Is a 400w MH really better than a 4-8 T5-HO bulbs for veg?

MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
chemphlegm said:
maybe in the game room....but after rechecking my t5's after you shamed me....I found the manufacturer does indeed lie about
"T5's degrade only 5%", I find it to be tad few more times that %...but hey, my veg room thanks you for the shame:P
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Shamed you say! Lol. I am ashamed to have shamed you and your awesome old lamps my friend. ;-)
 
stnr420

stnr420

Well-Known Member
MichiganMedGrower said:
I will have to try the 4200k next. I already have and am going with the ss open reflector and the 3100 in a 3x3. Replacing and upgrading 10 2' t-5 tubes.

I have also come to the conclusion that the 315 is best supplemental and want to put one in between my 2 600 Super hps hoods nice and close together all over a 4x8 area.

Or 1 to 1 over a 3.5 x 6' area.
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4200k mh works really well in veg...super tight nodes...
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
a lot has to do with the bulb and ballast you use. commercial grade bulbs last a lot longer and I pay less than $25 for ballast https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/91989/PLUSRITE-7319.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwevLBRCGARIsAKnAJvdt6f7DuW2mcCVmuRDXEPEk3hxLIeARJQW0MZjU9pcu1K6nz8Kano0aAnJEEALw_wcB and these have a higher ballast factor and longer life than fulham ballast. the bulbs sold at hydro shops are very low quality and do not last long but some commercial bulbs have an L85 rating of 35000 hours. this is the same rating that cree claims for their 3070 Cobs. https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/89345/FHO-49T5865.html. up to about 500 watts T5s produce higher LPW than MH bulbs, run cooler. last longer and are cheaper to replace. for a large scale grower HIDs like CMH may be the best option but for small scale.PU MMJ closet growers T5s are hard to beat. you just need to get away from the low quality ballast and bulbs found at hydro stores
.I have tried LEDs and for the past 3 years been doing test grows with them in a 2ft by 2ft closet and have not found one that beats my T5s. commercial green house operators that I've talked to as well as a major green house supply company have had similar experiences with LEDs http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml 28800 lumens for 294 watts in a 6 bulb fixture with a 35000 hour life expectancy is not too shabby and anyone who claims you can't flower with T5s does not know how to grow with them
 
jonsnow399

jonsnow399

Well-Known Member
Hammerhead571 said:
CMH FTW... Both my rooms where converted to CMH a long time ago. I used my par meter on my t5 6/8 bulb fixtures compared to 1 315 it was no contest.. my veg room uses 3 315 fixtures.. My flower room uses 630/945/1kw CMH de bulbs with 1 1kw hps for the spectrum. My results are killin it. much better then all HPS in my flower room.
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Do you use 4200k for veg?
 
whitebb2727

whitebb2727

Well-Known Member
since1991 said:
Where are you getting a 4 bulb t5 ballast for 10 bucks or less? Ive blown a few Fullham Workhorse 7's and they are between 35 and 60 bucks a pop.
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Wal-Mart here had a bunch of them. I haven't looked in a while.


From the search I just did they do range from 25 to 60 bucks.

I run the durolux models from Amazon. They are cheap and run like a tank.
 
since1991

since1991

Well-Known Member
mauricem00 said:
a lot has to do with the bulb and ballast you use. commercial grade bulbs last a lot longer and I pay less than $25 for ballast https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/91989/PLUSRITE-7319.html?gclid=Cj0KCQjwwevLBRCGARIsAKnAJvdt6f7DuW2mcCVmuRDXEPEk3hxLIeARJQW0MZjU9pcu1K6nz8Kano0aAnJEEALw_wcB and these have a higher ballast factor and longer life than fulham ballast. the bulbs sold at hydro shops are very low quality and do not last long but some commercial bulbs have an L85 rating of 35000 hours. this is the same rating that cree claims for their 3070 Cobs. https://www.1000bulbs.com/product/89345/FHO-49T5865.html. up to about 500 watts T5s produce higher LPW than MH bulbs, run cooler. last longer and are cheaper to replace. for a large scale grower HIDs like CMH may be the best option but for small scale.PU MMJ closet growers T5s are hard to beat. you just need to get away from the low quality ballast and bulbs found at hydro stores
.I have tried LEDs and for the past 3 years been doing test grows with them in a 2ft by 2ft closet and have not found one that beats my T5s. commercial green house operators that I've talked to as well as a major green house supply company have had similar experiences with LEDs http://www.littlegreenhouse.com/guide3.shtml 28800 lumens for 294 watts in a 6 bulb fixture with a 35000 hour life expectancy is not too shabby and anyone who claims you can't flower with T5s does not know how to grow with them
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Your the MAN!!!! Iam gonna try those higher quAlity t5 ballasts. I blew a Fullham Workhorse 7...again. Its like the 4th one ive replaced in my t5 fixtures. All 4 8 bulb fixtures have blown at least one ballast in like 2 or 3 years. Your right. The t5 lamps at the growstores..no matter the brand..SUCK PERIOD!!! From the shitty bulbs thagt come with them to the complete junk Fullham ballasts. Tired of replacing them. I thought..."one more time". But after reading your post...Iam gonna try this brand and see how it goes. Thank you pard.
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
since1991 said:
Your the MAN!!!! Iam gonna try those higher quAlity t5 ballasts. I blew a Fullham Workhorse 7...again. Its like the 4th one ive replaced in my t5 fixtures. All 4 8 bulb fixtures have blown at least one ballast in like 2 or 3 years. Your right. The t5 lamps at the growstores..no matter the brand..SUCK PERIOD!!! From the shitty bulbs thagt come with them to the complete junk Fullham ballasts. Tired of replacing them. I thought..."one more time". But after reading your post...Iam gonna try this brand and see how it goes. Thank you pard.
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the workhorse 7 was derated from a 4 bulb ballast to a 3 bulb ballast because of a high failure rate in office buildings and warehouses, I have been running those eiko bulbs for 4 years in my flowering closet and my light meter shows a 5% drop in output from new bulbs.found some german made P@A bulbs to mix with then to get a little more deep red for flowering and those last about 2 years. the plusrite ballast has a 5 year guarantee and have never given me any problem. they run cooler than fulham of ballast wise units
 
since1991

since1991

Well-Known Member
mauricem00 said:
the workhorse 7 was derated from a 4 bulb ballast to a 3 bulb ballast because of a high failure rate in office buildings and warehouses, I have been running those eiko bulbs for 4 years in my flowering closet and my light meter shows a 5% drop in output from new bulbs.found some german made P@A bulbs to mix with then to get a little more deep red for flowering and those last about 2 years. the plusrite ballast has a 5 year guarantee and have never given me any problem. they run cooler than fulham of ballast wise units
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I been replacing the shitty Agromax (blue metallic ends)or whatever bulbs they come with very shortly after I bought the last 2 fixtures w Eikos (green ends) from my local electric store (3 or 4 bucks a piece) and they seem to be much better in quality. But thx again friend. Iam gonna check out those ballasts. Fullhams...especially the workhorse sevens suck big time.
 
since1991

since1991

Well-Known Member
mauricem00 said:
the workhorse 7 was derated from a 4 bulb ballast to a 3 bulb ballast because of a high failure rate in office buildings and warehouses, I have been running those eiko bulbs for 4 years in my flowering closet and my light meter shows a 5% drop in output from new bulbs.found some german made P@A bulbs to mix with then to get a little more deep red for flowering and those last about 2 years. the plusrite ballast has a 5 year guarantee and have never given me any problem. they run cooler than fulham of ballast wise units
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By the way...you sound like (and pics) you know whats up with t5's in flower. I use mine strictly for veg. But you got em down for budding. Not many flower with t5 fixtures. Good job.
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
since1991 said:
By the way...you sound like (and pics) you know whats up with t5's in flower. I use mine strictly for veg. But you got em down for budding. Not many flower with t5 fixtures. Good job.
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I am a small PU MMJ closet grower. I'm legal in my state but do not want to punch holes in my walls for vents so i can't manage the heat from HIDs. there are several good T5 growers on this site. but we are kind of a silent group.if I was running a commercial grow then I would use CMH bulbs but in my situation T5s are my best option.for just vegging those 6500k bulbs I linked to should be all you need
 
mauricem00

mauricem00

Well-Known Member
since1991 said:
I been replacing the shitty Agromax (blue metallic ends)or whatever bulbs they come with very shortly after I bought the last 2 fixtures w Eikos (green ends) from my local electric store (3 or 4 bucks a piece) and they seem to be much better in quality. But thx again friend. Iam gonna check out those ballasts. Fullhams...especially the workhorse sevens suck big time.
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were you aware that the agromax UVA plus bulb was developed as supplemental lighting for HPS grows? a good quality T5 "black light" will also provide the UVA missing in HPS grows and using a couple as side lighting should improve potency and taste. UVA stimulate production of chlorophyll, carotene. and calcium uptake, CBD THC production as well as protecting plant from disease and insects. would also work with LEDs and may address the cal-mag deficiency commonly seen with those lights. I have no problem with using hybrid lighting and in the past I have used 660nm red leds to supplement my 6500k T5s. I an now using 2 high quality german made P@A bulbs I found on E-BAY for $5 each and they give me plenty of deep red and a little extra UVA in a 6 bulb fixture.
 
MichiganMedGrower

MichiganMedGrower

Well-Known Member
mauricem00 said:
were you aware that the agromax UVA plus bulb was developed as supplemental lighting for HPS grows? a good quality T5 "black light" will also provide the UVA missing in HPS grows and using a couple as side lighting should improve potency and taste. UVA stimulate production of chlorophyll, carotene. and calcium uptake, CBD THC production as well as protecting plant from disease and insects. would also work with LEDs and may address the cal-mag deficiency commonly seen with those lights. I have no problem with using hybrid lighting and in the past I have used 660nm red leds to supplement my 6500k T5s. I an now using 2 high quality german made P@A bulbs I found on E-BAY for $5 each and they give me plenty of deep red and a little extra UVA in a 6 bulb fixture.
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I think you are referring to UV B and the only proof I can find from testing is that uvb increases only thc. Not cbd.

And it increases only if and where it hits directly on the plant. And if used the last 2 weeks of flowering it will cause the same increase in thc as if used from the start of flower or earlier.

I am not finding any proof of the other benefits you mentioned or any that uva does any of this.

Got some new info to link?

I am seeing recent marketing by led companies saying different but that is because they can only offer uva at this time and not uvb and want to cash in on a proven study.
 
since1991

since1991

Well-Known Member
I just want my t5 lamps to work in my veg and nursery area without replacing a shitty ballast all the time. Fulham ballasts are frikin junk. Come to think of it...alot of the hydroponic store gear is just plain shitty equipment. From shit made in asia ballasts and bulbs to overpriced watered down hydroponic nutrients. And junk mini split air conditioners..fans...pH meters...alot of the stuff this industry offers us growers is crapola. I seriously got to start sourcing alternatives for cheaper and/or better quality gear and supplies.
 
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