supply list?

[Becca]

Ross, I was looking at the T5 light fixtures you listed and I noticed that they are light fixtures that hang....could these be used to sit on top of an orchidarium? It looks as though yours is barely hovering above yours but I can't really tell. Also, if I use a smaller aquarium for this, would the lights be considered to close to the orchids or is that what buying specific bulbs with higher K's are for (I hope that makes sense!). I will probably try them in my new orchidarium first, but I just thought I would check! Thanks again!

[Ross]

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Ross, I was looking at the T5 light fixtures you listed and I noticed that they are light fixtures that hang....could these be used to sit on top of an orchidarium? It looks as though yours is barely hovering above yours but I can't really tell. Also, if I use a smaller aquarium for this, would the lights be considered to close to the orchids or is that what buying specific bulbs with higher K's are for (I hope that makes sense!). I will probably try them in my new orchidarium first, but I just thought I would check! Thanks again!

They make a 24" long model as well as 48" both 4 bulb and 8 bulb (there may be a 6 bulb - not sure)

The only reason these come with hangers is they are really meant for hydroponics folks who hang them over salad greens, stawberries and the like. Min actually sits on an old aluminum frame, single pane storm window that helps keep the heat from building up in the tank. Mostly, the fan I run while the lights are on serves to get rid of most of the heat. These puppies are not your average florescent light like a shop light. Those run pretty cool. These run pretty warm (I forget the temp they are designed for but it's very warm - like 90 degrees!) So the answer in short is - no you don't need to hang them. However you probably want to invest in a piece of heat-absorbing glass from a glass shop to lay on top of your orchidarium before you sit the lights on it. Then you will need to adapt a 12 volt fan to run when the light timer comes on. I'll try to get a closeup photo that illustrates it.

Originally Posted by RPfeiffer

Also, if I use a smaller aquarium for this, would the lights be considered to close to the orchids or is that what buying specific bulbs with higher K's are for (I hope that makes sense!). I will probably try them in my new orchidarium first, but I just thought I would check! Thanks again!

The K figure is color temperature. Full sun at noon at equator is 5000K (which stands for Kelvin). Daylight color film is balanced for 5500K. I use 3 6500K bulbs plus 1 3000K bulb which averages out to be 5625K (pretty close to 5500K) I am after a close match to daylight color film.

The lumens output will determine how close you can have the bulbs. I really doubt having them too close will ever be a problem unless you want to grow jewell orchids or something needing about 500 lumens range. Then you'll need to keep the 'chids at least a foot away. My dendros, maxillaria and Cischweinfia are approx 2-7" below the bulbs and thriving.

As I understand it, the orchidarium you are getting comes with T5 bulbs (or an equivilant) so I would wait and see what they send you. By the way, the twisty compact florescents are just as good but more expensive. I use them also upstairs because of space. The expense is because the ballast is built into the base of the bulb so if it burns out, the ballast must be thrown away. With the long straight T5 multi-tube fixtures, the ballast is in the fixture and you only replace the tube. Otherwise they are interchangeable. So if you worry about size, look at these: Full Spectrum Lighting and Light Therapy