Lighting Simulating .... Moonlight !! Anyone ever tried it ? (75w bulbs!)

[Groff]

So I was walking about in my local garden center... and wham!! I came across this! The reptile sections are packed full of cool stuff we can use! I got loads of ideas.

Here is one I'm just dying to try!

http://www.exo-terra.com/en/products/night_heat_lamp.php

It also produces heat, so it could be a two-in-one solution for lights off hours. Its a shame I'm just going to start my first ever auto, otherwise I would jump right in to try it.... I'm sooooooo tempted anyways

Seems like a very logical step in simulating a natural environment indoors

Comments?

:cough:

 

[Groff]

Damn... I just only really looked into the tech notes... Does seem like an awful lot of heat (20ºC) from such low wattages, 15w up to 75w does 20ºC @ 60cm/24" - what gives?

 

[tokaite]

Hi,
Not sure what you want to achieve with that, your plants are better off in full dark at night, even if auto.
And that lamp start exactly at the infra-red spectrum to reach the far extreme of it and from my understanding infra-red during night cycle is a big no,no especially during flowering (afgain even if auto), your plant would tend to stretch...
During the night, you really do not want to "disturb" them because it is at night that most of the what we want is being done.....
If you wanted to try moonlight, I read somewhere that as the green light color do not interfer with the night cycle so does the blue light, but research on that...
From the reptile stuff you could try UVB but lower than 10%, but no more than 10 minutes ( 2 - 3 minutes @ time) a day and not too close ( otherwise same as skin sunburn for us), that is supposed to increase trichs production...
hope it help and good luck in your attempts.

 

[Carbon]

Damn... I just only really looked into the tech notes... Does seem like an awful lot of heat (20ºC) from such low wattages, 15w up to 75w does 20ºC @ 60cm/24" - what gives?

These bulbs will put out some serious heat the idea is them to keep vivariums up in the 90s over night most of the time.
There generally controlled by either dimming or on/off thermostats neither of which would be greatly suited to growing

 

[gradolabs]

Damn... I just only really looked into the tech notes... Does seem like an awful lot of heat (20ºC) from such low wattages, 15w up to 75w does 20ºC @ 60cm/24" - what gives?

Its an infrared bulb... 700nm to a couple thousand... basically a heat lamp... its designed to cook reptiles (not all the way through, just warms em up).

 

[Groff]

I was thinking maybe these light were actual "moonligt spectrum" emulating lights... so I jumped in with the idea.

My reasoning is that in nature, moonlight does reflect back light down to the plants. After gzillions of years os specialization, replicating moonlight spectrum surely must
have a beneficial effect on the plant's physiology... added to the heat the lights put out, would be cool to have, I'm running a 2000w heater on a thermostat to help tame
4ºC temps we get at night over here

But yeah... I also saw the spectrum graph and went "mheeeeh..."

Anyone know what spectrum moonlight is? lool... I still dig the idea...

 

[The Squid]

Interesting idea indeed just not what it sounds like I don't think.

 

[happily]

Hi,
Not sure what you want to achieve with that, your plants are better off in full dark at night, even if auto.
And that lamp start exactly at the infra-red spectrum to reach the far extreme of it and from my understanding infra-red during night cycle is a big no,no especially during flowering (afgain even if auto), your plant would tend to stretch...
During the night, you really do not want to "disturb" them because it is at night that most of the what we want is being done.....
If you wanted to try moonlight, I read somewhere that as the green light color do not interfer with the night cycle so does the blue light, but research on that...
From the reptile stuff you could try UVB but lower than 10%, but no more than 10 minutes ( 2 - 3 minutes @ time) a day and not too close ( otherwise same as skin sunburn for us), that is supposed to increase trichs production...
hope it help and good luck in your attempts.

I just bought a 10% uvb bulb and was gonna run it 1 hour slowly up to six hours a day from 20" away. I guess I better do some more looking at uvb. I know some led's have uvb now. Any thoughts?

 

[gradolabs]

I was thinking maybe these light were actual "moonligt spectrum" emulating lights... so I jumped in with the idea.

My reasoning is that in nature, moonlight does reflect back light down to the plants. After gzillions of years os specialization, replicating moonlight spectrum surely must
have a beneficial effect on the plant's physiology... added to the heat the lights put out, would be cool to have, I'm running a 2000w heater on a thermostat to help tame
4ºC temps we get at night over here

But yeah... I also saw the spectrum graph and went "mheeeeh..."

Anyone know what spectrum moonlight is? lool... I still dig the idea...

I can do basic spectroscopy... tonight should be 3/4 moon... chekcing weather, clear skies all night. I can see about posting pics if I get a good spectrograph. You should know it's just sunlight reflected off of the lunar surface though... so imagine a dimmer version of daylight. Or wait for the data. The sun sets in a couple of hours then I can take some measurements.

 

[The Dude]

Sounds nifty man.I thought the only light that would not disrupt any plant ESP> an Auto was a tru Green light.I use a Green lantern LED light.doesnt give off heat really.if this lil guy gives off heat and wont interupt the cycle of atleast 4 hrs. dark time,Id love to try one er two.