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PC Lights for Orchids

Discussion in 'Growing Areas' started by goods, Dec 18, 2010.

  1. Dec 18, 2010 #1
    goods

    goods Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    I upgraded my lighting on my saltwater reef tank, so now I have a hood with PC lights just laying around. I was wondering if these lights would be enough to grow orchids. I may use the hood on a small terrarium in the future.
     
  2. Dec 18, 2010 #2
    Jon

    Jon Mmmm... bulbophyllum...

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    It depends on the spectrums of the lamps. Here's a very good read on different lights used in indoor plant culture. Actinic lamps aren't going to work for you (I'm assuming that you have actinic bulbs because of the reef setup...). Aim for something closer to 6000K, and you should be good.
     
  3. Dec 18, 2010 #3
    goods

    goods Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Thanks Jon, that was an interesting article. I do have an actinic bulb. The other bulb is 10000 K. Would this be close enough?
     
  4. Dec 18, 2010 #4
    Jon

    Jon Mmmm... bulbophyllum...

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    Probably not. A (very) quick Google search turned up some 6700k bulbs. Those would probably work much better. I bet with some effort, you might be able to find some 6000k bulbs, though I don't think there'd be a huge difference.
     
  5. Dec 18, 2010 #5
    goods

    goods Well-Known Member Supporting Member

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    Ok I'll look into those bulbs if I decide to do this. Thanks again