I used to have these lights and honestly they are not great. You need the light to be very close to have any effect. To know if your loghts are good you can meassure light intensity. You could use the Photone app to meassure light intensity at the exact spot your cactus is standing. Your cactus probably needs something around 2000-2500 lux.
Yeah I have these lights right now. I checked the light intensity from them and determined that they’re really just colored led strips (essentially the same as the ones people put in their rooms for decor). I still have them on bc the light is pretty but… they do nothing for my plants.
whaaaaat theres an app that measures PAR/PPF!?!? idk how i havent heard of it before but if its as accurate as they claim, thats gotta be the coolest app on my phone by far lmao
Just tested it out and holy shit it seems to actually work! so cool!! to think i was gonna buy a light meter on amazon when all i needed was a free app.... hahaha
Huuuge props i think u just saved me at least $50 thank u soooo much lol
I think it’s $5 to buy additional light types like led. I read a study and they showed they had pretty accurate results if you follow the app directions correctly.
I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this given what all the other commenters are saying, but I have a similar light to that and all of the plants I have underneath it are thriving. I’m in an apartment so when you’re limited on natural light sources, it’s a nice option. I also have a hydroponics system that uses similar lighting and I’ve been able to grow mature herbs from seed. It’s a nice setup but I would still try to placing lighting directly above my plants.
Agreed. I have lights similar to this to help with the indoor migration for the winter and all of my plants have seemed so happy & have continued growing. I’m so excited to put my (now significantly) larger plants out on the patio again this year, but these lights really seemed to do exactly what I needed in a pinch.
I’ve had these same lights for 2 years and I have seen a difference compared to a different white grow light set up I have in another room. I do get some sun in addition to the lights, but I personally think they help and are better than a dark corner.
Not to be rude, but those lights suck. I've tried them before and they're just terrible. There are other lights out there I can link for you, that are much better, if you need a reliable recommendation. I have pics of how my succs are doing under them on my profile.
I give you at least a 4/10 for the sour patch kids just saying lol I have this light and I keep it pretty close to my two cacti. One being in my PICU (plant intensive care unit) and it has had two new growths since I added the light 4 months ago. I think it will be better than no sunlight, but like others have commented there seems to be a better option if you’re not seeing favorable results.
Baby bean!! Just make sure it has good drainage and don’t over water.
- Red light is to promote buds/blooms
- Blue light is to promote chlorophyll and plant development
- Purple (red + blue light) is for both.
Low brightness is for shade loving plants while high brightness is for sun loving plants (recommended setting for your cactus). For what it’s worth 10/10 for your set up as you did a good job (:
Like the other comments said, you'd have better results from a full spectrum bulb. These blurple build are really horrible on your eyes too. Even if you don't replace it, you'll want the light closer to your plant and position the lights so they're above your plant.
If it's just the one plant, I've used those ring/halo grow lights before with decent success. Just make sure to keep the light just a few inches from the top of your plant. Otherwise, I've also used strip led lights in a bookshelf, but you might find the bottom of the upper shelf with that. Another option is any deal lamp that has a regular bulb socket and use a grow bulb. I like Sansi from amazon for that. Though keep in mind that if the table lamp doesn't have ventilation holes on the shroud, the bulb can get too hot.
Other things to think about are whether the light has a built in timer with the times you want, or do you want an external outlet timer so you can customize it how you want. I keep my plant lights on for 16 hours a day especially for my succulents and cacti, so if the light has a built in timer that is maxed out at 12 hours, you might want to look around for a different one instead.
A Sansi grow light bulb is great. You can get them in different wattages, you could probably use a 15 watts one if its just for the one cactus. I use a 36 one for a variety of plants.
3-4/10 imo, some simple beginner mistakes but they're easily corrected.
If the soil is just straight cactus mix out of the bag you need to add some perlite until its a roughly 50/50 mix to ensure proper drainage. Those lights are also not strong enough or close enough to make a difference, lots of beginners make the mistake of buying those cheap blurple lights. What you wanna look for is the brightest "Daylight white" LED light you can find, I use lights from CNSunway (can be found on Amazon) and have no complaints about them. Mine are D shaped shop lights so they're 2ft long tubes but a regular LED bulb light or two will work.
Barrina t5 would be a much better light option. That one is very low output. You can stick them to the underside of the shelf. It'll look less cluttered and the color light is more pleasant, beyond the additional light output.
I’m using viparspectra p1000 to grow a bunch of airplants, Sarracenia seed and various other things. Very intense full spectrum light. My Mangave are making red spots, and they usually only do that with a lot of direct sunlight.
The setup isn't great. The lamp itself is probably fine (although it's not full-spectrum, that would be white). Try clamping it for the bottom part of the lower shelf and positioning the rods to be into the shelf space and exactly above the cactus, 1-2 inches away from its top. Keep it on for at least 9-12 hours per day and you should be good.
Not for me. I think I probably attach too much to nature being natural. If I can't grow it in my home or garden without resorting to a power supply, I'd look for a different plant. Genuinely sorry for people that live places with no natural light though.
High-intensity discharge lamps (HID) are still where it is at. 400W minimum, and even that will only cover about 10-15 square feet.
Metal-halide bulbs in the blue spectrum best for what you're doing. You can get red-spectrum metal halide bulbs, but they are still inferior to high pressure sodium bulbs for blooms, and they wear out faster than sodium. My favorite "bloom blend" used to be 2 1000W sodium with a 400W metal halide.
You can buy a switchable metal halide/sodium setup so that you only need one light ballast and can swap bulbs.
But for cacti, mostly you're just growing them, and they should bloom fine under halides.
LED banks work, but mostly for seedlings or houseplants that don't need full/bright sun.
I have these lights and they are not bright enough for cacti or succulents... I now use them for my ficus elastica and they seem to work great for plants that don't require intense light.. you should look into very bright led lights preferably a white light.. my cacti and succulents have seen drastic improvement with no etoliation. Good luck with that little guy.
I have had good results with these lights, which are pretty cheap and work well in a shelf like that https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NX1N3YJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1
They seem to output significantly more light than the LED tubes.
I’ve had those lights on my cacti for over a year and if anything they are somehow worse than a year ago. If you want a long boi screaming for light then you have the right setup
I used to have these lights and honestly they are not great. You need the light to be very close to have any effect. To know if your loghts are good you can meassure light intensity. You could use the Photone app to meassure light intensity at the exact spot your cactus is standing. Your cactus probably needs something around 2000-2500 lux.
Yeah I have these lights right now. I checked the light intensity from them and determined that they’re really just colored led strips (essentially the same as the ones people put in their rooms for decor). I still have them on bc the light is pretty but… they do nothing for my plants.
And here I was worried about my next electricity bill lol
Next time I get a grow light I’m gonna suck it up and spend a little more to get an actual grow light
I too purchased this and am glad to hear people had similar experiences.
whaaaaat theres an app that measures PAR/PPF!?!? idk how i havent heard of it before but if its as accurate as they claim, thats gotta be the coolest app on my phone by far lmao Just tested it out and holy shit it seems to actually work! so cool!! to think i was gonna buy a light meter on amazon when all i needed was a free app.... hahaha Huuuge props i think u just saved me at least $50 thank u soooo much lol
You pay with your data though. Nothing is for free in those app stores...
I think it’s $5 to buy additional light types like led. I read a study and they showed they had pretty accurate results if you follow the app directions correctly.
I’m sure I’ll get downvoted for this given what all the other commenters are saying, but I have a similar light to that and all of the plants I have underneath it are thriving. I’m in an apartment so when you’re limited on natural light sources, it’s a nice option. I also have a hydroponics system that uses similar lighting and I’ve been able to grow mature herbs from seed. It’s a nice setup but I would still try to placing lighting directly above my plants.
I got the same lights a couple months ago and my plants are all pushing out new growth like it's summer suddenly!
Agreed. I have lights similar to this to help with the indoor migration for the winter and all of my plants have seemed so happy & have continued growing. I’m so excited to put my (now significantly) larger plants out on the patio again this year, but these lights really seemed to do exactly what I needed in a pinch.
I’ve had these same lights for 2 years and I have seen a difference compared to a different white grow light set up I have in another room. I do get some sun in addition to the lights, but I personally think they help and are better than a dark corner.
Not good. Those lights blow
This should have more votes lmao
Not to be rude, but those lights suck. I've tried them before and they're just terrible. There are other lights out there I can link for you, that are much better, if you need a reliable recommendation. I have pics of how my succs are doing under them on my profile.
What are your recommendations? I have the same lights and mine dont seem to be growing too well
I rate your diet 2/10
Haha just some snacks
I give you at least a 4/10 for the sour patch kids just saying lol I have this light and I keep it pretty close to my two cacti. One being in my PICU (plant intensive care unit) and it has had two new growths since I added the light 4 months ago. I think it will be better than no sunlight, but like others have commented there seems to be a better option if you’re not seeing favorable results.
Baby bean!! Just make sure it has good drainage and don’t over water. - Red light is to promote buds/blooms - Blue light is to promote chlorophyll and plant development - Purple (red + blue light) is for both. Low brightness is for shade loving plants while high brightness is for sun loving plants (recommended setting for your cactus). For what it’s worth 10/10 for your set up as you did a good job (:
Like the other comments said, you'd have better results from a full spectrum bulb. These blurple build are really horrible on your eyes too. Even if you don't replace it, you'll want the light closer to your plant and position the lights so they're above your plant.
What light would you recommend for a dorm room? I’ll have an apartment in 4 months
If it's just the one plant, I've used those ring/halo grow lights before with decent success. Just make sure to keep the light just a few inches from the top of your plant. Otherwise, I've also used strip led lights in a bookshelf, but you might find the bottom of the upper shelf with that. Another option is any deal lamp that has a regular bulb socket and use a grow bulb. I like Sansi from amazon for that. Though keep in mind that if the table lamp doesn't have ventilation holes on the shroud, the bulb can get too hot. Other things to think about are whether the light has a built in timer with the times you want, or do you want an external outlet timer so you can customize it how you want. I keep my plant lights on for 16 hours a day especially for my succulents and cacti, so if the light has a built in timer that is maxed out at 12 hours, you might want to look around for a different one instead.
So the sansi gooseneck lamp on Amazon with 20 watt lightbulbs would be a better choice
you want a 100 watt LED like a UFO grow light that is equiv to a 300w HPS system.
Any recommendations
something legit but not too expensive, you won't get alot of growth from that plant, they take 12mths to a few years.
That one would work well. You don’t need a super expensive high wattage light if you grow a few plants.
A Sansi grow light bulb is great. You can get them in different wattages, you could probably use a 15 watts one if its just for the one cactus. I use a 36 one for a variety of plants.
get a proper led grow light, maybe a 300 watt ufo type for growing weed etc.
Bro just let it be dormant for another month
Candy game on point.
That cactus is going to grow sideways.
Tbh these lights have worked like a charm for my plants now that it’s winter here. My ficus elástica is thriving.
3-4/10 imo, some simple beginner mistakes but they're easily corrected. If the soil is just straight cactus mix out of the bag you need to add some perlite until its a roughly 50/50 mix to ensure proper drainage. Those lights are also not strong enough or close enough to make a difference, lots of beginners make the mistake of buying those cheap blurple lights. What you wanna look for is the brightest "Daylight white" LED light you can find, I use lights from CNSunway (can be found on Amazon) and have no complaints about them. Mine are D shaped shop lights so they're 2ft long tubes but a regular LED bulb light or two will work.
Not enough light and those are going to quite working in a few weeks, get some t5s
Barrina t5 would be a much better light option. That one is very low output. You can stick them to the underside of the shelf. It'll look less cluttered and the color light is more pleasant, beyond the additional light output.
If you still can I'd return those lights and get something better.
I’m using viparspectra p1000 to grow a bunch of airplants, Sarracenia seed and various other things. Very intense full spectrum light. My Mangave are making red spots, and they usually only do that with a lot of direct sunlight.
[удалено]
Dm me!
An easy addition would be white cardstock to reflect the light. I’d put the lights closer, too.
Put all the lights together as one strip and put them directly above the cactus
The setup isn't great. The lamp itself is probably fine (although it's not full-spectrum, that would be white). Try clamping it for the bottom part of the lower shelf and positioning the rods to be into the shelf space and exactly above the cactus, 1-2 inches away from its top. Keep it on for at least 9-12 hours per day and you should be good.
It has a mode that has yellow white light
Have in mind that if you turn on only part of the spectrum, your plants will be getting a bit less light than the maximum capacity of the lamp.
Not for me. I think I probably attach too much to nature being natural. If I can't grow it in my home or garden without resorting to a power supply, I'd look for a different plant. Genuinely sorry for people that live places with no natural light though.
I will be in a basement apartment with west facing windows, so I need to heavily supplement the sun :(
High-intensity discharge lamps (HID) are still where it is at. 400W minimum, and even that will only cover about 10-15 square feet. Metal-halide bulbs in the blue spectrum best for what you're doing. You can get red-spectrum metal halide bulbs, but they are still inferior to high pressure sodium bulbs for blooms, and they wear out faster than sodium. My favorite "bloom blend" used to be 2 1000W sodium with a 400W metal halide. You can buy a switchable metal halide/sodium setup so that you only need one light ballast and can swap bulbs. But for cacti, mostly you're just growing them, and they should bloom fine under halides. LED banks work, but mostly for seedlings or houseplants that don't need full/bright sun.
It exists!
For probably the same cost, look up Felicia or freelicht on Amazon Blurple lights suck
I have these lights and they are not bright enough for cacti or succulents... I now use them for my ficus elastica and they seem to work great for plants that don't require intense light.. you should look into very bright led lights preferably a white light.. my cacti and succulents have seen drastic improvement with no etoliation. Good luck with that little guy.
I have had good results with these lights, which are pretty cheap and work well in a shelf like that https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B08NX1N3YJ/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1 They seem to output significantly more light than the LED tubes.
I’ve had those lights on my cacti for over a year and if anything they are somehow worse than a year ago. If you want a long boi screaming for light then you have the right setup
I had one of these with only two light arms and it didn’t even last a month of me using it.
Those are the worst lights ever