what kind of light is this?
 

hey! :waving

its starting to cool down again and i dont want to leave my plants outside. ive tried many methods of growing plants and lost many. so im going to have a go at lights.
but before i fork over a paycheck, i want to know how to work things. ive seen some great success and would like a go at it

heres what i have: my brother had this thing laying around and i want to see if its good enough for plants. it has two fixtures with 2 bulbs about 2.5ft in length.
i have one of those 2prong moisture/ph/light meters and i put it right above the leaves of the plants which were maybe 2 inches below the bulbs and the meter didnt even move. i thought it was broken but it work just fine and measured 1500 at my bathroom window. i know that cant be good but it has to be using SOME fc's if its light. ive read that plants dont need many if theyre always under a constant spectrum or whatever. its too early to tell now but while the temps outside rise again, the plants will have to deal with it til spring.

can you guys help me identify what this fixture is and what kind of bulb it is? idk what this whole t5 t8 etc stuff is nor what fixtures you need. thanks for the help

I had a lamp like that only 4'.
When the florescent bulbs get grey at the ends they are nearing the end of their lifespan. Go to any hardware store and they should have replacements. Also they may take your old bulbs. They contain mercury and should not go in the trash. Usually you want to go for daylight bulbs. Cool white are the cheapest; and are fine for vegetative growth only. Take a bulb with you so you can be sure the pins at the end of the bulb will fit your lamp. T5's are newer and more powerful in their output; but their pins require a different socket than your lamp has.
You can also surf on the internet for aquarium and terrarium bulbs of the same length.

thanks much!!! very straightforward. :)

however, is it good enough? or will it just help my plants stay green over winter?

You have a T12 fixture with 2 foot bulbs. It's better than nothing but a 4 foot fixture puts out more than twice the light. You want to get the highest output (lumens) bulbs with the highest K rating. I have no idea what the numbers are for a 2 foot bulb. Home Depot carries them.

thanks for clarifying that. now i have an idea of what it is. im guessing it will be alright during the winter months, however ive seen several members here with magnificent blooms under lights. ive yet to rebloom anything other than phals so i want to see how well lights work.

just curious, can you burn a plant with lights even if the light isnt hot? from what ive read, t8 is the way to go for me since theyre very common and t5 would be better if i found them. how much would you recommend for getting cattleyas and vandas to bloom?

For Catts and Vandas I don't think you can bloom them under T8's. I would go T5's for them and hope that will work. I KNOW you can bloom them under HID lights but that's a whole other ball game !!

even minicatts? i dont think im going to invest in a standard for a while due to their finicky-ness. vandas i think i can bloom if i put them outdoors. hopefully other things can bloom. im really considering a fixture of t8s. does it carry 2 bulbs on it? and how much would it cost approx.

Sorry, mini Catts are fine under T8's. I have 3 or 4. You can get 2. 4. 6 bulb fixtures. I have a couple 4 bulb fixtures but I didn't buy them. I did buy 2 bulb shop light fixtures and hooked some together or just hung them together. Unless you're cramped for space 4 bulb fixtures are much better than 2 bulb ones. If I were to get more T8 fixtures I would look at the high output ones. If too pricey I would go back to Home Depot and get the $20 2 bulb T8 shop lights and hook or hang them side by side. The $10 shop lights are more trouble than they're worth, I know, I started with them !

Before I had T5's, I bloomed a few catts and other things under T12's. I tried to get the full spectrum or gro light ones and you put them quite close over the plants. (6 inches). I grew thousands of bedding plants that way too and they were never leggy, they were wonderful.

You may not be aware that T12's are in the process of being phased out. below are two links with some info on it. So that may have some bearing on what type of lights you get.

High output (HO) T5's are said to be twice as bright as the T12's. Not sure if it's true and I a no expert.

Is it true that T12 bulbs are being discontinued and must be replaced with T8

http://nuwnotes1.nu.com/apps/clm/eventcalendar.nsf/0/6feae9ce87dcb7968525770a0074d8ea/$FILE/Lighting%20phaseout%20optimized.pdf

Looks like this 2nd URL didn't turn into a link so hopefully it works if you copy and paste it.

those links are interesting. i guess t8 is a good way to go. and these will do for the winter. what i am concerned with is the amount of time to keep it on. i dont have a timer and dont really know how much hours it has to be on. so far ive kept it on 7am to 9pm just for convenience but im not sure if thats right.

I do mine 6 to 9 and change 6 to 6 when the DST stops. I just read in another thread that Ray, when he did under lights, did his 14 hours on 10 off all the time.

im going to do reading up on daylength for flowering because i saw that it is more inflenced by temp change than daylength. but who knows. for now im staying safe at 14hours a day since its such a low output on these t12 and theyd prolly benefit the extra light

That's what I heard about the longer duration. I also just heard that most of our orchids come from the tropical zone where day/night is pretty much average at 12/12 !!!

i figured that too since theyre from the equator. maybe even a 16 hour light perios would be cool, and sleep 8 hours like us humans :biggrin: i also wonder what would happen if lights were to be on 24/7

They have to have a night because their respiration changes in the dark.

T8 bulbs will fir a T12 fixture, T5s will not.

Shoot for 6500°K, +/-

Yes, you can bloom vandas under them, but you have to keep them very close to the bulbs.

Yes, you can burn a plant under a cool bulb, if the light flux is high enough.

I just was shopping at Home Depot and they DO carry 2 foot T12's that ARE 6500K but only 1075 lumens.

this is so neat. how exactly do you find the k and lumens. is it on the box? i see that the k should reflect day amount right? it will provide the broadest spectrum. the lumens though i dont get. are they like fcs?

Yes, on the box. K is the wavelength spectrum, and 6500K is the highest in blue and red that plants need. lumens and FC are related, I think 1 Fc is a square foot of lumens, but don't quote me that might be backwards ! I DO KNOW that if you measure you'll read more Fc than lumens from the same spot.

they are t12s. yep!

i grow under 4, 4ft t12s. i have catts and dendrobiums that bloom. i think the secret is giving them as much light as possible in the summer. then its okay with lower light in the winter.

but if its possible for nice high light all year long, that better of course!

ok so im going to start saving up for lights as they seem to be quite practical for me since its too cold in winter and too hot in summer. right now im looking for a timer for my current light but i dont know what im looking for. theres some that say 3 hour shut-off or 6 hours. i need one that will automatically turn on for 12-16 hours a day and turn off as well. i noticed that i dont have the diligence to wake up early every morning and im messing with the plants' day times. can anyone point me towards an economical timer that does just that? how do you guys go about it

I forget how much but reasonable at Home Depot.

mine cost me 3 bucks!

where?!

Mine Cost Me 3 Bucks
 

Yeah, maybe at a second-hand (Goodwill) or a garage sale.
Possibly as a close-out.
Usually they're gonna be 6-8 bucks.
Try hardware stores or Fred Meyers (if you have FM there.)

thats still cheap. i thought they were like 20's or so. anyways, no we have ace hardware here along with the typical hd and lowes

so i got 2 of these t8s:

Walmart.com: Lights of America 24" Fluorescent Grow Light Fixture: Decor

but the person i got them from says the bulbs are 7800k. how much lumens does that amount to and is this a good amount of light? thanks

I went to the link and the description of product says it is 4200k.

i know but the owner clarified that the bulbs are different and not the originals. his are 7800k. regardless, would they be suitable. im still not all up to par with this kelvin and lumens stuff. guess i took 2 years of physics and chemistry for nothing :/ lol