Fluorescent bulbs just red or blue?

[KaliKitsune]

I'm wondering if anybody makes T5HO fluorescent lighting that is just red or just blue.

I had inspiration as I was thinking about LED growing - why not just use the same energy that you would by just focusing the bulbs towards emitting only one wavelength instead of multiple, just like an LED? Just line the tube with phosphors to emit red or blue light, leave out the green - more surface area emitting red/blue light.

I look everywhere but I don't see jack except for colored sleeves to put over tubes. Lame.

 

[keico]

I'm wondering if anybody makes T5HO fluorescent lighting that is just red or just blue.

I had inspiration as I was thinking about LED growing - why not just use the same energy that you would by just focusing the bulbs towards emitting only one wavelength instead of multiple, just like an LED? Just line the tube with phosphors to emit red or blue light, leave out the green - more surface area emitting red/blue light.

I look everywhere but I don't see jack except for colored sleeves to put over tubes. Lame.

I am not sure whether you have 2ft or 4ft

But for blue http://cgi.ebay.com/4-T5-DAYLIGHT-6500K-BULBS-4-F54T5-HO-GROW-LIGHT-BULB_W0QQitemZ120391133931QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item120391133931&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1728|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

And for red http://cgi.ebay.com/4ft-Spectralux-T5-54W-HO-Fluorescent-Lamp-Red-3000K_W0QQitemZ270298847418QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

Hope that helps you

 

[buds4me]

Let us no if you find one .

 

[KaliKitsune]

I am not sure whether you have 2ft or 4ft

But for blue http://cgi.ebay.com/4-T5-DAYLIGHT-6500K-BULBS-4-F54T5-HO-GROW-LIGHT-BULB_W0QQitemZ120391133931QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item120391133931&_trksid=p3286.c0.m14&_trkparms=72%3A1728|66%3A2|65%3A12|39%3A1|240%3A1318|301%3A1|293%3A1|294%3A50

And for red http://cgi.ebay.com/4ft-Spectralux-T5-54W-HO-Fluorescent-Lamp-Red-3000K_W0QQitemZ270298847418QQcmdZViewItemQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

Hope that helps you

Not really. I'm looking for single-color bulbs - white is a mixture of red blue and green light.

Fluorescent tubes work by using specially doped phosphors to produce a certain color. Most T5HO bulbs are tri-phosphor - they have red, green, and blue doped phosphors to emit light, and that combination of those three colors in certain amounts gives a color temperature.

I'm looking for bulbs without a color temperature and that only output a single color/wavelength of light. PURE red or blue light, like what an LED would put out.

And with regards to that - all I see are sleeves to put over a tube to filter out all light except red or blue - totally not what I'm after.

 

[AeroKing]

I don't think the technology exists.

The bulbs are oriented towards 6500k or 3000k, but they can't focus down to the nanometer like they can with LEDS.

Knowing only a small amount about how flourescent bulbs work, it doesn't seem feasible to me. I think that they are already "dialed in" to the wavelengths as best they can - they were designed as grow lights.

The plant does use other wavelengths of light and LED manufacturers have suggested adding white(multicolored) light to supplement LEDS.

Can you explain what you were planning with these? I'm interested.

 

[KaliKitsune]

I don't think the technology exists.

The bulbs are oriented towards 6500k or 3000k, but they can't focus down to the nanometer like they can with LEDS.

Knowing only a small amount about how flourescent bulbs work, it doesn't seem feasible to me. I think that they are already "dialed in" to the wavelengths as best they can - they were designed as grow lights.

The plant does use other wavelengths of light and LED manufacturers have suggested adding white(multicolored) light to supplement LEDS.

Can you explain what you were planning with these? I'm interested.

The technology has been around since the invention of the fluorescent bulb. You can focus down to a specific wavelength of light by simply omitting the other color-emitting phosphors (E.G. if you want just red light don't add blue or green phosphors to the bulb,) and you can change the doping of a phosphor (before putting it into a tube) to tune the wavelength of light to a more precise range.

Basically, my thought was this - follow the same path as those trying to grow with LEDs - don't waste power putting energy into producing green light and such, just stick with red and blue. Make fluorescent bulbs that produce only one color (Red or blue) kinda like neon lights but more efficient.

 

[AeroKing]

So I wonder, then, why design the bulb around a kelvin temp vs. an exact nanometer?

 

[KaliKitsune]

So I wonder, then, why design the bulb around a kelvin temp vs. an exact nanometer?

They're blending the colors to create a white color and approximate a daytime spectrum, instead of focusing on a specific color, so they have to use Kelvin instead of nanometer. You can only use nanometer when you deal with a single color.

 

[UserFriendly]

Here you go. advancedtechlighting.com/philipspricolor.htm

I also hear there are soon to be high quality purple lamps.

 

[KaliKitsune]

Here you go. advancedtechlighting.com/philipspricolor.htm

I also here there are soon to be high quality purple lamps.

Props on that awesome find.

 

[KaliKitsune]

Having looked at those bulbs, I say that the blue ones are awesome considering the massive peak and dominance of emissions. the red one is kinda meh, you want more 640-670 for growing, and that lacks. But if they could change their phosphor compound formula to make it emit like the blue does in its own range, then I would most certainly try this in one of my arrays.

 

[AeroKing]

hmmm... Now I realize that the spectrum effect the PAR, but the 24" blue only emits 550 lumens at 24 watts? Wouldn't that really wipe out it's effective coverage/penetration? I'll bet you could really get some super-tight internodes using these a suplementary lighting, though.

 

[KaliKitsune]

hmmm... Now I realize that the spectrum effect the PAR, but the 24" blue only emits 550 lumens at 24 watts? Wouldn't that really wipe out it's effective coverage/penetration? I'll bet you could really get some super-tight internodes using these a suplementary lighting, though.

Lumens is a measurement of green light, you can't use lumens when measuring just red or blue light, like the T5HO bulbs I'm thinking of. These lights are bright as hell, just only in their designated color.

 

[BigDumbAnimal]

I am using 4 T4 4 fters that are purple (made by GE sepcificly for veg and flowering of house plants). The lights have an added element that makes the light a bright purple and when i read the box a long time ago it stated the light spectrum was specificly red and blue.

i have them lining the outside of my closet with a 175 watt cfl / hood on the inside of the room. The plants like the CFL way more but ive found that by keeping the two on the out side there is no place on my plants that light dosent reach. The tubes need to be lower then the CFL obviously but the plants can basicly hump the tubes with no burning.

The only disadvantage ive found was having to raise the tubes every couple days.

But it has been a godsend for keeping temp and humidity down.

 

[BigDumbAnimal]

I am using 4 T4 4 fters that are purple (made by GE sepcificly for veg and flowering of house plants). The lights have an added element that makes the light a bright purple and when i read the box a long time ago it stated the light spectrum was specificly red and blue.

i have them lining the outside of my closet with a 175 watt cfl / hood on the inside of the room. The plants like the CFL way more but ive found that by keeping the two on the out side there is no place on my plants that light dosent reach. The tubes need to be lower then the CFL obviously but the plants can basicly hump the tubes with no burning.

The only disadvantage ive found was having to raise the tubes every couple days.

But it has been a godsend for keeping temp and humidity down.

edited: the tubes are 40 watt and i think i recall them being at 1100 lumens. Hope it helps and for the record i love mine they provide a big advantage when mixed with a HID light they shouldnt be used exclusively but they allow me to not have use a ton of HID and still get awsome veg. I havent flowered yet but i can let u know how they work for flowering.

 

[AeroKing]

Lumens is a measurement of green light, you can't use lumens when measuring just red or blue light, like the T5HO bulbs I'm thinking of. These lights are bright as hell, just only in their designated color.

I understand that as far as plants are concerned, less lumens of a better spectrum can support more growth, but aren't initial lumens also how we as humans can measure and distinguish the expected penetration of a bulb?

Could a bulb that produces so much less light (albeit better light) still cover the same area/distance as a bulb that produces more lumens?

For that matter, if your willing to accept a lower luminosity for a better spectrum, why choose these vs. LEDs?

Or, if you're looking for far blue light, what about the actnic T5s for aquariums at 10,000 kelvins?

Not trying to call you out here, just trying to learn alongside you! +rep

I'm actually considering throwing some of these in some T5 strip lights and using them for supplementary lighting with HPS's or other T5s, if you think they could be really productive.

 

[KaliKitsune]

I understand that as far as plants are concerned, less lumens of a better spectrum can support more growth, but aren't initial lumens also how we as humans can measure and distinguish the expected penetration of a bulb?

Could a bulb that produces so much less light (albeit better light) still cover the same area/distance as a bulb that produces more lumens?

For that matter, if your willing to accept a lower luminosity for a better spectrum, why choose these vs. LEDs?

Or, if you're looking for far blue light, what about the actnic T5s for aquariums at 10,000 kelvins?

Not trying to call you out here, just trying to learn alongside you! +rep

I'm actually considering throwing some of these in some T5 strip lights and using them for supplementary lighting with HPS's or other T5s, if you think they could be really productive.

Initial lumens is the initial light output as the bulb is turned on after having cooled down to room temp. T5HO lights run more efficiently the hotter they get.

For penetration, you need to know two things - photon density, and the inverse square law. That will tell you more than lumens ever can. Lumens is just for what we as humans perceive, not plants. Plants would go by the candle or the electron-volt potential of a wavelength or energy.

As for your next question - more power in = more light out. You can overdrive a bulb by plugging up two ballasts to it. Your penetration is purely going to be in how much power and how powerful that light is. higher quality light helps but it doesn't go further, the inverse square law applies.

Why these versus LEDs? Because these still emit tiny amounts of orange and yellow light, which some plants use. I grow far more than cannabis in my closet. Also, LEDs are way too expensive for PROPER ones that will produce decent results. For the same price I could just buy a few more T5HO banks and make up for the energy cost alone in yield.

The actnic T5 lights are okay, they work wonders for growing plants and they also provide a slight amount of UVB, helps for trichomes. However, the spectrum isn't as fine-tuned as a dedicated set of primary-color bulbs would be. Sometimes I wonder if anybody has tried to grow under red and blue neon lights before.