would this light be ok for maybe 2 plants

To answer the original question, the light in the ad uses two T5 fluorescent tubes for a total of 110 watts of fluorescent light.

Yes, you definitely CAN grow two small plants under that light.

As mentioned, you can't expect a great yield from only 110 watts of light, but if you're OK with only getting maybe 1-2 ounces, I think you'll be pleased.

T5s do offer a few advantages over HID including low startup costs, cheap replacement bulbs, easy to change spectrum, and low absolute bulb temperature, meaning you can potentially let the plants get closer to the bulbs without burning than you could with HID lighting.

Jogro said:

To answer the original question, the light in the ad uses two T5 fluorescent tubes for a total of 110 watts of fluorescent light.

Yes, you definitely CAN grow two small plants under that light.

As mentioned, you can't expect a great yield from only 110 watts of light, but if you're OK with only getting maybe 1-2 ounces, I think you'll be pleased.

T5s do offer a few advantages over HID including low startup costs, cheap replacement bulbs, easy to change spectrum, and low absolute bulb temperature, meaning you can potentially let the plants get closer to the bulbs without burning than you could with HID lighting.

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ok thank you. I am using just cfl like I said. I am just tired of having to use so many for 1 plant. so thats why I wanna try something new. 1 or 2 ounces would be great. To be honest I do this as a hobby. I enjoy seeing how I can get plants to grow. I have family that needs it and they cant or they are afraid to grow it at there home.

Blaze Master said:

smokey, if your going to get that light you should use it with the cfls you aready have. put the t5 on top and the cfls around the sides.

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+1 to that.

Note that while T5s and CFLs are both fluorescent lights, in GENERAL the linear/reflector design of T5s is going to make them more efficient than CFLs. Good reflectors can greatly improve the efficiency of CFLs, though in practice, I think most new growers don't fully take advantage of this.

I try too. I just get tired of trying to make reflectors for small CFLs. That is another reason why I was thinking of buying that light. Its all in 1 piece.

that bear smokey said:

Here is another light I thought of getting. I think I would have too much of a heat issue though. 250W Digital Ballast HPS + MH Grow Light System

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Well, not only would a 250W HPS use 2.25x the energy of 110W of fluorescent tubes, but HPS lighting itself is about 15-20% more efficient than fluorescent with a potentially better spectrum to boot.

So yeah, obviously you'll do a *LOT* better with this over fluorescent tubes, and you can literally expect over double the yield.

Of course you'll also suck down double the energy to get there.

Whether or not heat will be an issue is going to depend on how far you can keep the bulb from the plants and how well you ventilate your cabinet. But if you ventilate aggressively, you can get away with a 250W light source in a relatively small cabinet.

Jogro said:

Well, not only would a 250W HPS use 2.25x the energy of 110W of fluorescent tubes, but HPS lighting itself is about 15-20% more efficient than fluorescent with a potentially better spectrum to boot.

So yeah, obviously you'll do a *LOT* better with this over fluorescent tubes, and you can literally expect over double the yield.

Of course you'll also suck down double the energy to get there.

Whether or not heat will be an issue is going to depend on how far you can keep the bulb from the plants and how well you ventilate your cabinet. But if you ventilate aggressively, you can get away with a 250W light source in a relatively small cabinet.

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yea Thats just it. I would pay more for energy and have to deal with heat for sure. so if I can get away with the T5 light. Thats the way I would wanna go. I just wanna get a better yield than what I would get with just simple CFLs. How much more a month do you think a 250watt system would add to a energy bill?

that bear smokey said:

I try too. I just get tired of trying to make reflectors for small CFLs. That is another reason why I was thinking of buying that light. Its all in 1 piece.

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While its possible for an individual to make a professional quality reflector for a small CFL, its actually more work than you might think, and not cheap.

What you need to think about, I think, is how to optimize the space that you have.

But deployed properly, either T5s OR HID lighting ought to significantly outperform a few "loose" CFLs.

Jogro said:

While its possible for an individual to make a professional quality reflector for a small CFL, its actually more work than you might think, and not cheap.

What you need to think about, I think, is how to optimize the space that you have.

But deployed properly, either T5s OR HID lighting ought to significantly outperform a few "loose" CFLs.

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so the T5 with my plants lsted or a scrog grow would be good? or just let the plants grow normal?

that bear smokey said:

yea Thats just it. I would pay more for energy and have to deal with heat for sure. so if I can get away with the T5 light. Thats the way I would wanna go. I just wanna get a better yield than what I would get with just simple CFLs. How much more a month do you think a 250watt system would add to a energy bill?

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Depends on how many hours you run them and what you pay for energy in your area.

American average is something like 17 cents per kilowatt hour.

If you figure the typical grow is 4 weeks light at 20 hours per day followed by 8 more weeks at 12 hours per day, you're talking a total of just over 1200 hours total lighting for a grow.

So 1200 hours x 250 W/hr = 300 kilowatts. At 17 cents/KwH that's $51 worth of juice.
1200 hours x 110 W/hr = 132 kilowatts. At 17 cents/KWH that's $22.50 worth of juice.

Now that's a rough estimate, because you'll also have to add on energy used by your timer, by your ballasts, by your fans and/or other cooling, but its "close enough".

Bottom line is that with a grow this small, I don't think energy costs are all that significant anyway.

that bear smokey said:

so the T5 with my plants lsted or a scrog grow would be good? or just let the plants grow normal?

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I think you will get the best yields if you take full advantage of all the light put out your light source (regardless of the type of bulb/light). Ideally you want as much light as possible from your bulb hitting flowering parts of the plant with as little as possible wasted.

How you get there is up to you.

SCROG is good. So is topping your plants and training them. So is growing lots of small plants. But leaving plants assume their natural "Christmas tree" shape in an indoor grow with a fixed light source probably is NOT the best way to optimize light usage and get the best yields.

Jogro said:

I think you will get the best yields if you take full advantage of all the light put out your light source (regardless of the type of bulb/light). Ideally you want as much light as possible from your bulb hitting flowering parts of the plant with as little as possible wasted.

How you get there is up to you.

SCROG is good. So is topping your plants and training them. So is growing lots of small plants. But leaving plants assume their natural "Christmas tree" shape in an indoor grow with a fixed light source probably is NOT the best way to optimize light usage and get the best yields.

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ok thank you for your time. so if you was in my spot. would you buy that light to grow 2 plants? or if I did train them, how many plants do you think I could grow with that light at once?

If you are set on trying to use lights like the one in the OP, might I suggest these instead?

http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm

Price is $45 per 55w, but with a much better reflector than the one you list. If you buy more, the price decreases ($75 for 2, $135 for 4).

I can tell you that 4 55w bulbs will generate a bit of heat. With nothing more than an exhaust fan in the top of the box and a fan blowing across the canopy and past the bulbs, I was having issues keeping it under 86F. I made a custom fixture for mine with a fan pull cool air in across the bulbs and out an exhaust, and now I average 77-81F.

brotherjericho said:

If you are set on trying to use lights like the one in the OP, might I suggest these instead?

http://www.ahsupply.com/36-55w.htm

Price is $45 per 55w, but with a much better reflector than the one you list. If you buy more, the price decreases ($75 for 2, $135 for 4).

I can tell you that 4 55w bulbs will generate a bit of heat. With nothing more than an exhaust fan in the top of the box and a fan blowing across the canopy and past the bulbs, I was having issues keeping it under 86F. I made a custom fixture for mine with a fan pull cool air in across the bulbs and out an exhaust, and now I average 77-81F.

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Thank you. The light I posted is just 2 55watt bulbs with that light system. Total 110 watts.