250w of metal halide or 250w of CFL?? veg lighting

to Veg 7-10 autoflowers for 4 weeks what would be better?

250W metal Halide or 250W blue lamp CFL

After the 4 weeks they will be moved under a 600W HPS

edit : nvm new topic on T5 lighting

If it's a question of buying, I'd get a T5 fixture myself... I'm about to replace a 250w mh for the same sort of thing, I'm pretty sure that the distance I will be able to put the t5's will give more usable light than the MH.

If you have them already, maybe mix the two. Depending on your ventilation you might have to move the MH up a bit, then you can fill in sides with CFL's or something.

no i have not bought yet , options are open still

im guno look for a T5 grow journal see what these can do

thanks my friend

I'm new to the site but will definetly back up the t5. Less heat, less space, less power consumption(if your vegging 24 hrs day) if not everytime that ballasts turns on it will use more than the t5 starting. You could stack 2 or 3 levels with t5s in the same space and still only use about the same power between not needing as much cooling/venting. The other benefit of the t5 is you can run both spectrum bulbs ex. 3 grow spectrums to one bloom spectrum, under 24 hrs of light you'll be putting them into flower 2 weeks from clone.

yeah t5's sound perfect for what i need, didnt want to pay to run another expensive light

http://www.progrow.co.uk/acatalog/info_4265.html

i think im going with this

http://www.progrow.co.uk/acatalog/info_4266.html

or should i pay abit more for the extra tubes

That second one would be overkill really. How many plants total you want under that fixture? If you want one like the second one you should check out the quantum t5 badboy. Its about 50 bucks more than that second one but puts out like 80000 lumens with 25% less energy consumption based on the ballasts it uses.

Personally I would go for the 8 tube if you can afford it. Your post implied 7-10 plants, but not knowing what size you are going for it's hard to say for sure. I keep 6-8 vegging, usually switch to flower at around 2', but sometimes they get closer to 3' (I will continue to flower under HID, mix of MH and HPS)... As I mentioned, I'm about to replace a 250w MH I was using for veg with a 2'-8bulb t5 fixture, and I'm going to get a second 2'-8 bulb I can use on seedlings (the ones I'm getting have 4 tubes on each switch, alternating, so I can run half power for really early sprouts), and then move to veg, giving me 4' of 8 bulb. Besides more actual light (PAR preferably, or lumens, or whatever you are measuring in), the density of the bulbs will greatly influence penetration, and if you're trying to veg over 2' with T5's, you will be glad you went with 8 tubes. Another thing to keep in mind, 4' fixtures are going to give more light than 2 2' fixtures, I would only split them up if it's convenient for your growing conditions (like it kinda is in mine)...

The 4 ft lights are defintely better double the lumens for less than double the power, although they do take up more length. I personally have a 6 bulb high performance unit I got for free just had to get the right bulbs. I've actually grown out 2 crops of ww and got between 40-58 grams a plant with 2 weeks veg from clone and 8 week flower. The yeild is nothing like my 600 hps but for what it is and the fact it doesn't need additional cooling even in a 2 story with 110 outside heat, its pretty decent. If i had to buy one I'd get the t5 badboy because I've seen first hand crop grown all the way with them and it was impressive, plus a 210 dollar power bill in the spring time.

i use 28w 4ft t5s from homedepot for veg and they work great without creating the heat mh bulbs make. if you use mh you will most likely need to cool it to get it close enough to take advantage of its power. the t5s can almost touch plants without burning them and all you would need is some simple venting of room to get rid of the little heat the make

Hey don't forget the true HO(PLL-55) T5 setup! These bulbs are basically 2, 2' 24w bulbs bent in half giving 55w and 5000 lumen per bulb!! That's 20,000 lumen total from 4 bulbs using only 220watts! I'm about to order them for my 2'6x2'6ft tent.

http://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=56795 for 2ft models and;

http://www.htgsupply.com/growlights.asp?categoryID=1&subcategoryID=107&typeID=99 for 4ft models