A lighting quandary........

[Ambrose]

Long time lurker, first time poster.

Hi All,
All my orchids are settled indoors (I live in the mid-atlantic region) for the colder months.
I have a mixed collection, some of which reside in an enclosed habitat with T-5 lighting fixtures. The rest of my collection has to make-do with available south-west natural lighting.
The natural light during the short days of winter is sadly lacking. Indeed, these plants are pretty much scraping by until late May.
I want to supplement the lighting for these plants and have narrowed my choice down to two systems.
I could hang another T-5 fixture with eight, four foot, mixed 3000K and 6500K tubes for a nominal lumen output of 40,000.
Or, I could hang an Adjust-A-Wing reflector with a 400Watt ceramic metal halide lamp with a nominal lumen rating of around 38,600.
The HID route is more expensive by $60- $80, and is uncharted water for me as I have been relying on T-12, T-8, and more recently, T-5 lighting.
Any input would be great.
Ambrose.

[FrankP999]

The temperature under the HID will be higher than the T-8 at equal distances.

[Ambrose]

Thanks for the reply Frank.
I have been researching Ceramic Metal Halide lamps and the prevailing wisdom states that these lamps generate less heat than standard HID's.
I have disabled the heat emitter (hot water convector) in this room as the combination of sunlight and T-5 fixture heat keeps the air temp at around 74*F.
Ambrose.

[calvin_orchidL]

Hi Ambrose,
Is there a reason you want to use the metal halide instead of the T5s?

Personally, I like to choose lighting based upon the grow area setup. With long narrow areas (like typical shelves or window sills), tube lighting is logical, because with spot lighting like MH bulbs, you get a circular radius where you waste lots of the light you could be using. In a square grow room, on the other hand, a MH might work better.

[RJSquirrel]

T5 lamps are the future of lighting bec LED isnt there yet.compact, cheap to operate and they work..they do not cost to much to replace the parts when the need arises..dont have to pay 45 dollars for a bulb. just price the ballast out on them MH and LPS lamps. you can replace them for what the ballast alone cost in most cases. IMO stay with the T5's and even upgrade your old T8 or T12's with T5 parts. its pretty easy if you can make sense of an electrical schematic printed in micro

and good luck what ever you do!!!

[Ambrose]

Thanks for your replies Calvin and R.J.,

My over-flow table is 30"X60" so either way, a 4', T-5 or medium Adjust-A-Wing reflector with a 400watt CMH lamp should cover it. I thought the CMH would give better light penetration,but, I have no experience with HID lighting.

Power-wise, both fixtures would be about equal in cost to run. Re-lamping costs would be somewhat the same.

I have experimented extensively with T-12 and T-8 over-driven lamps and the juice just ain't worth the squeeze. So I moved on to T-5.

Ambrose.....

[FrankP999]

Originally Posted by RJSquirrel

upgrade your old T8 or T12's with T5 parts. its pretty easy if you can make sense of an electrical schematic printed in micro

Can you please give more details. What T12 parts need replacing? Is that cheaper than buying a new T5?

WHere can I find parts and the schematic?

Thanks

Frank

[Ray]

T12 and T8 lamps use the same fixture brackets, but you'd need different brackets and a different ballast for T5's.

Don't forget - if anyone wants such fixtures or bulbs, I discount Hydrofarm stuff by 10%-15%, so search their website and drop me an email.