Quote:
Originally Posted by John
Hi Steven....you caught me on that one! The T12 tubes that I get are 34 watt because they are energy savers. I didn't think to check to see if 40 watt tubes are still available. The T8s are 32 watt and I don't know if they are made with higher wattage. Ray made a good point about color index but I thought I read that horticulture tubes were heavy in the red spectrum for better growth. When I get time, I will search about that.
John
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John, et al, just a quick primer... watts are not the issue here.... there are several other factors to consider.
Red spectrum is primarily aimed at blooms. Thus the mix some folks use of incandescent plus cool-white florescents.
Blue spectrum is primarily aimed at leaf/vegetative growth. Thus the blue (daylight) tubes that folks use. My personal mix is 3 high spectrum bulbs to one low spectrum bulb all the time.
Having said this, there is another point we need to remember, lumens (or foot-candles, what have you) is the intensity of the light put out by the tubes. It is almost always measured at the surface of the bulb. Thus a bulb (doesn't matter what "t" it is) puts out a certain amount of lumens when first turned on and that measurement drops at a certain measured rate over its life. T12's and most t8's drop pretty drastically over a period of approx 12 months. So if you first read, say, 10,000 lumens at the surface of the bulb, 12 months later it may have dropped to 8,000 or something less. One foot (12") away that would be significantly less.
Now, there is another factor that must be taken into account. Temperature of operation. The t12/t8 technology is the so-called cool-bulb technology. When you hear that florescent bulbs are cooler to run, that is pretty much always aimed at t12/t8 bulbs. t5 bulbs on the other hand are designed to run at 95 degrees F (much higher than the other two - don't recall right now their operating temps) which means you need to deal with an ambient temperature of at least 95 degrees F. I personally choose to attempt to exhaust as much of this heat as possible before it gets into the tank or near the orchids.
A new technology pioneered by
BlueMaxâ„¢ Full Spectrum Fluorescent Lights is a so-called t6 series. This is supposed to be higher output in a thin tube. Don't have personal knowledge of this series, but am doubtful the technology keeps up with the claims.
When selecting florescent light technology for lighting orchids, please keep in mind a few points:
1) How bright can I get? In other words, which technology do I want?
2) Is heat an issue? Or can I use the excess heat to provide the environment my orchids want?
3) Do I want to pay a higher amount up-front for fixtures, etc. or pay later for replacement bulbs (the t5 fixture vs CF bulb discussion).?
Linear Mode
