FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Are my lights good enough to germinate VFT seeds?
I know the brighter the better but havn't got the funds to invest.

I'm using 2 cfl bulbs in a 1ft cubic terrarium

20 watts = 100 watts
1218 lumens
warm white colour
2700k colour temperature
220-240v 50-60Hz

will this be enough light or will i need to invest in 40w-65w bulbs???

They will work for sure! It would be better to have a stronger light, but that should work fine on a 16 hour photoperiod for seeds

I've had no problems with lower wattage lights (I, too am on a budget and I am also very limited on space), so if I can do it with my little light you certainly can! Good luck!!

That will work fine, but.... Free range chicken....What the heck!

Grey wrote:I've had no problems with lower wattage lights (I, too am on a budget and I am also very limited on space), so if I can do it with my little light you certainly can! Good luck!!

I hope so the sun dont want to come out to play anytime soon so looks like ill have to make do till i got pennys for new lights

Daniel_G wrote:That will work fine, but.... Free range chicken....What the heck!

Yeh its 'free' range. told you i was on a budget lol i made the lights my self as you can probably tell lol might paint it make it look nice

chriscanivorous wrote:

Grey wrote:I've had no problems with lower wattage lights (I, too am on a budget and I am also very limited on space), so if I can do it with my little light you certainly can! Good luck!!

I hope so the sun dont want to come out to play anytime soon so looks like ill have to make do till i got pennys for new lights

Oh gosh I hear you. We had a couple of BEAUTIFUL sunny days but because it's still cold I have to keep my seed tray out of my window. Fingers crossed for warmer, brighter days sometime soon!

I would up the color temp to at least 6k, maybe bring the lights a bit closer, But watch out for drying while the seeds are just germenating.

That would be fine however, if you want the bang for you buck. I would recommend getting a full spectrum 6500k bulb eventually since you are only germinating them this light would be fine, also with that small amount of lumens on the bulb you going to have to be right on that bulb for your plants to absorb a majority of the lumens from the production of that light. Did you know for every inch or so away you practically lose about half the lumens.Check this article out for more clearification,http://www.reliabilitydirect.com/RDISto ... 0Facts.pdf.
One thing I could suggest to you though, get mylar. Completely cover your set up, this way you will lose alot less lumen, mylar works really well, it reflects light back decreasing how much is lost.
I hope this will help you get your setup figured out in the future!

Heres a picture of what my plants look like under 8000 lumens of light!