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Post by kdodds on Apr 19, 2011 0:27:52 GMT
We like active LED from Ringdale. These are real LED's, mft in Georgetown Texas, not Japan or China. 90% less energy than traditional lighting with more luminosity. No brain'er. We consult with the military and grower around the world on the subject. I would like to know what Carnivorous plants you grow under these lights. At the price it would take me over 10 years of energy savings to pay for these lights. Will they last 20? Exactly the reason they've never really "taken off" in reef aquaria. LED full systems have been available for what, maybe a decade now. I can remember at least seeing them displayed heavily back in maybe 2005 at a MACNA conference. They've not come down in price as they were "supposed to" and don't offer ENOUGH of a benefit for reef aquarium keepers familiar with MH (and now heavily T5) lighting to risk the switch. I know of quite a few pretty long term coral set-ups that are using them, so they CAN work for at least some organisms that are accustomed to full bright sun in equatorial ranges. Myself, I think the T5 solutions I currently have for all aquaria/terraria more than satisfy my needs, especially since the T5 bulbs (goood ones anyway) have a pretty good practical lifespan of a year or more (PCs and MHs aren't nearly as long-lived). Still, I wouldn't scoff at LEDs ability to maintain CPs since I have seen them in use, long term, over reef tanks containing Acropora corals.
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Post by bonglim72 on Nov 29, 2011 4:44:07 GMT
hi i'm bong lim, a newby with cp, i was successfull with succulents and orchids indoor, using a self built LED system (52 led per unit 1r:1b ratio with 4 high bright white). i was so challenged with cp, all because it needs the two requirements of both orchids and succulent (light and humidity). i'm now using my 3 unitts of LED combined with 2 high bright LED bulb to replace 8watths t5. i also grow them near my self built aquaphonic system to maintain humidity, else together with my other plant and succulents. my pitcher plant was growing well alongside my orchids using cocodust, perlite, charcoal, and cococube bark.
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Post by bluemax on Nov 29, 2011 8:30:32 GMT
'Sounds interesting, bong lim. How many watts do your leds consume each and how much area do they light? If you can post any photographs that might help to visualize your system as well.
- Mark
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Post by bonglim72 on Nov 29, 2011 8:57:48 GMT
hi, i'm bong a newby, i'm trying my luck with my newly acquired cp, i'm using my home made LED light X3 unit (52 LED per Unit = 1R:1B + 7bright white) combine with LED bulb 25w incandecent replacement that only run on 2watts. I've been using the same light with my succulents and orchids with an acceptable success. I also developed my own aquaphonic system to sprout seeds, all my cp are near this system for humidity.. i'd like to post pictures, i tried but unluckily i can't... I'm still trying to know how, will somebody guide me..i really love to show you my pics..
l
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Post by bouncingwatermelon on Nov 29, 2011 13:52:37 GMT
are LEDs really useful for cp cultivation, or for plant cultivation?
I thought they only produce a very narrow bandwidth of light, whereas plants benefit from a variety of them. So even if an LED light is bright to our eyes, it might not be of much use for plants when it comes to photosynthesis.
If I am saying something wrong, please let me know.
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Post by bonglim72 on Nov 29, 2011 14:43:56 GMT
narrow bandwith with LED is on the advantage side, since photosynthesis are at its peak on the upper blue and red respectively, although limited with the amount of brightness for the human eye, (human eyes see more clearly on the green and yellow band) it is quite different with plants. sometimes we thought of red and blue as dark no matter how many LED you put but actually it is already very bright for plants.
although in some points you are quite right, YES plants also needs some other color aside from red and blue, its like food suppliments for plant growth (its vitamins and minerals for humans) which are also vital for their healthy development, thats why i'm also using a high bright LED bulb, it is diffused white in color that will suppliment the spectra that blue and red LED doesn't provide.
i hope this somehow enlighthened you..
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Post by JimHouse on Nov 17, 2012 3:10:48 GMT
Love this thread, thanks for starting it!
I don't have much to add, but I'll tell you, I've used regular white light in both t-12 units, and compac flouro units, and then switched to half actinic. what I found was slightly faster growth, but both times, the plants immediately bloomed because of the reds. this happened to me with both CP's and orchids as well. plus it's a bit counter-intuitive because the actinic lights seem to put off less (visible) light. I focus my inside stuff on mostly seed germination, so I focus on the blues, even when I have to overwinter my Neps.
also, I've been very interested in the high output LEDS for a long time. it's nice to hear that the little ones have as much candle power as you report. I too have read the "other guy's" reviews of them, and never really trusted them due to the fact that maybe they were -something else- first, and plant guys second.
those other guys all talk about a company called "hid hut," who offer ridiculously expensive lights that are apparently as bright as the sun. I never thought they ever had any application for us because they have a huge red spectrum, and little blue spectrum, which is useful for their application, not so much ours. for the most part, I'd rather NOT have my plants focus on flowering! I'll move them outside when I'm ready for that.
I'm glad to hear the tri-colored ones work well. I may be ready for an upgrade soon.
Jim
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Post by walberg on Jan 1, 2013 12:41:24 GMT
I always had 2 x 80 watt 5400 kelvin Dulux fluoresence lamps but since december 2011 i have a led system with 13 x 4 2 watt powerleds. The system got 3 little fans from above 1 va (watt) cooling powerleds is very important. The system have a mixture of red, blue infrared and ultravioled leds. The spectrum is more dense to the spectrum of what is needed for plants (chorophyl) Before i had 2 x 80 watt of Dulux lamps 16 hours in my terrarium 50 x 100 cm and 60 cm high (i live in Holland and 2,54 cm is one inch) nowadays i god 104 watt 12 hours instead of the 160 watt 16 hours with the fluoresence lamps but my heli's are more colored (vivid) than before and there is less temperature (Temperature is a big problem insite the house in Spring and summer I surely recommend led lamps but you should look at the spectra of the lamps. Attachments:
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Post by nepenthes99 on Jan 1, 2013 17:21:31 GMT
I keep a reef aquarium, and LEDs are all the rage in keeping hard corals that need very high light. I am sure Reef LEDs are more than suitable for plants except they are quite expensive, most going for $200+. Somewhat less expensive plant LEDs might not be suitable for CPs.
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Post by corners on Sept 9, 2013 19:00:00 GMT
ive used the 240 veg ho light. It works great, but footprint might be kind of small for price and watts. It uses something like 160 or 180 real watts. Over a 2x2 spot. I had it dovering 2 to 3 10 gallon fish tanks.Most of my cps loved it, justhave to find right height, so not to burn sensitive plants.
Drosera love it, as do cuttings.
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coline
Full Member
Life's essence: patience
Posts: 484
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Post by coline on Sept 12, 2013 18:56:38 GMT
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Post by Apoplast on Sept 26, 2013 13:28:47 GMT
Hello all - I thought I'd post a link to the latest post on the Upper Midwest Carnivorous Plant Society's (UMCPS) most recent meeting where LED lights were measured by a couple of our members. I won't write all of the details here because it's a bit of information, but you can access the post by clicking here. A few LED fixtures were tested for the spectra they produce and the photosynthetically active radiation (PAR) they generate. Definitely addresses some of the questions in this thread.
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coline
Full Member
Life's essence: patience
Posts: 484
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Post by coline on Oct 1, 2013 2:45:46 GMT
Really good explanation, that explains how good my plants are doing here at my house! Even so, with an aquarium experience, I changed the light to a led one and it made an algae bloom really bad, maybe because that same thing, they make more absorbable light than CFLs
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Post by Apoplast on Oct 20, 2013 13:51:25 GMT
Hi Coline - Thanks, but it's really just a beginning. I wanted to check out LED fixtures because I was dubious of their capacity to grow plants effectively. One of your members grows CP's as well as high light demanding orchids under them with great success. I was impressed by his results and that the newer generation of LED lighting has done a better job of producing light across a wider spectrum, which plants need too. The post on the UMCPS website is really just a small piece of beginning to explore these lights in a quantitative way. Don't forget to check out John Brittnacher's new "how to" page for the ICPS - it's a good read and very informative take from another somewhat skeptical grower. Looks like LED's might be slowly winning over some of us skeptics under certain circumstances.
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coline
Full Member
Life's essence: patience
Posts: 484
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Post by coline on Oct 21, 2013 3:55:52 GMT
I'm kind of really skeptic on some kinds of technologies, but what matters on using less resources or good for environment/health, I'm not. even so, there is a big step to be done: make them affordable, LEDs are really expensive. 3CFL=1CLED, 3Fluorescents+1balast & equipment=1LED tube
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