ADVICE Wanted --- Veg with t5 then flower with LED?

TheBeesKnees

TheBeesKnees

Well-Known Member
Hey seeking advice from anyone, I am thinking about vegging 4-6 plants under a 8 bulb HO t5 fixture 6500k spectrum for however long then flowering them under two Mars 2 900w standard spectrum LEDs. This would be in a 5x5 space. Anybody know if this would be good? Will vegging under a t5 then switching to LED be negative for the plants? Should I just veg them under the LEDs and say fuck it to the t5s? any help is appreciated.
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
I have used 432w hot5s to veg (and flower) but have now moved on to leds for both

Currently reveggin under a BML SPYDR 600, the plant is exploding under it
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
I can't understand why anyone still uses t-5.

I honestly could never understand the hype around it. It's really not that much better than T-8 or T-12, which is WAY cheaper... I can't see why anyone would choose T-5s over leds.
 
TheBeesKnees

TheBeesKnees

Well-Known Member
churchhaze said:
I can't understand why anyone still uses t-5.

I honestly could never understand the hype around it. It's really not that much better than T-8 or T-12, which is WAY cheaper... I can't see why anyone would choose T-5s over leds.
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Well as to why I would choose T5 over led (for vegging thats what this thread was about after all) I have seen peoples' grows on multiple forums using the LED that I previously mentioned, the Mars 2 Led Standard spectrum, and their plants tend to be not as bushy, longer internodal spacing and just seem less happy in veg than the grows that I've seen people using T5 in vegging. so.... thanks for that helpful comment.
P.S. I didn't mention it earlier if it matters, I was planning on training the plants, topping and tying them down so I thought perhaps vegging with a T5 would serve this purpose well but what do I know! Maybe I should just say fuck it and veg with the LED.
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
I don't know anything a bout mars, so I can't recommend for or against it. I just know about cree and vero white builds are kicking ass.
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
churchhaze said:
I can't understand why anyone still uses t-5.

I honestly could never understand the hype around it. It's really not that much better than T-8 or T-12, which is WAY cheaper... I can't see why anyone would choose T-5s over leds.
Click to expand...
Well, 3 years ago, when as a total led noob, my R/B ufo 90 failed to perform anywhere near the advertising hype.

I needed a reasonably priced alternative as I was trying to fill up a 2 x 4 tent with light/plants. HOT5 met that need,

Specialty bulbs from the aquarium lighting industry allowed me to play sun god, mixing various blue/white/red bulbs at various stages of growth

Even today the cost to fill 2 x 4 with leds is costly, but I found the hot5 vegging bulbs to lose intensity after 2 grows. Bulb replacement was ~ $200 per year. Cost aside, I had really good results

In the last ~ one year+ LEDs to grow mj matured a lot, so the amortized price started looking pretty good

Now, I am fortunate to be testing various ~ $1000 panels, or I would still be using my Bad Boy

Anybody want to buy an 8 bulb Quantum Bad Boy + a bunch a bulbs?
 
SOMEBEECH

SOMEBEECH

Well-Known Member
Yodaweed said:
T5's are awesome for rooting clones, imo best there is.
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I dont have the time to veg with flouros,like snail growing..
400w MH is what I vegg with,Fluoros IMO are for cuts and mother plants.
Yet to try the LEDS.would like the AP600 but not gonna spend 2k!! for em!
 
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churchhaze

Well-Known Member
I used to veg with T-12 and T-8 before I just recently started switching to LEDs.

4 foot t-8/t-12 shoplights made it hard for me to justify getting t-5 because they're only 10 dollars still. (they've been 10 dollars for my entire life actually). 10 dollars for an 80W ballast and a 4 foot fixture that holds 2 four foot tubes...

Actually, I have cuttings under T-12s right now. T-5s may be better, but they're not THAT much better. I could never justify the price tag to upgrade.

t-5 systems are expensive. Even 10 years ago, I always saw those who bought t-5 setups as foolish. (they spent their budget on a veg light, while i had great vegging results under t-12)

T-12 is still the king of tubes. If you want more efficient veg light, I'd skip right to LED.
 
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PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
SOMEBEECH said:
I dont have the time to veg with flouros,like snail growing..
400w MH is what I vegg with,Fluoros IMO are for cuts and mother plants.
Yet to try the LEDS.would like the AP600 but not gonna spend 2k!! for em!
Click to expand...
If you can afford $999, check out my BML SPYDR 600 grow
 
RetiredMatthebrute

RetiredMatthebrute

Well-Known Member
whats wrong with MH/HPS i think LED can be great but the good ones are still far too expensive for them to be worth it. under 200 bucks you can get a full setup for HID with a 1kw dimmable ballast. they really arent that bad for heat if you run proper fans and airflow.
 
pghdave420

pghdave420

Well-Known Member
Mars 2 panel awesome tops but bad penetration.for the price im happy not dissapointed at all.once I get 500 $ saved up prob go with area51
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
In the $500 range I am excited by a new comer SolarSpec. Designed by a mj grower.

They will start shipping in 2 weeks

I will be testing their 260, designed for ~ 2 x 2.5

I will have it in a 3 x 3
 
KineBoisin420

KineBoisin420

Well-Known Member
I still use a 4 x 54W T5HO panel for vegging, but its mainly because I bought it many years ago, and its served me well, with minimal bulb replacements. However, I will eventually phase it out for LED...just no rush to do so, while it still suits my needs well.

I like being able to have a dedicated veg tent, and keep my LED tent for flowering. :)
 
PetFlora

PetFlora

Well-Known Member
^^ I am a huge GG707 fan and follower

I wish I had the skillz to DIY his Drone, but have been fortunate to get hooked up as a tester for BML and now SolarSpec. I should have a couple of their panels in ~ 2 weeks

But what does that have to do with offering a $1000 proven quality lighting system since you cannot afford $2K+? Me either!
 
SOMEBEECH

SOMEBEECH

Well-Known Member
PetFlora said:
^^ I am a huge GG707 fan and follower

I wish I had the skillz to DIY his Drone, but have been fortunate to get hooked up as a tester for BML and now SolarSpec. I should have a couple of their panels in ~ 2 weeks

But what does that have to do with offering a $1000 proven quality lighting system since you cannot afford $2K+? Me either!
Click to expand...
Just sayin...Good job on the BML hookup.
 
Yodaweed

Yodaweed

Well-Known Member
I been vegging under t5 and flowering with LEDs because I don't have enough lights yet to go all LED but now I have an A51 SGS160 on the way so the T5s will be gone soon. They work amazing for rooting clones and seedlings but the growth rate is pretty slow, although you get great node spacing under t5s if you use the 6400k spectrum bulbs. I have a hydrofarm 2 foot , 4 bulb fixture makes 8,000 lumen 96watts I believe pretty good light so far for 100 bucks.
 
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