Terrarium Lighting

S

Shaggy52282

AC Members
Sep 9, 2008
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Denver, CO
So....I know the lighting rule(s) for aquariums...but is there a rule for terrariums...or just outdoor plants (that are kept indoors) in general?

I have always been a fan of plants and after I planted my aquarium I started thinking...if artificial light can allow aquarium plants to thrive...why couldn't it do the same for non-aquatic plants? If I potted an outdoor plant...and kept it inside...would a 5500k, 23w CFL allow it to grow similar to if it was outside (found above mentioned light for $2 at King Soopers yesterday)?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.
 
I use a 60 watt incadescent floodlight for my 20G tank and I can grow high light plants in my water area. I guess the WPG applies to land too.
 
I am actually more curious about non-terrarium plants. Like if I wanted flowers like snap dragons or some crap in a central room with no windows.
 
As with an aquarium it all depends on how the light is diffused. In water light is diffused greatly as the depth of the water is increased. In air the light is not diffused as much.
So if you only want to cover a small area with your 23w CFL then you would use a nice small reflector to keep the illuminated area small and you could put 23 watts on one plant. That would provide tons of light. but if you wanted to cover a larger area you would put a larger reflector and raise the light up. If you raised it up high enough to cover an area the size of a 10 gal you might want 2 of those bulbs.
I can tell you that one 13 watt 4000 k bulb will make one small plant grow like mad if you smash the bulb right down onto the plant. which you could do because of the temp(not K but actual temp) of the cfl. Another thing that might help you is that if you circulate the air so that it pushes your plants around that will strengthen the stems and root systems. I think that a 13 watt is good for about an 8*8 inch area so a 23 watter would probably cover a 10*10 inch or maybe a square foot.
So in conclusion I would say that watts per gallon is not accurate for terrarium. I think it would be better to think about it as watts per square foot as the height of the bulb is not going to significantly affect the brightness of the light like it would in the aquarium. (if you had the light 10 feet up with a lens of some sort it could be just as bright as if it were right down on the substrate(becuase air does not diffuse the light like water will))
 
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hey well keep us updated I would like to see your results as I might try something similar. I was thinking about vegetables... green peppers or tomatoes or maybe just some herbs.
 
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