Can T12 be used for growing?

I found a 4' T12 light fixture in my shed and I was wondering if it would grow the great plant? 6500k for veg and a soft white 2700k for flowering I was also add some CFLs in there too to get the side and any shadow areas. I m wondering cuz it was free to me and I'm on budget.

Nvhak,
I used to use T-12s for seedlings and vegging all the time. Never tried in flower until one time I revegged some Afghan plants and gave them to a buddy. All he had was a shop light like yours. He had never grown before and was paranoid about going into the shed where they were growing. The buds grew directly in contact with the bulb and spiralled like three times around the bulb and the shit was totally kick ass. So yes, you can grow under T-12s but you have to keep them close to the plant and you can't grow trees.
JD

Yeah, you should do fine with t12s. I have a couple I used for vegging my first run, they work great for veg. But like john dee said, keep them close to the plants. They have poor penetration. Good luck.

they will work just not as great as you probably hope, they just dont have the penetration or lumen out-put
but that being said sometimes you just have to use what you have
i used a 2 bulb t12 for seedlings and it worked just fine for me but wish i woulda gotten my t5 alot sooner

the cfls are honestly the way to go save money on not running the t12 and run cfls the whole way and you will be alot happier imo! i was so skeptical about cfls when i started and now...... wouldnt choose anything else besides my t5ho 4 ft 8bulber <---- love this light mixed with 6x105watt cfl 2700k, 4x68watt cfl 2700k plus my t5ho im running over 700 watts and for my four plants they just eat it right up

4 t12 same light out put as 1 t5 same wattage . keep this in mind .

my last post . t12 will use 4 times the electric as a single t5 . to achieve the same out put but the t12 will work. but piss pore

^^wow, I didn't even know that. Glad I ditched the t12s!

Oh dang the crazy, ha so other word t12s r pretty pointless and t5s are a lot better ill probably just spend some money and get a t5 will a t5 flower? Ya I've been using CFLs during my grow so far and theyve worked pretty good but I'm getting a 4x2x4 tent and would like some more lighting but don't want to get a hid and don't have the money for a led panel at the moment.

yes you can flower with the T5 i do with T5's and have cfl's on the side

Oh ok cool, I'll probably just go that route and just skip the part where I was wishing I would of gotten a t5 instead of getting bulbs for the t12. How far away do you keep the t5 away from the plant?

as long as you can control the heat as close as possible not that they put off alot of heat bc they dont but just keep an eye on it and you should be just fine i kept mine within a few inches

mine are with in a piece of paper space . lol I don't go check on them a lot , if they touch they burn. but even a centimeter away is the best if you check on them. closer the better

Oh ok cool just was wondering if they were like the CFLs. Thanks a lot for they input guys!