FlyTrapCare Forums

Ok so as some of you may know already, I have recently purchased a new light. Heres the setup...
1 - 2 ft 4 bulb T5 high output fluorescent light (96 watts, 8000 lumens)
1 - $20 coffee table from ikea
4 - metal brackets to attach light to table

Because I have very little space in my apartment I wanted to have a grow light area which doubled as a coffee table...




I have a timer, currently keeping it at about 13 hours of light 11 hours of dark. I plant to up the hours of light in the future. I also have a fan that comes on at the same time as the light to keep it from getting to hot under there, as I have it covered with a tablecloth to keep the light from bothering me in the AM (it turns on around 5). Any suggestions on what I can do better? Thanks!

Looks like the carnivorous plants could be a bit closer to the light, but otherwise, it looks pretty cool!

much better
how much was the lights

I wouldnt have thought youd need the fan, cool setup.

The lights were $100 :/ but i figure i save in electricity. And I have a tablecloth over it which holds in some of the heat, so without a fan it was breaking 80 degrees f. I know this isnt terrible for CPs but for some of the other things I have growing i would prefer to just keep it in around 75 which is what the fan does.

The set up looks good! congrats!

The setup looks great! Good job

Considering the limited amount of space GardenNub, you have made yourself an awesome setup . My only suggestion would be to find yourself some sort of flat box or something similar that may fit your stylish sense and put them under the smaller pots to bring them closer to the light. Other than that congrats on a well compact setup.

Happy growing !

Great looking set up!

Great idea and nice setup. +1 on bringing the lights closer. Thats a big advantage of T5's... they operate cooler so you can get plants closer.

Well done.

Thanks for all the positive feedback guys! I got a wire stand that puts the CPs about an inch and a half away from the light, as well as the tomato plant that I have starting indoors. The great part is that it lets light through to the bottom for plants that dont need as much light! Its almost as good as an actual plant stand lol.

I'd recommend covering the black under table where all your pots are sitting with something white, maybe a white towel, could be anything really as long as it is very white. The black under table will heat up and warm up the soil in those pots because black absorbs heat but white doesn't. If the soil is very warm most of the day it may stress the plants a little. Roots generally prefer to be cooler than the the air temperature and warm soil if it is pretty wet may become oxygen deprived. The roots need the oxygen.

Does this really apply with fluorescents though? It really doesnt get that wam

I don't think fluorescent lights are supposed to produce heat.

GardenNub wrote:Does this really apply with fluorescents though? It really doesnt get that wam

Depends on what doesn't get really warm is like. Put your fingers in the soil in your pots after the lights have been on for several hours. If the soil feels warm it probably will help some. But if they feel like room temperature and room temperature is like 68-72 then maybe it won't really make much difference.