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| LEDs on the Ping Tank |
During my post-Christmas Amazon shopping, I ran across
Lvjing® High Power 120w Led Plant Grow Light Panel 1365 Led Red + Blue for Hydroponic Plants Flowers Vegetables Greenhouse Hydro Lighting 85-265V (120w)
. There are a myriad of different options for ordering the light. I went with the 120 Watt version. It arrived recently, and I've been testing it on my Pings.
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| Grow Rack Setup |
I have not been testing the new LED light for long, but I can already tell you that it is brighter than the 2-foot, 4-bulb T5 units that I had been using. I only wish that it were bigger. (2 LED units can cover a 20 gallon tank). I'm not keen on the blue-and-red colors, but, if the plants like it...
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| The Pings in the Purple Light |
It's too soon to tell whether the
Lvjing LED Light will be as good as the T5s, but I'll be sure to keep you updated. It runs at a cooler temperature, and, ideally, I'd like to upgrade all my light fixtures to LEDs eventually. I'm not, however, well versed in building LED fixtures, unlike some carnivorous plant enthusiasts, so I'd been waiting for fixtures to reach a reasonable price. $60 was low enough that I was willing to try it out (especially in light of the positive reviews, which is not the case for some other fixtures).
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| New 20 Gallon Tank |
Also in the post-Christmas shopping, I ran across PetCo's $1-a-gallon sale, which has been going since December 28. (The sale goes until Jan. 24, for those of you needing more tanks). I picked up a few more tanks, including one for my Drosera, which were previously just standing in a tray of water. There, they were suffering from lack of humidity. Now, I have them in a topless 20 gallon tank.
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| The Drosera Tank |
I'm hoping that this set-up reduces loss due to dryness. (I lost my mature Drosera filiformis ssp. filiformis 'Florida Red' this winter, as well as a few other plants). The heater in my apartment is brutal for plants. Thankfully, most of my intermediates are fine in the intermediate/highland room because the window is almost always open, and that allows a great deal of moisture/dryness exchange. That isn't the case for the lowland/Ping/Drosera room.
Boo, sorry to hear you lost your filiformis 'Florida red', that's the only Drosera I grow at the moment, (may change that in the future with some more FL natives I can keep outside here,) it's such a nice one.
ReplyDeleteI've been watching this LED boom from the sidelines to see how it goes as I'm not willing to invest just yet. I hate the red/purple color and don't want to look at it all the time. Maybe that's silly, but I run multiple, large banks of T5 at this point and it isn't really that expensive. I'm always interested in saving on the electric bill though, so maybe I'd convert my grow tent, but nothing I have to look at every day. I see how well other people do with LED, so hopefully it's worth it for your plants!