Infrared

[gambite]

Awesome thread. I am definitely keeping an eye on this.

What about colored fluorescent lights? My local hardware store has some, the compact twisty kind. IIRC, they had green, red, blue and yellow. Would they produce the same kind of light as LEDs? Are they brighter? Better? Etc.?

 

[saminthemiddle]

It would actually depend a lot on the florescent light. It is most likely just a florescent light that has a color filter on it which means you have the same problem as the incandescent bulb.

On the other hand if it is a florescent that uses a phosphor that actually glows at the color you want then it's going to give off the color that you want in a more-or-less uniform spectrum with a lot of UV (the UV is produced by the gas to energize the phosphor).

If it's a neon light such as the kind used in store "open" signs then it will be like a high-wattage LED. Most likely the tube will be clear, not colored.

Most likely you have the top thing.

If it's red it will probably work okay so there is no reason not to try it. If it doesn't work then you haven't lost anything (except maybe 5 bucks).

As for the whole research thing: I haven't had a chance to go down to the library yet, I spent all afternoon shopping for enclosures for the slings I'm about to order. Got this nifty terrestrial setup with a false bottom and real plants (so cool) . I just hope the sling doesn't dig it up too badly! I used re-rooting plants but that's no guarantee.

 

[saminthemiddle]

Speaking of red lights, here's a big idea for you folks.

I'm building a vivarium with a some plants and a Zoropsis Spinimana (true spider out of the eastern Mediterranean, except for this one which hails from under my bed :}).

Anyway, I'm taking advantage of the fact that red light (650nm) is invisible to her while red light is the color that is absorbed by chlorophyll. In other words, I can put red lights over the tank and crank them up all I want without overheating the tank keeping my plants happy and my spider in the happy dark.

I'll create a whole new thread about this after a month or so after I see some evidence that the plants are thriving. Maybe a howto in the articles section!