FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Hi, I'm trying to go for a hothouse style terrarium containing H. minor and H. heterodoxa and a lowland Nep species that I havnt decided yet which it will be. I want to use a standard fishtank 20" by 10." Can anyone tell me how much light I need to provide the plants for optimal growth? I want to use the lowe's/home depot style fluroscents they sell. ABout how many fluroscents can I use to give the plants? Thanks

What i meant to say is the fishtank is 20 by 10 at the lid part not the actual size of the tank. The tank is like a 10 gallon 1 but taller so i suppose its like a 25 gallon more or less.

I grow my Cephalotus and Heliamphora under a 4 foot high output (HO) 4 x T5 bulb fixture. I think they make them in 2 foot options too, which could fit OK on the top of your terrarium.

It may not be a bad idea to either elevate the plants to get them closer to the light or get a shorter terrarium. Ideally, the plants should only be a few inches from the light (just enough to keep them relatively cool). A fan will help with cooling too.

So would five home depot gro-lux or similar be ideal for the plants since I might get taller plants such as a nepenthes needing more space than say an H. minor? Does anybody that reads this know lumen-wise how much from a scale of 0-2000 is suitable for ideal growing of lowland neps and helis or does five or so growlux which i have no idea how much light they would emit be ideal enough? I'm guessing anywhere from 1500-2000 like full sun be enough which i would also guess five or six fluroscent would emit but then again im just guessing. sorry for the ignorance but when matt said 4 by t5 did he mean four fluroscents on top of a 4 foot grow area?

zen wrote:sorry for the ignorance but when matt said 4 by t5 did he mean four fluroscents on top of a 4 foot grow area?

I don't know that I understand exactly what you mean, but I meant a fixture with 4 light bulbs on top of a 4 foot long grow area.

when matt said 4 by t5 did he mean four fluroscents on top of a 4 foot grow area?

What I think Matt means is he uses a T5 fixture that holds four 4ft bulbs.

thanks dionae and mat for clarifying the subject. i might try getting five bulbs with a fixture for each one from home depot or lowes or get just four. i was thinking five to add more heavy lumens. if i notice the plants that i get dont like the extra bulb then i will leav just four. thanks again