Opinions on Grow Lights

[GrimsbyPatchwork]

Hey everyone, I have decided to use grow lights in my cham cages to offer a brighter light and help the plants growth and health thus increasing the rainforest feel and humidity..

What in your opinion are the best grow lights ...led`s / compacts ? Energy efficiency plays a big role in this for me too ...which consume least electricity ?

Can you also please send me a couple of links which I can use to oreder to europe..many thanks

 

[Lpsouth1978]

I can't Really help with links to have things shipped to Europe, however, I can say that LED's are certainly the most energy efficient way to go. You will pay more up front for them, but save money on your energy bill.

I actually have a 4 bulb T5HO system over my Veiled cage. 3 of the bulbs are 6500K plant bulbs. The 4th is a Reptisun 10.0 bulb. I chose to go this route because space above the cage is limited and this allows me to use one fixture for the plants and UVB, leaving room for a heat bulb and dripper.

I actually got mine from ebay. Here is a link to a current auction from the seller I used. It comes with the 6500K bulbs, so you only need to replace 1 with a UVB bulb. He also ships worldwide. I amsure you can find someone in Europe that sells them also.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/T5-Quad-24-...143?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43ba27fecf

 

[GrimsbyPatchwork]

Thanks for the link..i dont use hoods so I think it might be better to get a normal bulb, either compact or led screw on..what you think about that?

 

[GrimsbyPatchwork]

Thanks for the link..i dont use hoods so I think it might be better to get a normal bulb, either compact or led screw on..what you think about that?

 

[Lpsouth1978]

I don't use canopies either. The light has legs/feet they sit perfectly on top of a 24"x24"x48 cage. If you still don't want something like that then a screw in LED would work well, but would be more spotlighted. I wouldn't recommend using a cfl. If you have it very far from the cage it simply will not produce enough light for the plants. CFL bulbs are simply not intense enough.

 

[GrimsbyPatchwork]

Great thanks..saw leds on ebay which are decently priced . So you saying that leds do give enough range for the plants to benefit? Just hope that the cage wont lose its natural feel

 

[Lpsouth1978]

LED can definitely be intense enough to support plants, though not all will. Make sure to get a light that is 6500k or as close as possible. Also, if you can, the higher the wattage of the LEDs used, the further the light can be from the cage and the more intense it will be.