Metal Halide Light Vs Phals

[thatoneguywhoissupercool]

Just curious if anyone has ever tried this in a small environment, If so what color temp, and wattage?
Thanks!

[pikevi]

Hello, Welcome to the forum,that*****cool

That is a mouthful.

I would think that it is not a good idea to use halogen light for plants, any plant. Halogen lighting is very low in UV rays and plants need that range of the spectrum to produce food.

May be someone else would have done some experimentation with different lights.

[thatoneguywhoissupercool]

Hello, are halogens and halides the same thing? If they are then i am unaware, I have had success with metal halides on many reef aquaruims growing corals that are photosynthetic and was just curious if it would be beneficial to orchids, perhaps i was way off.....hahaha,...must learn more

[pikevi]

I think only sodium vapour is used out of the halides.

I have read about orchid growers using HID ( High Intensity Discharge) lights.

Yes, they are used in aquariums( I have a few). They bring out the colours of the fish and the corals. They also can add to the much needed heat!!

I hope someone will shed more light on this subject.

[fred]

theoneguywhoissupercool

omg what a mouth full

anyway

Welcome to the forum

I hope that you enjoy your stay here with all of us orchidgeeks

[mayres]

I have not personally used them, but we have had several people on this forum in the past that have used them to a limited degree - usually a 400 watt fixture. One of the main issues with these in a home environment is heat buildup. In a greenhouse environment where supplemental heating is needed this can be routed via fans and be a good thing. In a limited area of a home this can be a challenge. Another alternative that will not have the heat problems is high output T5 fluorescents. The concern here (at least for me) is cost of the fixture and tubes. I have been doing some investigation and have found the cost for a 6 tube fixture to be in the neighborhood of 250 to 420 dollars - the more you pay the longer the fixture is guaranteed. Tubes standard price is $18.95 each.
If you are only looking for lighting for phals I have done relatively well over the past two years with cheapie fixtures from Lowes or Home Depot and regular T12 tubes - based on reading I've done lately I started just buying the cheap cool white tubes that are 3300 lumens - maybe put one of four as a full spectrum tube.
Good luck - Mike

[thatoneguywhoissupercool]

I see...thanks for all the input, perhaps the window sill might be the easiest way to go for the time being....thanks again

[mayres]

If you have it available I think natural light is great - unfortunately it is difficult to do when all you have is a few window sills and a hundred plants! Ideally a greenhouse. Second best is setup a growing area in your home with supplemental lighting. Many of us live in northern climates where the lighting is poor in windows for nearly half the year and the supplemental helps give them a "shot in the arm" too.

[Fabolusus]

I use a 400 watt MH. In my case it is a necessity, as the 30 story highrise across the street blocks out all but indirect sunlight. It's been almost 3 years now, and I have had great success using HIDs. I have bloomed phals, masdevallia, oncidium alliance, brassavola and my one lonely paph. At first, heat buildup was a problem. Now, I have 4 fans synced up to my timer. Also, in the winter I keep the heat in my grow room set to low and in the summer I set the AC slightly cooler than the rest of the house. I'm thinking about buying a light mover, which would double my usable grow area. BTW HIDs are not halogens. It is not even the same technology at all.

[Maddy]

I've never used halide, but, very anecdotal, at my last job I had a little halogen desk lamp and the two African violets under it bloomed constantly. I even ended up setting my emerald ripple pepperoma underneath it to green it up - it was looking pretty sickly. It seemed to help. However, my cubicle plants also had 14 hours per day of regular fluorescent light as well - I'm not sure if it was my imagination or is there was something to the supplemental halogen light.

Again, just my (very) unscientific observations...

Edit - I just looked at my halogen light and it does have a UV shield over the bulb, or so it says. Not sure if that means anything. I'm kind of curious now about what sort of light halogens really do put out...

[thatoneguywhoissupercool]

Fablulosus,
What color temp bulb do you use in your 400? I beleive that a 6500k bulb is a close match to natural sunlight.