FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

I want to use a 10 gallon tank as a terrarium for sundews and butterworts. I've heard that blue-red LED lights are the best lights for plants, but also that they can hurt sundews. I've also read that white LED lights don't give plants the right type of light to grow, but what if the light coming from the LED is "full spectrum" at 6000 K? Does that mean it has deep red and deep blue light that we can't see, but it's still helping the plants grow?

Here's a light I found on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/Lights-Spectrum- ... 14115&th=1

<chuckle> I think the refresh button or something got away from you. We've all done similar.

I'll let the lighting pros get to specifics with you regarding your light questions. Looking at the light you linked to I'm not so crazy about the gooseneck lamps...but, if I was going to go with one, I would go with the 100 watt version....within reason, I don't believe you can have too much light. I'm using simple 5000k Walmart LED shop lights and they seem to be working well while my plants overwinter indoors (I usually keep them outdoors). Some of the square panel lights are very good, economical choices, too...."Mars Hydro" and "Yescom" are two brands that people speak of often...I think the "Mars Hydro" is a click or two above the "Yescoms" in quality. But, these are intended for hanging from above...I'm not sure that would work out for you. The blue/red lights grow plants really good, it appears, but the plants look horrible when you look at them under those lights (IMHO). I grow the plants for my enjoyment but if I was to be doing this for production of plants to sell I'd probably opt for the deep purple-looking lights.

Do you intend to plant the plants separately in individual pots and sit those inside the terrarium? Or, are you intending to simply use the bottom of the terrarium as your "pot"? Hopefully someone else will come along with some good lighting info for you. Have fun!!!

Blue and red won't hurt the plants, but they will look bad, IMO. All the red and blue does is increase flowering. The white has no negative effect

I wouldn't use that light just because when I use that type, they are usually unreliable. Try using yescom 225. You can get them on Amazon for pretty cheap. Mars Hydro lights are usually quite expensive.

Intheswamp wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 4:14 pm <chuckle> I think the refresh button or something got away from you. We've all done similar.

I'll let the lighting pros get to specifics with you regarding your light questions. Looking at the light you linked to I'm not so crazy about the gooseneck lamps...but, if I was going to go with one, I would go with the 100 watt version....within reason, I don't believe you can have too much light. I'm using simple 5000k Walmart LED shop lights and they seem to be working well while my plants overwinter indoors (I usually keep them outdoors). Some of the square panel lights are very good, economical choices, too...."Mars Hydro" and "Yescom" are two brands that people speak of often...I think the "Mars Hydro" is a click or two above the "Yescoms" in quality. But, these are intended for hanging from above...I'm not sure that would work out for you. The blue/red lights grow plants really good, it appears, but the plants look horrible when you look at them under those lights (IMHO). I grow the plants for my enjoyment but if I was to be doing this for production of plants to sell I'd probably opt for the deep purple-looking lights.

Do you intend to plant the plants separately in individual pots and sit those inside the terrarium? Or, are you intending to simply use the bottom of the terrarium as your "pot"? Hopefully someone else will come along with some good lighting info for you. Have fun!!!

Thanks for all the information! (Yes, I thought my computer was not submitting the post, so I did reload a few times - oops.) I plan on planting the plants individually and will probably get a Yescom light.

Sundews69 wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 4:38 pm Blue and red won't hurt the plants, but they will look bad, IMO. All the red and blue does is increase flowering. The white has no negative effect

I wouldn't use that light just because when I use that type, they are usually unreliable. Try using yescom 225. You can get them on Amazon for pretty cheap. Mars Hydro lights are usually quite expensive.

Thank you!

Galethemo wrote: ↑Sat Nov 26, 2022 9:30 pm Thanks for all the information! (Yes, I thought my computer was not submitting the post, so I did reload a few times - oops.) I plan on planting the plants individually and will probably get a Yescom light.

So be aware that (from what I can tell) the Mars Hydro is a more powerful light than the Yescom. Visualizing a 10 gallon tank I’m thinking they are roughly 12” deep? Both the Yescom and Mars Hydro will have a minimum height above the plants that they can be positioned due to the sides of the aquarium. I’d rather have too much light so I had to raise the fixture than having too little and not being able to lower it down. The Mars Hydro are more expensive, though, about double the price of a Yescom.