FlytrapCare Carnivorous Plant Forums

Sponsored by FlytrapStore.com

Discussions about fluorescent, LED and other types of grow lighting for Venus Flytraps and other plants

Moderator: Matt

User avatar
By P A U L
Location: 
Posts:  180
Joined:  Mon Jan 29, 2018 5:04 am
#310646
I have 4 plants in 4-inch pots (2vft, 2sundew) on a windowsill. I would like to install these lights 3-feet overhead: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00MR ... 4WN81ZEM06

It's a thin bar with 30 LEDs (SMD 5050). Apparently the whole strip is 6-watts (not sure what their equivalence to a incandescence bulb would be...if this makes sense).
Beam angle 120deg. 6500k

Would these be sufficient to keep my plants thriving?
By KategoricalKarnivore
Posts:  1769
Joined:  Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:00 pm
#310650
First off that would never work 3 feet above the plants. Second, that light doesn’t even come with an adapter to plug into the wall.
User avatar
By P A U L
Location: 
Posts:  180
Joined:  Mon Jan 29, 2018 5:04 am
#310655
damn. that's what i suspected.

what if I hanged 2 60-watt CFLs overhead? the bulb would probably drop to about... 1~2ft above the plant.

i could adjust distance with the cord i was thinking of using.


bulb: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00FK ... ZUQ2FCU4MN

bulb line/cord:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00L5 ... PDKIKX0DER
User avatar
By P A U L
Location: 
Posts:  180
Joined:  Mon Jan 29, 2018 5:04 am
#310720
nimbulan wrote:You'd still need a reflector of some sort to focus the light down onto the plants. Light intensity drops exponentially with distance, though you can reduce that effect with reflectors.
someone gave me the idea of using a disposable aluminum pie pan around the bulb. that should work, right? i suppose i could give it a slight bend for a more "taco" shape like the commercial shop lights @ home depot/wal mart.

think i'll really need two bulbs for 4 plants?
By KategoricalKarnivore
Posts:  1769
Joined:  Wed Aug 24, 2016 5:00 pm
#310726
With those bulbs you will need to be about 5-6 inches above the plants.
User avatar
By nimbulan
Location: 
Posts:  2397
Joined:  Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:03 pm
#310728
Yeah I think you'd have a hard time mounting them much further away, even with a reflector. The 1600 lumens produced would need to be focused down to an area about 1 square foot in size or less which isn't really feasible from a long distance.
nimbulan liked this
User avatar
By P A U L
Location: 
Posts:  180
Joined:  Mon Jan 29, 2018 5:04 am
#310941
so I got super geekcited when i got my lamp and bulbs. will this work? i put it on a timer outlet so the lights are automatically on/off 6am to 6pm. deviated a lot from original plans thanks to the tips from everyone.

there's also very very very little end of the peace lily leaf stealing some light. it likes the shade so i figure i'd allow it some negligible amounts of photosynthesis while it feeds off the light bouncing off that mirrored building across the street.

the sundews are sitting in 2 trays. a larger tray has a few teaspoons of apple cider vinegar with a drop of Dawn dish soap. another tray that is barely smaller, has distilled water only with the pot sitting in the water.
IMG-9081.JPG
IMG-9081.JPG (158.11 KiB) Viewed 4779 times
other pics:
IMG-9065.JPG
IMG-9065.JPG (1.57 MiB) Viewed 4779 times
IMG-9073.JPG
IMG-9073.JPG (1.51 MiB) Viewed 4779 times

lol and it's also getting direct morning sunlight around 10am from the southeast. top path is around summer...lasts about 60~75 minutes. bottom path is around winter time...lasts about 45 minutes. this picture was taken before the lamp.
IMG-9047.jpg
IMG-9047.jpg (727.3 KiB) Viewed 4778 times
Last edited by P A U L on Thu Feb 08, 2018 7:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
User avatar
By P A U L
Location: 
Posts:  180
Joined:  Mon Jan 29, 2018 5:04 am
#310969
i still need more lamps. this will totally not suffice. :lol:
IMG-9088.JPG
IMG-9088.JPG (1.31 MiB) Viewed 4770 times
IMG-9090.JPG
IMG-9090.JPG (1.01 MiB) Viewed 4770 times

Here is a fun pest control tip. Windex kills ants […]

Hello. I recently acquired a hamata about 5 day[…]

Finally

Healthy-looking, too!!! Nice job!!! Thanks. […]

alecStewart1's Grow List and Wants

I would love to see photos of your orchids in bl[…]

Micrantha

Got some too which are growing well. They are cute[…]

I'd say that that trap will probably die...way too[…]

I have an indoor greenhouse that does the same […]

I've been keeping a lookout at the Wallyworld's in[…]

Support the community - Shop at FlytrapStore.com!