the difference in the long run and then some.

Anyway, I was wondering if anyone here has experience with the New Wave brand of fixtures?

Also, Tim here says that he gets good growth AND flowering under all 6700Ks. Do you think I should go with that or should I add the 3000Ks (one or two?)

The unit comes with all 6700Ks so I am excited that Tim states he can grow and flower well under them.

I use both 4-tube and 8-tube New Wave and like them a lot. I think they will be fine for your use.

How long have you been running them? Any problems?

What bulbs do you use and do you get both good growth and flowering?

Thanks so much.

Jonny I have the New Wave T5's and I love them. I bought the 2ft fixture because that is what fit my Exo-Terra the best, but I wish I could have fit the 4ft fixture instead because the 4ft fixture has more lumen per bulb. I have bloomed my Laelia reginae under these lights but I kept the 'chid as close as possible to the bulbs. They have also worked great for several of my miniature orchids as well further away from the bulbs, like my Haraella retrocalla. I use a mixture of the bulbs. You can try all 6700K and see if it works for you, if not, switch to mixing the bulbs the next year!

As a reef aquarist fan (as you know) I know the importance of not always accpeting what people say is the way to do things. That is how we discovery important things like that a reef can be run on live sand and liverock without a "traditional" filter.

BUT, with my orchidarium I am not much interested in experimentation. I really want to use what works best.

So you say a mix. Is that 6700k and 3000k or something else?

Thanks Becca

Well I use a mix because that is what others had recommended, I am by far no expert! But there have been others that say you can use just all 6000K bulbs and be fine. I believe my bulbs are a mix of the 3500K and a 6500K bulb. I have another orchidarium and I am trying all 5500K bulbs in them. So far so good! I have a few spikes and the dendrobiums love them! I think Ross has used a mixture of bulbs and also all just T5 Midday 6000K Giesemann bulbs. I'm not sure if he is using both methods or not currently.

Ross...what's the update on those bulbs?

Jonny....here is a link to a thread that might be of some help, otherwise I just suggest reading all you can in the Growing Under Lights forum and decide what you think is best based off of the info you read: http://www.orchidboard.com/community...my-lights.html

To me...it all get's confusing....lol. Oh...and my bulbs may be the other way around....5500K lights in the New Wave fixtures and the mix in my other fixtures that came with my orchidarium. I just can't keep up anymore!

I'm using the GE bulbs right now and they work fine. The only reason I usually recommend 5000K color temperature is for viewing pleasure and photography reasons. The plants don't really care. You could use 6500K just as well.

The Geismann's are in my 24" fixture and so far they seem brighter than other equivilants, but I think that's subjective. Not sure I'd spend the money next time. Certainly not for 48" tubes!

I've been using my fixtures since I set up my tank and indoor garden. The garden was last summer and the tank a couple years ago. Don't recall exactly except I have a dated article accessible from the Home page.

I'm using all 6400K in my fixtures and have successfully bloomed a wide variety of plants. That's what came in my Hydrofarm fixtures and I was too lazy to mix and match. :)

I love my New Wave T 5s! I have two banks of 4 lights in my grow room on either side of a southeast facing picture window. The bulbs are 3000K and 6500K. I am able to bloom Catts under them. They do throw off heat but my ceiling fan slightly opened air conditioning duct help with that....I do run a humidifyer. Thanks for this post as it reminds me I need to order new replacement bulbs for June...the one year mark for my set up. :)

I have decided to order the mixed bulbs since that is a common suggestion but it is good to hear that others are succeeding with just the higher kelvin lamps.

It would be nice to just keep a stock of one type of lamp but all the hydroponics sites I visit (they seem to use T5s on plants more than most others) are using the mixed lamp set up.

Sad to hear that they give off considerable heat. My PCs are bad about that too and I was hoping the T5s would be a bit less. We'll see.

My T5's run around 90 degree's or more. I have a fan on the floor pointed at the lights. Without the fan my exo-terra gets up to about 99 degree's. With the fan it stays in the mid 70's. Hope this helps!

I was planning on having the fixture resting on the top of the orchidarium since I have no way to hang it where the orchidarium is (this is a VERY unique situation, ask be and I will shock you, lol.)

I will have a small fan blowing across the top to dissipate heat as I do with the PC fixture. I hope that will be enough. I would like to keep it around 80, 85 at most and lower if possible.

Johnny, I have my lights resting on the top of my Exo-Terra frame as well. I have a piece of acrylic separating the lights from the exo-terra tank to help keep the humidity in.

Oh, ok then I should not have a problem since I plan to use a fan blowing across the top of the orchidarium and the set up has a glass top.

I never dreamed I could get temperatures around 70F with lights so that has me excited. With my PCs now the orchidarium gets up to the low 80s so sounds like the T5s will be an improvement on many fronts: slightly less watts, bulbs spread across the entire top, lower heat and much cheaper bulbs.

Thanks for the info.