6500k full spectrum vs 8500k gro-lux?
Joey G
5 years ago
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Joey G
5 years agoRelated Discussions
CFL minimun requirements
Comments (4)Hmm, not that simple. Read some of the threads in this forum, especially the link, and you'll get an idea of the issues involved. You'll see that fluorescent bulbs with the same kelvin rating can vary widely. 6500K isn't the same as full spectrum. 6500K just means that the average blue/red balance of the light is about the same as an object at 6500K. It could be made up from a single blue spike and a single red spike, or conceivably just a single spike in the green. Full spectrum is a term bandied about by a lot of manufacturers but all it tends to mean is that the light output is spread out over more frequencies than their standard bulb. These may or may not be the frequencies you are interested in. CRI gives an indication of how uniform the light distribution is. Very high CRI numbers (above 90) tend to mean that there is also a good amount of red light beyond the normal triphosphor cutoff. "Daylight" is another term that is essentially meaningless, it can be applied to bulbs at 5000K, 6500K, sometimes even higher, and a wide range of spectral responses. Good general advice is to mix a warm white bulb (2700K or 3000K) and a cool white bulb (4100K, or btter yet 5000K or 6500K). A very good single bulb would be something like a daylight deluxe (read the link to see why) or possibly a GRO LUX type bulb, both of which provide good red and blue light. You will be a bit more restricted finding specialist bulbs like a GRO LUX in CFL format (is there one at all?). I believe that getting enough light is the easiest and simplest way to ensure good growth. 20W of CFL for each square foot of seedlings is a good number to start at. You could usefully double that, especially for larger plants, but make sure you don't fry small seedlings. You can also get away with a bit less. You will need to compromise slightly between having the light closer to the seedlings and far enough away to get coverage of them all. Look at using a white/shiny cover or a reflector so that you can have the light far enough away and still get good light. Look at the intensities shown in the link. You'll get higher levels than that over a smaller area because CFLs are more compact. Here is a link that might be useful: Good thread...See MoreT5 HO Lights Provide Full Term Growth?
Comments (20)Good LED's work well also. Those cheap UFO's are junk however. You need to do your research, as there is good and bad in the market for LED lights. Given the right ones, they can do very well, and the technology is in constant improvement. Many people with bad results are using cheaper/older systems. They have come a long way. I personally am having good luck using a combination of T5HO's and a 120W LED. I've used it for two years now with good results. Things have improved a lot even in the last two years. I plan on upgrading to a 200-300W LED unit for mature plants, and keeping the T5HO's for seedlings. Eliminating the T5HO's from my LED room will make up for the additional power of the larger unit....See Morespectrometer
Comments (20)It's a crude spectrometer but very fun and cheap. Plastic Spectrometer Hailed as "one of the very best, affordable scientific instruments" by the Astronomical Society Pacific, the Project STAR spectrometer is made of high-impact plastic for years of classroom service and comes completely assembled. The spectrometer uses high-dispersion, high-efficiency diffraction grating that produces an easily-read bright spectrum. Includes a reference label for bright spectral lines and a scale labeled in both electron volts and nanometers for chemistry and physics instruction. Also includes a 10-page activity booklet. The activities include: Observing what diffraction grating does identifying various light sources identifying elements in flame spectra, solar spectra and street lights including mercury, sodium, hydrogen and neon. http://www.starlab.com/psprod.html...See MoreFluro.s vs. HID for flowering
Comments (17)(Lermer) P.M. didn't specify at what distance from the tubes he got the 4000-5000fc reading, or if he was measuring near the center or at the edges. A 20% gain from his homemade mylar reflector is not that impressive. Almost half the light goes upward, so with a reflector you should be able to almost double the intensity. Mylar is only about 88% reflective. It is made of plastic coated with aluminum, and could disintegrate if exposed to excessive heat. You're better off with the German-made aluminum sheet metal, the best is 98% reflective (far better than anything made in the US or the UK). In fact it's possible to buy the fluorescent fixtures with reflective aluminum. I don't recommend putting anything in between the bulbs, that would lessen the array gain (technically called "constructive interference"). Allow me to talk about point vs. line sources of light. HID lights are more like points than lines, and a 4' fluorescent tube is more like an infinite line than a point. Actually, all light comes from point sources. A line is really an infinite series of points. Let us compare a 40 watt 4' fluorescent tube to a series of 4 MH lights of 10 watts each (1' apart). The two would have similar light patterns. The pattern of the 4 MH lights would be a little bumpier or less uniform than the fluorescent tube. Each 10 watt MH light would be a point, but the points combine because their patterns overlap (if all were within 1' of each other). Now increase the wattage of the MH lights to 40 watts each; obviously then the vertical penetration would be greater. Then take away 3 of the 4 lights; the single 40 watt light would have greater vertical penetration than the 40 watt fluorescent tube; the tube would have greater horizontal coverage because of overlapping light footprints (from the infinite number of points in the line). The initial intensity of the 40w MH would be greater because it is more concentrated. So, fluorescent tubes sacrifice vertical penetration for greater horizontal coverage. However, if you put a 400w CMH on a light mover, you still have the greater vertical penetration, but now you also have the horizontal coverage. The 8 fluorescent tubes might have more array gain than a single 400w CMH, but you could put four of the 400w CMH on a spinner to get comparable array gain, and with coverage of about a 8.5' circle. About 54 sq ft, and you can turn the circle into a square by placing taller plants in the corners. Imagine a 400w CMH, stationary, vs. 8 t-4 high output fluorescent tubes. 400 watt CMH 3'x4'=15 sq ft area of coverage (minimum 1000 fc) with 6' track, area covered 3'x10'=30 sq ft total lumens = 34,800 or 87 lumens per watt 85 or 95 CRI (depending on brand) suggested retail price = $265 or $450 (depending on type and brand). 432 watt t-5, 8 tubes 4' each 2'x4'= 8 sq ft area of coverage not practical to track total lumens = 40,000 or 92.5 lumens per watt 85 CRI suggested retail price = $450 Because of the greater intensity of the 400w CMH, vertical penetration is greater. Mainly because of tracking, the 400w CMH also covers at least 3x the horizontal area of coverage....See MoreRob Blomquist
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJoey G
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years agoJoey G
5 years agoJoey G
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5 years agolast modified: 5 years agobikerdoc5968 Z6 SE MI
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