jawbrodt
Well-Known Member
I've been thinking, and i swear I had nicer plants when i vegged under fluorescents, before switching to 400 watt MH. I was using 4' T8 lights, in 6-bulb industrial fixtures, which were 20" wide. Two of those fixtures covered almost 4' x 4', which is a little more than the MH covers, and used slightly less electricity.(like 40 watts)
When I grew under the T8's,(5000K) the plants were much shorter and bushier.(1-2" from the tops of the plants) Under the MH, they grow really fast, but are also alot more 'stretched' looking. Now, wouldn't it make sense to use the T8's, even if you have to veg them an extra week, due to the fact the they grow slightly slower? I want to test this, because logic is telling me that the plants under the T8's will also have a better yield, due to the bushy growth, and short internode spacing.
Yeah, I could upgrade to a higher wattage MH, but I don't see the point, if you can do it with alot less electricity using the T8's. Unless, or course, you absolutely can't wait that extra week.
And I'm sure there's going to be some that argue that T5's are the way to go, and I disagree. Watt for watt, the T8's are more efficient and can be packed in the same area as an equal wattage of T5's, so if done correctly, will do a little better with less electricity. They run cooler too. Anyway, that's not important, because they are very close in performance. Both will work fine, if that's what you have already purchased. I got my T8's for free, otherwise i would've jumped on the bandwagon and bought T5's, in the beginning.
Anybody ever test a maximized fluorescent setup, versus an equal wattage MH?
When I grew under the T8's,(5000K) the plants were much shorter and bushier.(1-2" from the tops of the plants) Under the MH, they grow really fast, but are also alot more 'stretched' looking. Now, wouldn't it make sense to use the T8's, even if you have to veg them an extra week, due to the fact the they grow slightly slower? I want to test this, because logic is telling me that the plants under the T8's will also have a better yield, due to the bushy growth, and short internode spacing.
Yeah, I could upgrade to a higher wattage MH, but I don't see the point, if you can do it with alot less electricity using the T8's. Unless, or course, you absolutely can't wait that extra week.
And I'm sure there's going to be some that argue that T5's are the way to go, and I disagree. Watt for watt, the T8's are more efficient and can be packed in the same area as an equal wattage of T5's, so if done correctly, will do a little better with less electricity. They run cooler too. Anyway, that's not important, because they are very close in performance. Both will work fine, if that's what you have already purchased. I got my T8's for free, otherwise i would've jumped on the bandwagon and bought T5's, in the beginning.
Anybody ever test a maximized fluorescent setup, versus an equal wattage MH?
