Ugh. This is probably the most infuriating issue I’ve come across while growing these plants.

I’ve been collecting and propagating a wide variety of CP’s for close to 20 years now and I still haven’t found the perfect lighting set up for my situation. Previously, I’d been lucky enough to have plenty of ideal natural lighting, as well as indoor and outdoors space in my home so I was never subjected to the infuriating process of finding the best combination of artificial lighting.

That said, I’m now in a much smaller living space with very limited natural light and an annoyingly large collection of plants that I refuse to give up. ☺️ so, I’ve been cycling through various lighting systems for the past few months trying to find the best combination of affordable and effective. While I can’t give you a definitive answer on this bc our grow spaces, personal preferences, and desired outcomes are probably very different, I can share my observations on what’s worked and what hasn’t. Hopefully, this will save you some money and help you make a more informed decision.

I’ve noted some brief thoughts below on the options you’re considering.

(1) I personally don’t like growing my plants under red and blue lighting. These two color spectrums are great for stimulating the flowering and vegetative states but I just hate the visual aesthetic they give the plants. I prefer lighting that stimulates growth and whatnot but also allows me to admire them when the lights are on. Personal preference etc.

(2) These are affordable but I found that exchange between the high heat output and low lumen output, made them mostly worthless to me. Especially if you’re growing in an enclosed space. Right now, I have two of these under an open shelf approx 12” above my plants and all I can say is meh. At one point I added two more lights to increase the lumens but when I did, my plants didn’t respond well. Also, the color temperature is around 2900k which, to me, simulates more of a yellow afternoon sunlight which can often be a little to harsh for certain species when they’re exposed to it for too long.

(3) These might work well for you, I prefer lights within the 5k to 6500k temps. Again, just my own conjectures here, but to me this color light simulates early morning to early afternoon light which almost all of my plants love. Except maybe my sarracenias bc most of them are Sunshine addicts.

My current setup is a mix of 2ft T-5’s 24w 6500k and the barrina option #2 one an open shelving unit like the one you bought. I have one level with 2 Barrinas and 1 T-5 for my pings with the lights sitting about 12” up. I elevated my ping tray to sit a little bit closer to the lights in the hopes they’ll pink up. Jury is still out on the efficacy of this combo but so far they’re not frying like they were with the 4 barrinas.

As for your live sphagnum moss, much like your lowland nepenthes, sphagnum appreciates humidity.

Before buying the Barrinas, I would suggest checking these out:

3600k 80w 2ft full spectrum LED

Or these, same company, same wattage- but bright white instead of the lower kelvin temperature ones.

Full Spectrum 80w 2ft Led Bright White

I bought one set of each last night and I can’t wait to try them. Two lights will give me 80w output whereas I would need 4 of the barrinas to match that strength. I’m hoping these will provide more intensity with less heat but we’ll see. I’m planning to mix and match the bright white with the warm white because I like the blend but, again, we’ll see.

Sry for the long response. And I know there are more factors that go into whether a grow light will work for our plants such as PAR values, specific lighting needs per plant etc but I had to shortcut some things so get the basic info out.

I’m sure there are people in this community that can contribute to the basic info I’ve provided but I really hope my experience will maybe help save you some money and point you in a good direction. Good luck and let me know if you find a lighting system that makes your pings happy!