opinons

[msh1]

hi all
my house can be quite dark in the winter months so i have bought a powerglo 160 lux fishtank bulb 40 watts suspended it 6" above orchids with a tin foil reflector i will leave it turned on for 10 hours a day my orchids are a phal cambria vanda milltasia dendrobium (not a noble type ) do you think this will be enough light output the bulb is really for marine invertebrates corals etc 18000 k
mark

[kmarch]

Hi Mark and welcome to the forum.

I don't know of only 1 40 watt bulb will be enough. When I grew under lights I used 2 40 watt bulbs.

You've got plants that need quite different levels of light. The Phal can bloom at the lower end of medium light levels; the Oncidium (Oncidium is the proper name for "Cambria" which isn't actually an orchid name at all), Miltassia, and possibly the Dendrobium needs more, at the higher end of the medium light spectrum; and the Vanda is a high light plant.

I'm afraid a single light level somewhere in the middle of what these plants like might enable them to grow but may not be enough to get them to bloom.

[msh1]

thanks for reply i will get another bulb ,at the moment 1 is better than nothing thank you for clearing up cambria name why do they call it cambria instead of oncidium

[Orchidflowerchild]

Cambria is actually a registered grex name for a Vuylstekeara, which is an intergenerig hybrid of the oncidium alliance. The European market was flooded in the last decade with mericlones of Vuyl. Cambria 'Plush' AM/AOS FCC/RHS and the term "cambria" sortof became a trade name for any Oncidium intergeneric hybrid.

As for lights, my wardian case has 8 4' tubes burning on a timer, currently, and I'll probably be increasing that number to ten or 12 in January. As far as growing under lights is concerned, the more the better, so long as you aren't causing serious temperature issues. My wardian case is designed to bloom higher-light cool growers. If you plan to bloom anything other than Phals and Paphs, I would definitely go for at least 4 or 6 tubes in your setup.

-Cj

[mayres]

If you are going to get serious about growing medium to high level plants under lights consider purchasing T5 fluorescent fixtures - expensive in comparison - but they will provide enough intensity to bloom your plants. If only a few plants are involved you might try a few high wattage CFL's in a clamp fixture (I'm speaking of the curly tungsten replacement type bulbs) - higher wattage than 100W equivalents if possible. You will need to get them at a lighting specialty store or online as they are not available in most regular home improvement or department stores.

[sandra]

Mike, I posted a query to you a few days ago but you must have missed it, regarding T5's. A member on another forum mentioned that the spiral household lightbulbs are equivalent to them. Do you know this to be true? I trust your knowledge more on this than anyone else.

[mayres]

Sandra - you are hilarious! Flattery will get you very little with me as I am just a "poor man begging for bread" in the realm of orchid knowledge and most other areas as well.
Yes - I read the post that you are speaking of as well. T5 tube diameter does appear to be (at least approximately) what is wound into a CFL. Keep in mind that you will need to get an equivalent wattage of CFL however to get the same light output as the T5 four foot tubes - which are 54 watts. Note at this link (which I have not used - just for reference) that the 55 watt CFL's are 240 watt tungsten equivalents - 2 to 200 Watt Compact Fluorescent Bulbs : 1000Bulbs.com The Light Bulb Superstore. I have a fixture with SIX tubes - so to get the equivalent light from these CFL's I would need six of these as well. If you just go to your local department store or home improvement store and purchase a regular 100 watt equivalent you will not get enough wattage. It will be important to make certain that you size the clamp lamp appropriately as well - the bulb will need to fit entirely IN the fixture so that the light output will be directed towards your plants and not "wasted" going into other directions.
Hang in there (no pun intended!)

[sandra]

Originally Posted by mayres

Sandra - you are hilarious! Flattery will get you very little with me as I am just a "poor man begging for bread" in the realm of orchid knowledge and most other areas as well.

I'm serious Mike! You've done so much research, have given your input on the results and I get to reap the benefits of all your hard work by asking you. You start talking, CFL, equivalent wattage, tungsten equivalents and I'm a goner! Say to me, "go buy......" and I'm there making the purchase. I'm not asking you to tell me. I'm just giving you an example of what I wish you would tell me, LOL.

[mayres]

For your situation I would probably start with an 85W full spectrum bulb and an inexpensive clamp lamp from a local hardware store or home improvement store. The bulbs are kind of pricey but will last a long time. You can of course also get them online at many places including the link I put above. If you have a lighting specialty store near your home you might find them locally as well - but they will NOT be availabe at places like Lowes, Home Depot, etc. in this high of wattage. Make certain you get a clamp lamp fixture with enough hood length to keep your light pointing towards your plants. Let us know how it goes!