I purchased the lights in your link and personally do not think they are bright enough even within 4"-6" of the plants, especially for catts.

If I were to buy again, I'd go with the ones in the link included. @3x more powerful and about the same footprint. I'd use 3 for a 48"x20" shelf and try and keep them within about 12" of the plants, adjust as needed.

They also make LED tubes that can be used in place of T8 and T5's (I think) for about $50/ea, you may want to take a look at those options.

Good luck,

Bob

Here is a link that might be useful: 36W LED units

Hi Bob,

Thank you for the info. These lights look like they might work.

Maybe I need a second cup of coffee but when they say "Can be used to control florescence in hydro and restrain flowering for higher and stronger." and "More Efficient: 100% of the power input for our LED grow lights is used for your plant chlorophyll production" are they stating that they're more suitable for vegetative growth?

Are your orchids flowering with these lights?

My plant stand is in a west 5' x 4' window, so they do get some natural light, but some light is blocked by the fixtures. Also, some tall evergreen trees limit light from mid-October to mid February because of the height of the sun.

The combo of the window and the LED lights (link that you sent) might work. I might try one shelf with LED and keep T5 on the top shelf this year.

Thank You again.
Regina

Personally, with western exposure I'd think the T5's would work. How many T5 bulbs per fixture/shelf?

BTW: I've flowered mini-catts under a fixture of 4/T12's. My cart is 3 tiered and 48" x 20" and I'm using 12/T12's. Will upgrade it one of these days...

If you are really interested in LED's look for the 90 Watt UFO lights, powerful and somewhat reasonably priced. You'll stumble into a lot of 'other grow' sites, but those guys really know indoor lighting. I own a couple of the 90W red/blue/orange UFO's (for flowering) and absolutely dislike the violet color, very annoying and unnatural. They do a great job on the 'kids though.

Good luck,

Bob

LED elek

I have a seventy five gallon marine museum as my orchidaceous plant home for my catts, mini catts, bulbo, and misc. Plants square measure growing however ne\'er bloom. i am pretty assured my watering/humidity is ok..so i am gazing my lighting. This subject has perpetually created my head spin however it is time to tackle it. the peak of the tank and cover is regarding 18-20\". at once I actually have 8-fluorescent bulbs \'for plants\'. The plants square measure regarding 6-9\" from the lights.

I don\'t have a lightweight meter....are the lights anyplace close to wherever they ought to be?

Should I switch to T5\'s? and can they work into my existing general fluorescent lightweight fixtures?

How shut ought to they be (I like inches, however if want be i am going to get a lightweight meter to know the complete lumen/foot candle stuff)?

Thanks!

Hi Jessspeed,
A few answers to your questions.
-1- T5 tubes need special fixtures and special electronic ballast, have also defferent sockets and length. When you go for T5's (or T8's) I think you should take a combination of warmwhite about 3000-3500k and daylight 6000-7000K
-2- Luxmeters are corrected for the human eye response, sentitive for yellow/green, Plant need light in the red and blue side of the spectrum (about 650 and 450nm) so a high reading in lux wouldnot mean it is enough for your orchids
-3- Different balance between red and blue have effect on plants, more blue light give healthy sturdy grow and more red induces blooming.
All the best for 2015.