250watt mh or t5?

looking to build a 2 plant setup was wondering which would be more effective, and how much heat would the 250w put out compared to the t5

For veg or flower?

how about 250w HPS? would be better than a MH for the flower stage and also do a decent enough veg stage compared to both the above?

get the dual spectrum bulb.

I like the HID's better PAR value.

topfuel29 said:

I like the HID's better PAR value.

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The HPS dual spectrum bulbs cover both though, for a budget "does all wonder," this covers the bases better? You can veg half decently with it then flower with it, thats better than the MH which yes, will do an excellent job in veg but when it comes to flowering loses out large in comparison...

I think they make a 250 plug n grow light with a switchable ballast, I've grown with 1000w but that was in an entire room with central air, I've never done something this smal. I live in an upper flat and heat rises so do you guys think heat will be an issue with the 250w?

2 plants i vote t5

if its just a closet grow the 250 should keep it at quite a comfortable temperature.

bird313 said:

I think they make a 250 plug n grow light with a switchable ballast, I've grown with 1000w but that was in an entire room with central air, I've never done something this smal. I live in an upper flat and heat rises so do you guys think heat will be an issue with the 250w?

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Yeah a 250hps produces very little heat to be honest mate, I grow with one and yes if the plants get too close obviously, but using common sense and light spectrum charts, the heat wont be an issue at all really.

Still, the T5's are interesting as well, maybe see what some more experienced growers say about it all, I'm pretty new to this and can only say from my experience using a 250hps dual spectrum bulb (33,000 lumens only) that my own 250hps has done a decent job all things considered. Although I start off using a 125cfl for small babies lol

topfuel29 said:

I like the HID's better PAR value.

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Thats BS!
T5 has better par value.
More lumens per watt, more efficient and less wasted lumens, less heat.

Go t5 and check out what im growing with my T5
And My Thread

better penatration wit the 250 and if you get hps can get yoself a cmh bulb to switch up wit

use the cmh for grow and begin of flower will reduce stretch
use hps get you rock hard buds
tail end of flower can switch to cmh again to get most from finish stages

i run a 250 eye hortilux -hps
and a 250 cmh-philips

but i run at same time alternating positions under lights and spinning pots
me and my plants luv both bulbs

better penetration then a T

1Luv Stay True

Dwezelitsame said:

better penatration wit the 250 and if you get hps can get yoself a cmh bulb to switch up wit

use the cmh for grow and begin of flower will reduce stretch
use hps get you rock hard buds
tail end of flower can switch to cmh again to get most from finish stages

i run a 250 eye hortilux -hps
and a 250 cmh-philips

but i run at same time alternating positions under lights and spinning pots
me and my plants luv both bulbs

better penetration then a T

1Luv Stay True

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Interesting technique there. Soil grower then I take it?

why grow with a 250 MH when you can grow with a 400w T5? doesent make much sense to me? I can get more power in a small place with better coverage and more efficient light... pictures are worth 1000 words ... i can get the lights within 1" of the plants and no harm to them.. better penetration from 12" away ya right!

do what works for you im in a small tent
oh thats my old av

the guy at my grow shop told me that the t5 4ft 4 tube is the way to go so I'm picking it up Thursday

A new convert! get yourself at least one of these bulbs.
http://www.hellolights.com/48inch-54w-fiji-purple-t5hofluorescent.aspx
Check my thread and youll see a difference in the type of growth you can expect with T5!!!

I like the MH and a friend of mine swears by t5's to keep them short and bushy in veg.

I read an experiment on here years ago that said what you use in veg affects what you yield at the end of harvest and said best to hit them with the same light intensity.

Now I use a 250w MH for veg and a 600w hps for flower.

I should really be using a 600MH and a 600 HPS to test this experiment myself but what I have now is working. T5's will be cheaper to run(electric wise)keep the plants short, t5's do not have the penetration for tall plants.

pr0fesseur said:

why grow with a 250 MH when you can grow with a 400w T5? doesn't make much sense to me? I can get more power in a small place with better coverage and more efficient light... pictures are worth 1000 words ... i can get the lights within 1" of the plants and no harm to them.. better penetration from 12" away ya right!
View attachment 1637776

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No offense and not saying t5's aren't great for veg my friend swears by them but they do not penetrate like H.I.D. lights. They are more effecient and cover better for what they are however you have several bulbs in t5 fixture. Say 4 MH bulbs and 4 t5 bulbs the MH would cover a larger area.

Also you can use a light meter to see the difference in a 250watt MH system and I have t5 fixture that i beleive is 256 watts. The light meter shows you a huge difference with distance they can penetrate.

crosscountrykush said:

The light meter shows you a huge difference with distance they can penetrate.

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how does the light penetrate anything??

I dont know about where you get your (kool-aid) misinformation. My lights can penetrate up to 3' of water. and since t5 has light spread along a narrow tube more PAR reaches the plants. a single point of light needs to reach plants up to 3' away. with a larger fixture the light remains about 3" from my plants @ all times. Your comparing apples and elephants @ this point. HID lights waste PAR on unnecessary spectrum that plants cannot use. look closely youll see something very informative plants DO NOT USE light from 500-600nm light the MH puts out in spades as HEAT wasted $$$ and PAR. Educate yourself on PAR and PUR values before you drink the koolaid! HID bulbs are centrally located.. so light travels further to the plant than a T5, and im not talking el cheapo "grow" and "bloom" bulbs those are for N00bz who think they actually work. im talking Performance T5 HO...
Oxford Experimental Botany even proves most of my points you just have to know how to read!
http://jxb.oxfordjournals.org/content/61/11/3107.full
Photosynthetic Action Spectrum

MH SPD
View attachment 1638648
T5 SPD
View attachment 1638652