there are a lot of successful T5 grows. my last grow produced 0.83 gpw of high quality bud. check out RM3s grows. a lot of people flower with T5s.the LED crowd makes false claims about any light that is not LED as well as exaggerated claims about LEDs. I have a mars hydro and it started losing diodes in the first month.tried COBs as well but went back to T5s. can't handle the heat from HIDs in my grow closet but they work well too
the aquarium crowd were the first to start using LEDs and they do provide a nice visual effect but do not work well for growing coral or other underwater plants. your CMH should leave that mars hydro in the dust
. the T5 from amazon I recommended. is a good quality light. I use the 6 bulb version myself. it is cheap because it is being sold as an over stock item but the reviews are accurate.some T5s on E-bay are low quality,low output standard T5s with ballast similar to CFLs and not T5HOs with commercial grade ballast
they must have seen you coming. my bulbs cost me $5.64 each and after 2 years are showing less than 5% lumen depreciation.http://www.ebay.com/itm/261229975287?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&var=560206106299&ssPageName=STRK:MEBIDX:IT I use a mix of 6500k and roseate bulbs for flowering and even after 2 years they still work good. if you buy bulbs at an aquarium store then you are going to get ripped off. just because they are over priced does not mean they are good quality
I will certainly agree with that.
how many watts ? how much was the light setup?
At this point i'm not sure if your intentionally trolling or just totally misinformed. Do you actually research anything you say or what? Were your COBS from the bottom $2 bin? So many question so not worth it though. To others actually interested in lighting do some research ask some professional growers that actually get their product tested.
all the component data I post come directly from the manufacturers and can easily be verified by anyone willing to take the time and do a google search. all my test grows are controlled experiments and the product is tested by 5 other people. I know what commercial growers up here are using and how their products taste.the hydro shop up here do not even sell LEDs because their is no demand for them from commercial growers up here. insults and unsubstantiated claims are not science.
No. Just, no.
There is so much wrong in this post that I don't even know where to begin.
Maybe that's the thing I haven't seen you post any data so it just looks like a troll. I have done the research looked at all the spectrum charts, watts per pound, efficiency and the rest and it doesn't match what you say. (unless your talking about prefabricated manufactured light systems (like MARS) in that case I agree with you, unless you mean the DIY COB setups people put together like timber lighting then I disagree) Having talked to commercial growers and Hydroponic stores the reason they don't stock COB's is because it's not commercially accepted none have said it's because they are bad. A commercial operation isn't going to replace all their lighting with something that will basically work the same but save some power and bulbs. They are also not going to triple their startup cost for the same reason. If someone was asking me what to use to startup a commercial grow I would say Some Lamp/ballast combo for flower and T5 for Veg as it's proven and the startup cost is 1/4 the cost of LED. This does not have anything to do with good/bad it's a simple logical business decision. In case you don't know I have no clue on your knowledge or research you have done. I can make a 12 COB cree cxb3590 setup for $200 or for closer to $900 only difference being the bin the COBs come from (power usage would be the same). the $200 would be total crap but technically a cree cxb3590 setup up but with sub par spectrum and efficiency. On the other hand if your a small grower starting up in your house I will preach COB's all day. Because if your only purchasing one or two lights for 1 or 2 4x4 grow areas the saving is worth it! Are they better than conventional MH/HPS no, are thy more efficient yes. look at MH/HPS spectrum and compare that to what the plant can actually use their is lots of power going to spectrum the plant wont use. T5 has the spectrum some of the reef lights have amazing spectrum but the actually light created isn't so much have you ever seen a T5 flood light I haven't and there is a reason for that.
sounds like a bad power connector. if the male pins are split you can try spreading them or spraying contact cleaner on both sides. if you are good at soldering you can replace the connector, if you can't find an OEM replacement part any insulated 250 volt 1 amp connector would work.that unit is called an LED driver but sounds like the connector is going bad
