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Charlie
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« Reply #15 on: August 24, 2009, 07:42:43 AM » |
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Hi Msoar16,
Thanks for that feedback about your experience with the T-5s.
I think the issue for Kerry and most of us growing plants indoors where there is not enough natural light is how to get sufficient light to cover the needed area. You can find charts online that show the drop off in light intensity the farther the lights are from the plants or whatever is being lighted. It is quite a large drop in light intensity for every foot higher the lights are raised. However, they need to be raised in order to cover enough surface beneath them unless someone can afford to buy a lot of lights and pay the electric bill!
So, the question becomes what lights will provide enough foot candles or PAR light readings at the leaf surface for all the plants we need to cover. Commercial growers usually use 1000 watt HID lights that are many feet above the plants so that they get as many plants covered as possible for each light they install. That wattage is too intense for use in a normal room seems to me although I know of one guy who uses a couple in a big basement when overwintering his hibiscus.
Back to your situation - whether you will get blooms or just keep the plants healthy will depend on the total amount of PAR light they receive in each 24 hour period. You can use an increased number of hours of operation to make up for lower intensity since for hibiscus it is the total light received each day that matters. I have even run lights non-stop with no periods of dark and the hibiscus seem to like it. In any case, getting your hibiscus through the winter as healthy plants should be the main goal, and if you get a few blooms that will be a nice bonus, too!
Charlie
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Nievesgirl
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« Reply #16 on: August 24, 2009, 08:05:40 AM » |
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Hi Msoar16,
Thanks for that feedback about your experience with the T-5s.
I think the issue for Kerry and most of us growing plants indoors where there is not enough natural light is how to get sufficient light to cover the needed area. You can find charts online that show the drop off in light intensity the farther the lights are from the plants or whatever is being lighted. It is quite a large drop in light intensity for every foot higher the lights are raised. However, they need to be raised in order to cover enough surface beneath them unless someone can afford to buy a lot of lights and pay the electric bill!
So, the question becomes what lights will provide enough foot candles or PAR light readings at the leaf surface for all the plants we need to cover. Commercial growers usually use 1000 watt HID lights that are many feet above the plants so that they get as many plants covered as possible for each light they install. That wattage is too intense for use in a normal room seems to me although I know of one guy who uses a couple in a big basement when overwintering his hibiscus.
Back to your situation - whether you will get blooms or just keep the plants healthy will depend on the total amount of PAR light they receive in each 24 hour period. You can use an increased number of hours of operation to make up for lower intensity since for hibiscus it is the total light received each day that matters. I have even run lights non-stop with no periods of dark and the hibiscus seem to like it. In any case, getting your hibiscus through the winter as healthy plants should be the main goal, and if you get a few blooms that will be a nice bonus, too!
Charlie
This is my main focus just to have them nice and healthy  I think I will try 3 3000k bulbs and for the rest use 6500k. I will probably be able to run the lights from 7am to 12am ( yes bedtime lol) so I will see if that helps. I am not sure if I will run the seedlings fixtures this long probably not because they wont be blooming anytime soon. |
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~Kerry~
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Msoar16
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« Reply #17 on: August 24, 2009, 01:47:19 PM » |
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Hi Msoar16,
Thanks for that feedback about your experience with the T-5s.
I think the issue for Kerry and most of us growing plants indoors where there is not enough natural light is how to get sufficient light to cover the needed area. You can find charts online that show the drop off in light intensity the farther the lights are from the plants or whatever is being lighted. It is quite a large drop in light intensity for every foot higher the lights are raised. However, they need to be raised in order to cover enough surface beneath them unless someone can afford to buy a lot of lights and pay the electric bill!
So, the question becomes what lights will provide enough foot candles or PAR light readings at the leaf surface for all the plants we need to cover. Commercial growers usually use 1000 watt HID lights that are many feet above the plants so that they get as many plants covered as possible for each light they install. That wattage is too intense for use in a normal room seems to me although I know of one guy who uses a couple in a big basement when overwintering his hibiscus.
Back to your situation - whether you will get blooms or just keep the plants healthy will depend on the total amount of PAR light they receive in each 24 hour period. You can use an increased number of hours of operation to make up for lower intensity since for hibiscus it is the total light received each day that matters. I have even run lights non-stop with no periods of dark and the hibiscus seem to like it. In any case, getting your hibiscus through the winter as healthy plants should be the main goal, and if you get a few blooms that will be a nice bonus, too!
Charlie
Thanks for the info Charlie, it makes me understand things a bit better. Funny how there is such a debate in the plant world as there is in the reef world concerning HID lighting vs T5's. For me, T5's are the clear choice. Well just have to see how the hibiscus react from the change of being out in our intense Colorado sun to life under the T5's. |
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Nievesgirl
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« Reply #18 on: August 24, 2009, 02:12:46 PM » |
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Thanks for the info Charlie, it makes me understand things a bit better. Funny how there is such a debate in the plant world as there is in the reef world concerning HID lighting vs T5's. For me, T5's are the clear choice. Well just have to see how the hibiscus react from the change of being out in our intense Colorado sun to life under the T5's.
I agree about MH vs T5 I only like MH because of the slimmer lines other than that t5's are just as good. I ran t5's before I got my mh, I got mh because there are no 20" t5 fixtures that other brands were making bulbs for. Current USA is the only company with a t5 fixture that would fit but I did not want to just have their bulbs you know  What type of fixture do you plan on using on your hibiscus? I just realized I can put my 17 seedlings on this window seal at work !!  I already have midnight flyer on it, So tomorrow I will be bring my seedlings to work. I wonder what my co-wokers will say lol |
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~Kerry~
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Msoar16
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« Reply #19 on: August 24, 2009, 04:52:19 PM » |
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I agree about MH vs T5 I only like MH because of the shimmer lines other than that t5's are just as good. I ran t5's before I got my mh, I got mh because there are no 20" t5 fixtures that other brands where making bulbs for. Current USA is the only company with a t5 fixture that would fit but I did not want to just have their bulbs you know What type of fixture do you plan on using on your hibiscus? I just realized I can put my 17 seedlings on this window seal at work !! I already have midnight flyer on it, So tomorrow I will be bring my seedlings to work. I wonder what my co-wokers will say lol Funny because the fixture I put on my reef tank is the 20" Current Nova Extreme Pro. I didn't like that they are the only people making the 18" bulbs, but to be honest I like the colors and so do my corals. Plus I figure that the other bulb manufactures will have to jump on board at some point since there are so many nano tanks where the 20" fixture is just about the only option. As far as what fixture I'm considering, pretty much everthing from a 24" - 4 bulb fixture up to the 48" with 8 bulbs. I'm checking craigslist and the local reef club forums to see if I can find any deals, but I figure I have about another month before I'll have to move everyone inside. I really like the Tek unit, but it is just a little too expensive for my taste. |
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Nievesgirl
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« Reply #20 on: August 24, 2009, 04:58:27 PM » |
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Funny because the fixture I put on my reef tank is the 20" Current Nova Extreme Pro. I didn't like that they are the only people making the 18" bulbs, but to be honest I like the colors and so do my corals. Plus I figure that the other bulb manufactures will have to jump on board at some point since there are so many nano tanks where the 20" fixture is just about the only option.
As far as what fixture I'm considering, pretty much everthing from a 24" - 4 bulb fixture up to the 48" with 8 bulbs. I'm checking craigslist and the local reef club forums to see if I can find any deals, but I figure I have about another month before I'll have to move everyone inside. I really like the Tek unit, but it is just a little too expensive for my taste.
Haha that is too funny. I wanted a specific look but like I said the current only have 18" and they only have two color bulbs. I wanted to do a combo with giesemann bulbs. I got 3 new waves on ebay used. the new wave fixtures are cheaper than the tek. The sun blaze are the cheapest models sunlight supply offers. I checked cl in my area but with no luck too many MH ads. |
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~Kerry~
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Msoar16
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« Reply #21 on: October 15, 2009, 06:55:43 PM » |
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Just a quick T5 update. I put together a 4 bulb, 48" HO T5 Retro kit and all my plants have responded very well to the move inside for the winter. I got some yellowing leaves, but that all seems to have stopped. My Simple Pleasures is continuing to flower and bulb and my Space Oddity had it's first bloom this week as well. I can not recomend this light source enough. I am running a 14 hour light cycle.
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Nievesgirl
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« Reply #22 on: October 15, 2009, 09:30:30 PM » |
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Just a quick T5 update. I put together a 4 bulb, 48" HO T5 Retro kit and all my plants have responded very well to the move inside for the winter. I got some yellowing leaves, but that all seems to have stopped. My Simple Pleasures is continuing to flower and bulb and my Space Oddity had it's first bloom this week as well. I can not recomend this light source enough. I am running a 14 hour light cycle.
Hi Msoar I am glad the t5's are working for you. My plants love it so far, I have some that I am waiting to see if they will bloom under t5's but, black dragon, carolina breeze, stormy rainbow, heartbreak hotel, and e ku u morning dew are producing buds. |
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~Kerry~
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Charlie
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« Reply #23 on: October 16, 2009, 05:46:13 AM » |
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Hi MSoar,
I'm glad to hear that your T5 fluorescent light setup is working for you and that Simple Pleasures is blooming! How high to you have the light fixture above the plants?
Thanks,
Charlie
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Msoar16
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« Reply #24 on: October 17, 2009, 08:51:35 PM » |
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I have the plants on a 2 tiered rack with my bigger plants on the bottom and the smaller ones on top. The plants are anywhere from 4" to 12" away from the bulbs. The Space Oddity that bloomed was only 1" from the bulbs, but since I finally got to see the flower (which I LOVED), I cut it back to get better brancing. I also have a Gator Pride that is growing like a weed under these lights, lets just hope they keep responding as well 6 months from now when they can finally go outside again.
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