Quote:
Originally Posted by Michaelangelica
The problem is every country has different systems
We work on a fairly lethal 240Volt system
So buying from the USA (110V?) is not an option
The "party" lights weren't that "partish" they looked like normal led lights. They claimed the equivalent of 100W from 20W electricity use.
What I need to know is that sort of light better for plants?
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Alot of those 'party lights' are colored glass and doesnt impact the type of light your receiving.
I spent alot of time researching aquatic plants for my aquarium last year. You may want to search around in those types of sites to get some ideas on how the K rating works. There are also (much fewer) groups out there that specialize in desert type indoor plants and may have some clues about K ratings and such. Look to reptile people for ideas on that. Many of them try to set up micro environments for their pets.
Depending on what kind of plant you want to grow, the type of K output a bulb is rated at is the primary factor. Usually you need to go CF to make it cost effective. The often recommended K for aquariums is 6700K to promote growth. The 'heads' use lower K to promote flowering ... somewhere in the 2200 -2500 K range if I remember right. So they grow their plants under the high K lights then to trigger flower growth, switch to lower K lighting.
I have read about some set up with multiple K rated lights where they try to mimic the sun intensity... running low lights in the morn, fire up the whole set mid day and then begin to reduce lighting to mimic late afternoons (on timers of course).
Having a good reflector above the lighting benefits the plants and should not be overlooked for an indoor project.
Heres a place with very good reflectors and lots of CF bulbs in various outputs:
Compact Fluorescent Lighting Kits
More and more places are starting tu put the K ratings on packages and more variations on output are being offered at places like Home Depot. Smaller ones were the K I needed, but too small for my aquarium. (13 watt, 17 watt iirc).
