Light meters
 

I am somewhat new to growing orchids under lights and would like to get the lighting correct. What type/kind of light meters do you guys use or recommend?
-Dave

I have used the cheap ones you can pick up in many stores around home. I gave up because they were very inaccurate. I now use this one Light Meters, 840006,840020,21,22 You could probably be satisfied with the 840021 (foot-candles only). They are calibratable (they self zero, but you can also force it to zero or set to a known output.) They read to tenths and are very accurate. You place the white globe next to the plant leaf and read the dial.

I bought a lux meter for $20 on eBay.It reads up tp 100,000 lux.I think the most important thing to consider is that it has a silicone photo diode,and almost any meter you look at will have this.

I bought one and never used it. Stuck with the trial and error method. Someone once told me that you get a "feel" for it over time and not to bother buying one. I didn't listen and I should have spent the money on another plant :). Only time I get worried about light is with my cattleya types.

I got mine on ebay under extech light meters. it reads up to 2000 fc. Works great.

Thanks for the info. I will try the Ebay route. It seems like there are several different ones on there. I'll just pick one with the best stats for the money.
-Dave

I bought one from some generic orchid store online, it serves it's purpose, and definetly something you want if you're not quite sure if you're providing enough/too much light. If you've never had one, it is something I would recommend so you can set your bearings, the human eye is notoriously bad for being able to judge light. You eventually can get the knack for whether your plants are happy, but that is assuming you hold all the other conditions steady and only vary light, which is hard to do.