NicholasWells5
Active Member
I need to know what kind of lights are energy saving and can grow like champions. Help, Please.
Any website links would be appreciated.
Any website links would be appreciated.
Needing help with lights.
- Thread starter NicholasWells5
- Start date
hotrodharley
Well-Known Member
Check out any T5 HO unit. Quantum Bad Boys are great. But they are high dollar. Check them out and see how they ventilate and then look for non-name brands that sell cheaper. The more light output the better the bud so go for the big watts.
http://www.amazon.com/QUANTUM-Lamp-...id=1364152128&sr=8-1&keywords=quantum+bad+boy
This is not a bad price at all for an 8 bulb really.
http://www.amazon.com/QUANTUM-Lamp-...id=1364152128&sr=8-1&keywords=quantum+bad+boy
This is not a bad price at all for an 8 bulb really.
doniboy
Well-Known Member
I'd go with the Hydrofarm T5HO Designer grow light from Amazon. They are "Daisy-chainable" which means, if in the future you decide to buy more than one light, they all can be plugged in to one another. Unlike the Quantum Bad Boys fixture, the Hydrofarm T5HO Designer includes the bulbs as well. Both Hydrofarm and Quantum are high quality products that do the exact same thing, but with the Quantum Bad Boy, you'll have to drop even more $$$$ for the bulbs. Last Quantum Bad Boy are only available in 4 foot fixtures which was a no go for me. Plus I needed a 4 and 2 foot fixture and wanted uniform setups... The Quantum Bad Boys just "look" cooler IMO and are foldable which is a pretty useless feature for me, but to each they're own...
They both are premium lights that are around the same price, but for example the Bay Boy 4ft 8 bulb fixture that Hotrodharley linked you to is about the same price as the Hydrofarm Designer, but the Designer would only cost $220 everything included and the Quantum Bad Boy would cost about the same, but then you'd have to pay for 8 bulbs running around an extra $80 (over 36% extra)...
They both are premium lights that are around the same price, but for example the Bay Boy 4ft 8 bulb fixture that Hotrodharley linked you to is about the same price as the Hydrofarm Designer, but the Designer would only cost $220 everything included and the Quantum Bad Boy would cost about the same, but then you'd have to pay for 8 bulbs running around an extra $80 (over 36% extra)...
LadyZandra
Active Member
I agree-- I have seen grows under ALL the available growing lights-- and T5 (IMO) are the best bet.. high output, low energy consumption and no heat issues! just remember to use the right size & #of tubes for the space it is filling, and keep em close to the plants.. and believe me- they will produce for ya!
NightOwlBono
Well-Known Member
If your going the t5HO route sunblaster makes great cheep ballasts and bulbs
Trousers
Well-Known Member
Do people believe that a 4' 12 bulb T5 using about 648 watts is better than a 600 watt hps?
Personally I got less weight and lower quality from the T5 compared to my 600 watt hps.
Check an electricity calculator to see your costs.
My 600 watt hps costs me $20 a month when on 12/12.
http://www.electricity-usage.com/Electricity-Usage-Calculator.aspx
4' T5 bulbs use 54 watts.
Personally I got less weight and lower quality from the T5 compared to my 600 watt hps.
Check an electricity calculator to see your costs.
My 600 watt hps costs me $20 a month when on 12/12.
http://www.electricity-usage.com/Electricity-Usage-Calculator.aspx
4' T5 bulbs use 54 watts.
hotrodharley
Well-Known Member
No way they can do as well as HPS or even MH. But he's looking for the cheapest energy route I believe. I would go with a 600HPS myself and cool it off with moving air.
NightOwlBono
Well-Known Member
Generally speaking the MH/HPS are more intense and have more penetration.
but you usually need to need to vent their heat away and all that jazz.
but t5HO gives you the option of running 3/1 5600k/2700k veg and ,3/1 2700k/5600k flower.plus a little less heat out form the t5ho's.
if its their first grow I'd suggest using just t5ho ballasts and bulbs.
then on your second grow upgrade and use them only for veg,and buy a MH/HPS for your second grow in bloom
doniboy
Well-Known Member
I have both a 600w and 1000w hid's but I'm also am going to use my t5 for vegging instead of my 600w mh. For most indoor grows it's my opinion that t5s are just as good as MH for vegging... No one likes to talk about how fast a MH bulb degrades compared to T5s, and how they end up using the same amount of electricity while putting out less and less lumens... People are like months into growing with their MH bulbs and still thinking they're better than T5s and are quoting that they're putting out the same amount of lumens.... Not!
Fluorogreen is also a good price and uses the racehorse ballast which is the biggest feature of the badboys.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluorogrow-...022?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d004d4ce
If I have to pick one type of lighting with energy saving as a priority. It would be T5 HO. Second would be LEDS but as a standalone quality light they cost too much. For me the solution has been to use T5s with cheap ebay LEDS for orange\red\deepred boost.
NightOwlBono
Well-Known Member
Well if you have a 600w MH lying around I'd use it for veg(cool tube), along with a couple 2700-3000k t5HO for a full spectrum.
and depending how many plants your doing I'd use the 1000w to flower along with 5600-6500k t5ho.
or if your doing a lot of plants just use both the 1000w HPS and 600W MH to flower
Make sure you you get the right size of fans and vent your room nicely
Edit-
1600 watts in flower is not very efficient power wise,so you have to choose energy savings(t5)
or best conditions possible(mixing lights)
and depending how many plants your doing I'd use the 1000w to flower along with 5600-6500k t5ho.
or if your doing a lot of plants just use both the 1000w HPS and 600W MH to flower
Make sure you you get the right size of fans and vent your room nicely
Edit-
1600 watts in flower is not very efficient power wise,so you have to choose energy savings(t5)
or best conditions possible(mixing lights)
doniboy
Well-Known Member
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