LED Without LEDs -My First T5 Grow

[DharmaBud]

Hey Everyone, I'm coming into this a few years late, but the proven science behind it is very convincing. My problem is I live in a 12' x16' cabin in Alaska, so I had no choice but to get a Growlabs GL80 which is 2'7" x 2'7" x 5'11". I need a fixture that uses the 2ft T-5 bulbs and could really use advice on how I can come close to the same results your getting with the 4ft T-5's. I came across this company called HTG Supply who touted a 2ft 4 bulb T-5 HO fixture that can utilize 6700k and 3000k and put out 20,00 lumens with 4 bulbs.

This is the technology they say that enables them to do this:

Come to find out they have this new technology called PLL

Product Details:

Nominal Length = 20.7"
5,000 lumen output per bulb
2G11 four pin base
20,000 hour life expectancy

Have you ever heard of or seen this before?

It is basically a looped 2ft bulb that makes it into a 4 ft bulb. I am more interested in what the Pr0fessor had to say in the beginning about utilizing specific light spectrum’s to obtain ultimate results. I tried sending a PM, but the box quota is full, so I couldn't send the questions I had.

Can I do the same thing with just 2 ft bulbs, and which ones would I need and how would they be arrayed? I am only going to be growing 2 or 3 plants at most. Any advice would be most welcome.

Namaste,

Jeff

 

[PetFlora]

Hey Everyone, I'm coming into this a few years late, but the proven science behind it is very convincing. My problem is I live in a 12' x16' cabin in Alaska, so I had no choice but to get a Growlabs GL80 which is 2'7" x 2'7" x 5'11". I need a fixture that uses the 2ft T-5 bulbs and could really use advice on how I can come close to the same results your getting with the 4ft T-5's. I came across this company called HTG Supply who touted a 2ft 4 bulb T-5 HO fixture that can utilize 6700k and 3000k and put out 20,00 lumens with 4 bulbs.

This is the technology they say that enables them to do this:

Come to find out they have this new technology called PLL

Product Details:

Nominal Length = 20.7"
5,000 lumen output per bulb
2G11 four pin base
20,000 hour life expectancy

Have you ever heard of or seen this before?

It is basically a looped 2ft bulb that makes it into a 4 ft bulb. I am more interested in what the Pr0fessor had to say in the beginning about utilizing specific light spectrum’s to obtain ultimate results. I tried sending a PM, but the box quota is full, so I couldn't send the questions I had.

Can I do the same thing with just 2 ft bulbs, and which ones would I need and how would they be arrayed? I am only going to be growing 2 or 3 plants at most. Any advice would be most welcome.

Namaste,

Jeff

Get either 1 or 2 bulb Shop light fixtures, retro wire for LED tubes. I paid $35/23w tube.

Mount them vertically in each corner, up high. I'm using 4 above 2 clones in a 2 x 4 x 5 high tent. Come by my thread for pics an details

 

[DharmaBud]

Get either 1 or 2 bulb Shop light fixtures, retro wire for LED tubes. I paid $35/23w tube.

Mount them vertically in each corner, up high. I'm using 4 above 2 clones in a 2 x 4 x 5 high tent. Come by my thread for pics an details

I appreciate the input, but I know nothing about led's and I am a week away from putting everything together. I just don't have the time or money to lern and then buy all new stuff that the led will require. At least with the t-5's I have the fixtures and some bulbs, I just need to find out what light spectrum people are finding out that are working the best. What ever happened to the pr0fessor? He/She seems to have dropped off the map, and those ideas are the ones that I want to explore because of the uears of data to back them up.

If you got any info in that arena, I would sure take any advise you can provide.

Namaste

Jeff

 

[DharmaBud]

PetFlora, your suggestion has nothing to do with LED at all does it. Is that the only way to get the aquarium lights to fit a T-5 2ft fixture?

Namaste

Jeff

 

[DharmaBud]

PetFlora,
I suppose my first couple of openers here could have been construed as ignorant lol! I spent most of the night reading this thread and had some great high hopes that I still think can pan out. According to the Prof.
these bulbs were the standard to go by:

UVL 454 w/internal reflector
Fiji Purple
UVL Super Actinic w/internal reflector
ATI T5 12000K Aquablue Special
UVL 75.25 w/internal reflector
Fuji Purplehe ATI
UVL Red Sun here at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/pet-supplies/dp/B0046JS5NU

I noticed that what he told people to use on their plants weren't all the same he listed under his own grow. Like the two different spectrums for KorallenZucht Fiji Purple 630 & 440nm, or ATI Pro Color 660nm.

I have gathered Ithink that there is a shortage of red spectrum lights. Has the Red sun not been enough or is it because it worked in conjunction with ATI Pro Color that has been discontinued?

Since the beginning have their been better combinations found than I listed, except for our Red situation. Which I will work on. I'm retired, I can do that.
I'll also assume we are looking for 660nm spectrum reds. Just a thought, what would we have to offset the T-5's with if we plugged in one of these babies?

If anyone could add to what I just learned, or provide me some update to the lighting improvements I would appreciate it. This will be my first grow, I need it for pain from my combat injuries and I'll be looking for another grow to let me sleep at night, flashbacks are a bitch.

Thank you for your time.

Namaste

Jeff

 

[PetFlora]

PetFlora,
I suppose my first couple of openers here could have been construed as ignorant lol! I spent most of the night reading this thread and had some great high hopes that I still think can pan out. According to the Prof.
these bulbs were the standard to go by:

UVL 454 w/internal reflector
Fiji Purple
UVL Super Actinic w/internal reflector
ATI T5 12000K Aquablue Special
UVL 75.25 w/internal reflector
Fuji Purplehe ATI
UVL Red Sun here at Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/pet-supplies/dp/B0046JS5NU

I noticed that what he told people to use on their plants weren't all the same he listed under his own grow. Like the two different spectrums for KorallenZucht Fiji Purple 630 & 440nm, or ATI Pro Color 660nm.

I have gathered Ithink that there is a shortage of red spectrum lights. Has the Red sun not been enough or is it because it worked in conjunction with ATI Pro Color that has been discontinued?

Since the beginning have their been better combinations found than I listed, except for our Red situation. Which I will work on. I'm retired, I can do that.
I'll also assume we are looking for 660nm spectrum reds. Just a thought, what would we have to offset the T-5's with if we plugged in one of these babies?

If anyone could add to what I just learned, or provide me some update to the lighting improvements I would appreciate it. This will be my first grow, I need it for pain from my combat injuries and I'll be looking for another grow to let me sleep at night, flashbacks are a bitch.

Thank you for your time.

Namaste

Jeff

The Prof was experimenting. As with all experiments, not everything you think will work does. The Fiji was a non starter as was the need for actinic blues. There is ample blue for both v + f in 5500-6500 bulbs

Read my threads to learn which HOT5s to use for veg & flower. I also have an tent that I use for experimenting, and now will be shifting to all LEDs. They are safer + equal or better results at half the watts + they last 5-10 years

 

[bigggwiggg]

I have a 3' x 2' x 1' cab. I use a 2 x 2' T5 light setup. Veg growth was bountiful after ~5 weeks. What T5 bulbs should I use now for flowering? Remember, I only have room for 2 T5 bulbs.

 

[GeneralTso]

I just wanted to thank all of the people who have provided input in this thread. I used a lot of the information found here when deciding what lamps to buy for flowering. I just finished my first grow and things turned out great (at least by my standards). I ended up getting a little over a pound from 5 plants. I have 12 4' t5 lamps that I divided into 3 groups. That came out to 4 lamps for each row of plants.

For vegging I used standard 6500K flowering lamps and didn't really use any input from this thread. Since things worked well I'm in no hurry to change things but once I complete a couple of grows I plan to trying some blue aquarium lamps to see if things improve.

For flowering I used the following for each group of 4 lamps: 1 ATI Purple Plus, 1 UV Lighting Aquasun, 1 UV Lighting Red Sun, and one Wave Point Coral Wave. I'm not saying that this is the best combination but it did work well for me. I was trying to get plenty of red (Red Sun and Purple lamps), some blue (Purple lamp), some ultraviolet (Coral Wave lamp), and some broad spectrum that provided spikes in red and blue (AquaSun lamp). I'm thinking that maybe I should have used a little more red later in the flower cycle - I might try that with the next grow.

@bigggwiggg: From my limited experience I'd recommend using aquarium bulbs. I would use one bulb that is totally red spectrum and one that is a combination of red spectrum and blue spectrum. The red promotes flowering but also promotes stretching. By adding a little blue you will hopefully reduce stretching. Try to find color spectrum charts for your lamps before buying them. That way you know exactly what you are getting. I like using this site (http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/) to buy my bulbs because they include spectrum charts for most models. If nobody comes up with anything better you might want to try one UV Lighting Red Sun and one ATI Purple for flowering.

 

[hyroot]

Don't waste time n money on various bulbs. Zoo med flora suns and then 5400k, 2700k bulbs from htg is all you need. Htg's eBay store is cheaper than their website. Uvl redsuns work good too. But cost too much. Flora suns are cheapest at drfostersmith.com

led t8's are the way to go too. They last 10 times longer and have far more intensity. They are very pricey upfront.

check apache tech inc. For those.

 

[GeneralTso]

First a disclaimer: I have only completed one grow so I have no personal experience in comparing different results using different lamps. With that said I beg to differ. I think using aquarium lamps and selecting lamps by color spectrum is the way to go.

I picked up a few things while browsing this thread and the rest of the internet. I'd be very interested in hearing other people's opinions on these - whether they agree or disagree. Maybe I'm all wrong. If so then I should just save my money and buy less expensive lamps.

Here are the things that I learned so far:

Plants only use certain parts of the color spectrum with the required wavelengths changing over the life of the plant. A plant needs more blue when vegging and more red while flowering. Plants use very little or no light in the green wavelength.

A lamp that emits light in the wrong wavelength or emits light over a large band of different wavelengths is far less efficient than one that emits all of it's light in the wavelengths currently required by the plant.

Aquarium lamps have been around a lot longer than florescent grow lights so a lot more time and energy has been put into their design. They are designed to penetrate up to 5 feet of water. This results in slightly better light penetration in your grow room from the top of your plants to the bottom.

If you look around, you can find color spectrum charts for most aquarium lamps. This gives you the ability to get the exact color wave lengths that you are looking for.

It's fun playing God and controlling the exact light wavelengths that your plants receive. The hard part is trying to figure out exactly which wavelengths are the best.

 

[pr0fesseur]

Yes that I can see, I was browsing another thread last night here:
https://www.rollitup.org/indoor-growing/545857-advanced-lighting-spectrums-t5-floro-33.html

Going to post there and see if Fonz, Pet, or another has any suggestions. Thank you again for your input! I will be starting a journal/thread here shortly when my cabinet is finished time for a morning puff....

Thought I would drop in and say hello. i am trying to get caught up in the forum and ill get to answering some questions, and getting some new posts going.

For all those who still Like and use my system i attach a reference Chart for the bulbs that were compiled together.

View attachment 2853430

 

[Javadog]

I am looking to switch to T-5s and am looking to get to 4' bulbs
for a new Veg area.

...there are too much data on that chart!

Can anyone recommend a good brand of T-5 for Vegging?

Good luck all,

JD

P.S. Searching and finding, so far:

Use bulbs with a 5500-6500 Kelvin temperature.

 

[captainmorgan]

Thought I would drop in and say hello. i am trying to get caught up in the forum and ill get to answering some questions, and getting some new posts going.

For all those who still Like and use my system i attach a reference Chart for the bulbs that were compiled together.

View attachment 2853430

Hey pr0fesseur,still using some T5 HO. UVL had a special order 660 nm bulb last year some of us bought and I'm still using,this is a graph I think fonz posted of it.

 

[pr0fesseur]

http://www.premierltg.com/should-you-replace-your-t8-fluorescent-lamps-with-t8-led-tubes/

Food for thought.

 

[pr0fesseur]

nice chart i was working on the same thing however my manufacturer would only come out of china. and theres no way i could make a dime at 29$ each....unless i bought 5k bulbs to bring down the price.

 

[captainmorgan]

nice chart i was working on the same thing however my manufacturer would only come out of china. and theres no way i could make a dime at 29$ each....unless i bought 5k bulbs to bring down the price.

Yea I think UVL charged me $30 each plus shipping. I have a cabinet with 360 watts of 5000k induction and I add 216 watts of T5 HO reds in flower. 2 Red Suns for the 630 nm and 2 660's and get really good results.

 

[captainmorgan]

I am looking to switch to T-5s and am looking to get to 4' bulbs
for a new Veg area.

...there are too much data on that chart!

Can anyone recommend a good brand of T-5 for Vegging?

Good luck all,

JD

P.S. Searching and finding, so far:

Quantum makes some good bulbs at 6500k and 2900k. If you want a little more stretch you could get a 5000k bulb, Zoomed Flora Suns are around 5000k and have a very nice spectrum,I use them.

 

[Javadog]

I am looking into these.

Thanks Capn!

JD

 

[captainmorgan]

I am looking into these.

Thanks Capn!

JD

I have a 8 bulb badboy that I sometimes use a 50/50 of flora suns and quantum 6500k's or all 6500k's,depends on the strain and if I'm looking for more or less stretch.

 

[hyroot]

Hey Prof nice to see you back. I'm rocking 2 8 bulbs. Not the bulbs I'd like though. I'm borrowing the lights. Lost mine. Fijis, redsuns, coral wave, 5400k. And 268w of 2700k CFL (got for free). My plants are 5 feet tall. So needed more light for lower growth. I was doing vert CMH and t5 before I lost everything . I just added CFL the other day. I don't mind the extra watts. My kWh rate $0.07 . My thread link is in my sig.

before I had flora suns, redsuns, and htg 2700k, htg 5400k.