question about fluorescent lighting & clones/mothers

i have small space (83 1/2 inches tall, 7ft wide and 24inches deep) that i would like to have mothers/clones or vegging plants.

I figure for clones im good with 1 2ft 2 bulb t5 fixture (im guessing thats good)

my question is for mothers/vegging plants (not clones) which size t5 should i use? or would a 250-400w mh be better?

im thinking if i go with t5's ill either have to get a 4ft 4, 6, or 8 lamp fixture but im not sure which to get. i wouldnt wanna get a 4ft 4 bulb setup only to find its not strong enough, or get an 8 lamp and it be overkill, etc.

my plan is to have anywhere from 3-6 (6 at the absolute most) mothers/vegging plants at a time. id like to make clones from one mother once a month then move onto the next one down the line and so on until i return to the original mother i cloned the 1st time around.

what would you suggest in terms of lighting for mothers/vegging plants? 4ft t5 4, 6, or 8 bulbs? or another light entirely.

for clones the 2ft 2 bulb setup should work true?


my plan is to divide my small space with a shelf on the wall (clones sit on the shelf, mothers do their thing under the shelf with the light for the mothers attached to the shelf above) figure its a good way to maximize my space.

any all info appreciated (keep in mind im pretty new to mothers/cloning so all info appreciated)

also (if it makes any difference) i plan on making clones with a typical 10x20 tray w/ dome instead of a cloning machine, etc.

anyone??????????????

for the moms i would go 250 unless you can vent the 400 properly. by the time you add up all the fls youll be surprised how much juice youre using and regret not getting the mh. clones rock with fls ive found and it doesnt even have to be the expensive t5s you can use plain ol shop lights for rooting. good luck and let us know which way you went!

cacamal said:

for the moms i would go 250 unless you can vent the 400 properly. by the time you add up all the fls youll be surprised how much juice youre using and regret not getting the mh. clones rock with fls ive found and it doesnt even have to be the expensive t5s you can use plain ol shop lights for rooting. good luck and let us know which way you went!

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so you'd choose 1 250mh over any t5 setup for mothers? keep in mind im gonna be have 3-5 mothers on avg (no more than 6 at any given time).

I did look into a fls 4ft 8bulb unit but apparently all the t5 8bulb units i seen were a half inch to a full inch to wide (deep) for my space.

i considered a 250mh but figured it wouldn't provide enough coverage as the mothers will sit side by side by side. not in rows or a group. thats why i thought t5's were practical. idk still.

what are my options with such a narrow but very long (7 ft long) space?