Killing Metal Halide Lights

From: Gilles LARDY (fytdw@hkabc.net)
Date: Mon Apr 20 1998 - 07:31:46 PDT


Date: Mon, 20 Apr 1998 22:31:46 +0800
From: "Gilles LARDY" <fytdw@hkabc.net>
To: cp@opus.hpl.hp.com
Message-Id: <aabcdefg1330$foo@default>
Subject: Killing Metal Halide Lights

Hi everybody,

Here in HK I have setup a new collection thanks to the help of many members
on the list, however I have experienced a strange phenomenon during the last
few months, and would like to know about the reasons.

In fact this phenomenon could bring some people to be jealous about it, but
in my case it always comes to a deadly end.
When I arrived I have purchased a Metal Halide Light device (150W) to
strengthen the poor light intensity that HK sky allows us most of the time.
Since I purchased it in a seafish aquarium shop, they only had the bulbs
that you use for coral aquariums, i.e. a spectrum increasing in the blue. I
provide my plants around 12h lighting period, and the neps seem to love it.
The problem comes with the droseras : for the past two months they have kept
flowering in a crazy way (some D. spathulata bear more than 10 flower
peduncules). This concerns all droseras, temperate, semi-temperate, and
sub-tropical as well...

The two consequences are : 1- My collection is overspread with seeds
which, due to the humid climate germinate greatly in every pot resulting
in a mess of unidentified seedlings. 2- Drosera plants get tired of
flowering so greatly and after a while just die of exhaustion, whatever
the species.

Has somebody experienced such phenomenon before ? Could this be due to the
blue shifted spectrum of the lights ?

Any good advice wellcome..

Gilles



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