Excuse the noob question on t5

Thinking I will switch to t5 lights and all the information is mind blowing! done research , comparisons and so forth... now I am confused.
So, I want to veg and bloom with t5's... my grow area is 5' x 3' 6" x 6 foot tall.... what do you wise folks here feel would work?

I'd get a 4 ft 4 or 6 tube (8 if I can find one that fits) t5ho with full spectrum bulbs, and if you want to mess with spectrum, change half of lights to 2700k during flower. I'd also go with 2700k cfl sidelighting 23 watts or more wherever wanted throughout the whole grow cycle if the 10-20 or so grams difference means anything to you.

good luck.

I've got a 8 bulb t5 - 4 footer..great for young plants, you don't want to flower with them, get led light.

Corso312 said:

I've got a 8 bulb t5 - 4 footer..great for young plants, you don't want to flower with them, get led light.

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I've found great results with minimal effort with t5, without changing spectrum or anything. I got about .75gpw last grow without environmental control off 108 watts (I have a 4 bulb 4ft, and 2 bulbs were blown out last grow, and the bulbs are/were at the dimmest point in their life.)
People have thought t5s are no good for flower, but recently warehouses have even started using them. They have phenomenal trichrome and terpene development, and degradation of trichs seems slower IMO.

If its one or the other, id definitely go t5. They are a staple in many growers arsenals. They are beyond great clone, seedling, early vegger lights, and actually very good for flowering sog/multi plant scrogs/mainlines etc.
From what I imagine the perspective of an amatuer/someone not looking to leap before they look is, it would give a decent harvest with a grow to get to know how the plants like the light at certain times as well as giving me experience with the light. Then, if I like the results I can replace the bulbs and start over, or I can use it as a mother or veg or clone room light, or add it as side lighting in an over the top next grow, etc.
I'm sure there are leds that are as easy and reliable and effective, but to me led is still an infant untested tech that seems to barely be getting to the point of practicality as of the last 5 years.

I have 2 marshydro 300w LED's also... think using the LED's and t5's together would work?... I was surprised at how inexpensive t5's are.... the bulbs look like they have a good life span also.

I have a t5ho enviro gro hydrofarm 6 bulb and I use it from seed to harvest n my last grow was frosted like frosted flakes and was really good smoke also they use little electric and for flower u can just change half the bulbs but I like using them I hear everyone using LEDs but I still use my t5

chuckie86 said:

I have a t5ho enviro gro hydrofarm 6 bulb and I use it from seed to harvest n my last grow was frosted like frosted flakes and was really good smoke also they use little electric and for flower u can just change half the bulbs but I like using them I hear everyone using LEDs but I still use my t5

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Yeah that's what I've noticed. Supreme flavor and visual trich density. I feel the t5s are hidden gems for people looking to boost oil content cheaply and without buying a flower only light. It's one of the easiest grows to set up IMO too.

THCmeBro said:

Yeah that's what I've noticed. Supreme flavor and visual trich density. I feel the t5s are hidden gems for people looking to boost oil content cheaply and without buying a flower only light. It's one of the easiest grows to set up IMO too.

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Floros emit UVB, LEDs don't.

UVB is what causes your buds to frost. It's actually a self defense mechanism of the plant cause the UVB "burns" the plants just like it does humans. For humans, we tan. For weed, they get frosty.

I knew about the uvb defense etc, I'm just extra careful when I talk about leds since I dont know hardly anything on them. Including the lack of uvb. I stopped researching a couple years back when the side by sides on even the most expensive lights just failed to match the simplicity and yeild of hids. I know as with any (relatively new) tech, innovations are the norm, but for now, I shy away.

If you go with LED as your main source, just supplement with CFL.

Best of both worlds

I have been using LED's but now hearing about the frost from floro's I pretty sure I am going to buy a t5 set up...... So my second question I asked might have got missed, what about putting one 300w LED in the same room with the t5 ? think it would create something better yet?

DG1959 said:

I have been using LED's but now hearing about the frost from floro's I pretty sure I am going to buy a t5 set up...... So my second question I asked might have got missed, what about putting one 300w LED in the same room with the t5 ? think it would create something better yet?

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I do t5 with a 90w UFO led. Next grow I'm going to get a couple of marshydro 300 to use for side lighting along with the UFO. It will work well I'm sure.

DG1959 said:

I have been using LED's but now hearing about the frost from floro's I pretty sure I am going to buy a t5 set up...... So my second question I asked might have got missed, what about putting one 300w LED in the same room with the t5 ? think it would create something better yet?

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Your Mars are a poor representation of LED .. Not being a prick but you should look at the led section here before you buy anything.

Oh well, I all ready have 2 of them. I have flowered several runs with these... true not the best LED but works and since I'm not going to chuck I thought just add them to the t5 grow area.
Some people say floro's suck some don't... guess trial and error.

I ran an 8 bulb 4ft t5 up top, 6 total 2ft bulbs on the sides and a 2 ft 2 bulb t8 on the back wall. Resulted an impressive harvest. I have since upgraded to 600w hps.

Mars300, especially the NEW ones, are not that bad for their price point. They make excellent veg lights and work fairly well in small spaces. Paired with some supplemental CFLs and they'll compete with any other low budget grow.

When you see many people on RIU complain of mars, they're mostly referring to the old models, and they attempt to use them in much larger grow rooms and wonder why their yields suck.



Week 6 of flower under a mars300 w/ CFL supplemental.

She's over 4 feet tall and already know she's over 4 ounces in weight.

Top Cola, about the size of 12oz soda can, very dense


Resin



Mars work just fine when you're not trying to flower huge areas or multiple plants.

Corso312 said:

I've got a 8 bulb t5 - 4 footer..great for young plants, you don't want to flower with them, get led light.

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They flower just fine.

DG1959 said:

Thinking I will switch to t5 lights and all the information is mind blowing! done research , comparisons and so forth... now I am confused.
So, I want to veg and bloom with t5's... my grow area is 5' x 3' 6" x 6 foot tall.... what do you wise folks here feel would work?

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I run this one. It is 12 inches wide. The bulbs are double stacked.

http://www.amazon.com/8lamps-DL848S-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00INGMTPW

They make a 12 and 16 bulb model.

http://www.amazon.com/12lamps-DL8412-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00PJ5T8F4

http://www.amazon.com/16lamps-DL8416s-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Fixture/dp/B00SC6XMN6

Those look great... thank you for replying.

DG1959 said:

Thinking I will switch to t5 lights and all the information is mind blowing! done research , comparisons and so forth... now I am confused.
So, I want to veg and bloom with t5's... my grow area is 5' x 3' 6" x 6 foot tall.... what do you wise folks here feel would work?

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DG1959 don't sweat it. You can get an 8 bulb 4ft fixture on the net for about $140.00. They will even let you put in 4 3000k and 4 6500k bulbs or mix as you wish. Check out GrowersHouse Hydroponics. I think this is a good deal. I am going to purchase a 8 bulb fixture vegging and a 8 bulb fixture for flowering so i can get the maximum effect from both sides of the spectrum.