FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi, so my plants have been under this 14W 120V 60HZ (I dont really know what this means) fluorescent desk light and my plants are not red in the inside of the traps.

What lamp and bulb should I invest in? Thank you.

The voltage and hertz values (120v and 60hz) aren't of any use. That's just the electricity they use, and those values are standard in the United States.

The wattage is of interest, which gives me an idea of how many lumens (the amount of light) it produces. The packaging should say, but the bulb is probably putting out seven hundred lumens or so. That's a pretty dim light source. Find a 26 - 29 watt florescent (it'll say 100 on one of the top corners of the package, which indicates that it is as bright as an old style incandescent bulb). If you can manage to do so, find one of the bulbs that is advertised as "6500k" or "daylight". If not, a normal fluorescent will be okay (some will disagree, but I've seen evidence of people doing just fine with the normal yellow light fluorescents).

So yeah. 26 to 29 watts. The daylight ones if you can manage it.

If you have a lot of plants, get another lamp and run two bulbs.

yup nesler is right that is a weak light i recommend getting some 40w T5 6500K (very important) if not why r u haveing your plant in lights they do best outside with lots of sun

He's using a desk light, a t5 is for long tanks. So nesler has good info about the right lights to use..

watnazn wrote:He's using a desk light, a t5 is for long tanks. So nesler has good info about the right lights to use..

Yeah, T5s are nice if you have lots of space and want to really go all out, but CFLs will work perfectly fine. The only real difference is the shape of the light rod and its diameter.

Thanks, and I cant put it outside because I am in an apartment with tons of shade from trees and awnings.

johnLiu2468 wrote:Thanks, and I cant put it outside because I am in an apartment with tons of shade from trees and awnings.

Depending on the lighting, even dappled sunlight or shade from the sun is better lighting than artificial lighting.

What was your success with this, if I can ask? I would like to do something similar, but I would like to have a bulb that can go into a desk lamp, or something similar. All of the fluorescents I've found so far are 3 feet long it seems, but I have seen a few that are 18" long, but not entirely sure if they meet the wattage and lumens criterion.

Any suggestions at all? I fully realize that sunlight is the best, and being outdoors is the best. However, I am in Phoenix AZ. I lost my other plant due to sheer desiccation. It's simply too hot and too dry in the summer here. If you are a Phoenix resident, you will appreciate the phrase "Phoenix Summer is like winter in other cities.. you stay indoors, and anything/anyone left outside will simply die".

So my thoughts are, to bring my VTF indoors during the summer, and during his dormancy, and during cooler months (October through May). While indoors, I can set him in the windowsills but if I notice him wilting, I would like to have this portable artificial light setup option on hand.

Thanks in advance for any help and suggestions!

This post dates back to 2009.

There have been a lot of advances in lighting technology for CP since then.

The current trend is LED lighting. It produces more light and uses less electricity. It also produces less heat which used to build up and cause problems.

I use MarsHydro 300 for my main lighting. I use 48 inch T8 LED replacement tubes and a few one-off LED lamps.

If you prefer fluorescent lights, T5 produce the highest output while some growers still use the T8. Some use CFL, but not many.

Good growing,
Mike

I didn't even see the post date, wow! Thanks for this info! Does this look like what you have then? I presume the extra lights you have beyond the MarsHydro 300 are for other plants, and that for my single plant, the MarsHydro would be enough?

Is this what you have? Thanks again for your awesome help!!

https://www.amazon.com/MarsHydro-Spectr ... sHydro+300

Also, since I do only have 1 plant, do you think this would be adequate?

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-lamp-Aotson ... RNZSYRQA2N

western5tar wrote:I didn't even see the post date, wow! Thanks for this info! Does this look like what you have then? I presume the extra lights you have beyond the MarsHydro 300 are for other plants, and that for my single plant, the MarsHydro would be enough?

Is this what you have? Thanks again for your awesome help!!

https://www.amazon.com/MarsHydro-Spectr ... sHydro+300

Also, since I do only have 1 plant, do you think this would be adequate?

https://www.amazon.com/Dual-lamp-Aotson ... RNZSYRQA2N

Yes, that's the one I have.

I don't know how much light that gooseneck puts out. I bought a couple of these: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01AR ... UTF8&psc=1 for single plants.

Good growing,
Mike