246W 2ft. HPS/T5 Spectra Max Grow Light

yea but not everyone has the room for a 400w trust me if I did I would be fucking around with one..

If you have room for a 150 how do you not have room for a 400? The hoods and reflectors are the same its just the bulb thats different.

Dude you can cool down a 150 in a small space way easier than the 400 but I like my CFL bud and the quality is better IMO since I don't have radiation from HID's damaging resin glands.... I wasn't the first to say that either and a lot of HID turned CFL grower say the same that the quality is better from CFL just the yield is bigger with HID... I've always been a quality over quantity type of guy....

That combo hps/t5 fixture is way expensive for only 24,000 Lumens of freeking light. If your going to use flourscents use the higher wattage CFL's not the T5's, the CFL's are cheaper and more lumens per watt it would take 10 of those t-5 bulbs to equal the output of 5.3 of those 125w CFL's.

A 150w hps will run you $90 to $150 and will give you 16,000 lumens and Just one 125w(actual wattage) cfl for $35 to $45 will give you the remainder 8,000 lumens. Or 3 of those 125w CFL's without any HPS would be the same lumens without the added extra heat. Do the math you could have the same amount of lumens of that expensive light for as low as $100. If you can afford it and be able to keep it cool a 400w or higher HPS is hard to beat. If you have a limited budget and grow space you cant go wrong with CFL's. T5's and or that $320 expensive piece of shit light just isnt the answer.

I've used T5's and cfl's. I started with a 16 cfl grow. Now using T5. Reason ? Heat.
Each of the cfl blubs has its on built in ballast. Each ballast puts off heat. It just makes sense to build one large ballast with larger capaicity. If the energy lost to heat is the same percent per watt, this wouldn't matter, but in practice, it does. Had trouble keeping all of those cfl below 90+ degrees. 2 400 watt T5 and i have 89 deg. tops, with CO2 injection almost never have to vent the grow area for heat or moisture, meaning less CO2 used. these are stack on 2 shelves over each other yeilding 18 - 20 oz per grow total in a space of 30" by 50" by 80" tall.
It can be done.
Peace

hemlockstones said:

I've used T5's and cfl's. I started with a 16 cfl grow. Now using T5. Reason ? Heat.
Each of the cfl blubs has its on built in ballast. Each ballast puts off heat. It just makes sense to build one large ballast with larger capaicity. If the energy lost to heat is the same percent per watt, this wouldn't matter, but in practice, it does. Had trouble keeping all of those cfl below 90+ degrees. 2 400 watt T5 and i have 89 deg. tops, with CO2 injection almost never have to vent the grow area for heat or moisture, meaning less CO2 used. these are stack on 2 shelves over each other yeilding 18 - 20 oz per grow total in a space of 30" by 50" by 80" tall.
It can be done.
Peace

Click to expand...

This guy was looking for a "review" or comments about the light fixture on the 1st page of this post. It has 150w HPS allong with those t5's. If your conserned about heat from the balasts of CFLs then that 150w hps bulb alone without even considering the T5's is still tons more heat. Here is the lamp he is thinking about buying. http://www.specialty-lights.com/901490.html

Exactly, he is going to have tons more heat. Just get a 2 foot 8 bulb, or 2 2 foot 4 bulbs T5's and be done with it. The hps is going to add so much heat, youll spend the money you save buying vent fans and ducting. That can be done for sure, but if you ever add CO2, youll appreciate not having to vent as often.
My recomendation is based on the space he has available, sorry if I wasn't clear. Smoking and posting, should be a law against it, lol.
Peace

My vent system is more so for oder control than cooling. The fan goes off just prior to the CO2 and stays off for 2 hours before comeing back on. Yeah I suppose its more wastefull than little or no vent, but still alot more benifical than no co2 at all.