HI all. THINKING about switching to 648W t5 setup from 1000w hps..help lol!

I was orginally just looking to get into t5s for veg as they would work GREAT in my big 6ft long by 4ft wide room with just 4 tubes with 6500k bulbs in them and then throw them under my 1k hps bulb that im debating buying a nice reflector hood for.

Come to find out in my research some of these grows with t5s from start to finish are looking GREAT! I notice most people switched due to the high electric bill asssociated with a 1000w bulb (My bills jumped up 80$ a month in electric!!) and said that since they grew for personal. losing an ounce or two off overall yield didnt matter to them vs electric savings.

a guy on youtube named ajgrowsalot SCROG 2 plants under an 8 bulb setup and got a half a pound NO hps bulb.

I normally grow 8-12 plants at a time. Id like to get a 12 tube system for a total of 648w so when combined with my fans, DWC air pumps/top feed water pump, my grow room uses under 1000W ALL TOGETHER.

anyone ever flower under 648w of T5 and have a solid idea of yield? keeping the lights close to the plant is a GREAT benifit.

keeping the light close to the plants is a MUST

I use em for Veg. (T5HOs) provide plenty of light for the plants in Veg. once in flowering the plants will need 3x as much light as in Veg. to reach full potential, but as long as you use a grow method (Scrog) that keep the Bud sites close to the Bulbs (2-4 inch`s) its possible to get good results Im sure, and if you just expect less as its seems Im sure you can get a result that is acceptable for you, I had the same idea (I use a 600W HPS for flowering) but Im on to LEDs now (will still use the T5HOs for Veg.)

make sure to mix up the bulbs with mostly 2700K for flowering and mostly 6500K for Veg. (maybe a 10/2 ratio)

I would like to see how this turns out. I had great luck with vegging under floros. Keep us updated if you decide to switch, I would be interested to know how the flowering turns out. This will be my first time growing under a 1000 watter. So you said about $80 a month or so increase? My landlord pays my electric so we will see if he notices lol

Im sure this could be done even better,with more Bud site`s, quality dont look that Bad, guess a perfect T5 grow could compare to a "not so great" HPS grow ..

[video=youtube;6rZ_vqT8f5I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rZ_vqT8f5I[/video]

Its a tough call but i think im going to possibly consider SCROG my 8-9 plants this time around since my grow room doesnt allow past 5ft of useable space height wise under a 648w setup that could give me a SOLID yield if i saw some guy pull half a pound off two plants.

the real tough decision is this....i want to get a xxxl reflector for my setup with 8' exhaust and have to buy the exhaust ducting and fans as well. that setup literally cost as much as the 12 bulb setup i want for just reflector hood and fans.

So what would you do? stick withw hat you know, or try something new. either way i get a new piece of grow equipment and if the t5s really dissapoint, i now have a AWESOME veg t5 setup i was looking to buy anyway, but i was intially only looking for a 4 bulb setup for veg.

decisions decisions.

seriously, what would you do? the name of the game is keeping the elctric bill down without sacrificing an INSANE yield

yea there are pros and cons, with the T5s you will need less ventilation as well, just for air/co2 replacement, not so much for cooling, so a normal small 4" vent would probably be enough with the T5s

Im also sure you will have less problems maintaining perfect temps with the T5s, I actually have to use a heater at winter time when I Veg.

on the other hand Im also sure you will yield less, tho if you can keep the conditions perfect Im also sure you can come close to a HPS grow with to high Temps Etc.

agin as you said decisions, if you can live with the less yield of have space for a few more plants to make up for it T5s might be the way to go, will also be more "safe" and stealthy then a HID light ..

Ugh lol. After seeing someone pull a half pound from 428w t5 grow its tempting
Might just buy the 12 bulb kit for veg and flower.

Lower electrical bills, heat and yield but with a screen I might just pull this off. Still debating

So I ended Up buying both a xxxl hood for my 1000 w hps light AND the 12 bulb 648w t5 setup. I got 8 bulbs bloom spectrum and four veg for the t5 setup. Dedcided to use the t5 for veg and.first four weeks of bloom then switch to three 1000 hps for the rest.

or just b use it for veg and go all out with hps on a scrog