LED vs T5 vs MH

B

ButItsTheOriginal

Member
WHAT I WANT TO KNOW? I feel as if I have everything I need to start! The only thing I'm missing is the Veg-lights. I'm spending $150.00 max for the lights. I'll be starting from seed. Which of the 3 would you choose for vegging?

*360w LED system (3w per bulb) 10-band system.
*8-bulb T5 system (HO 6500k bulbs).
*1000w Eye Hortilux bulb.

What I currently have:
Plant Quantity: Growing 6.
Goals: 3.5'ft" each plant, yield 1-g per 1-w. Hopefully pull 3.5oz per-plant dried.
Grow Area: 5x5x5
Current equipment:
*(1) 1000w Eye Hortilux HPS bulb
*(1) 1000w XXXL Hood/switchable ballast.
*(1) Brinks digital wall-timer.
*(6) White label tabs
*(6) red solo cups for seedlings
*(6) 5-gallon smart pots for transfer from red solo cups
*(6) 3'ft" metal plant stakes
*(2) bags of Fox Farm soil
*(1) medium-size floor fan
*(1ea) Big Bloom. Tiger Bloom, Grow Big (Fox Farm nutes) & Bushdoctor Microbe Brew/Sledgehammer/Kangaroots.
*Digital Thermometer/Humidity Temp.
 
packetloss314

packetloss314

Well-Known Member
LEDs are good for veg. A 360w is only like 250 real watts but should get er done.

Sent from my Nexus 7 using Rollitup mobile app
 
racerboy71

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
each have their benefits imo.. i'm not gonna start an led vs hid war or anything, but dollar, i'd pick an hid all day. .. t5's are nice for veg, clones or mother plants.. you can use them for flowering, just not ideal..
my $.02
 
B

ButItsTheOriginal

Member
racerboy71 said:
each have their benefits imo.. i'm not gonna start an led vs hid war or anything, but dollar, i'd pick an hid all day. .. t5's are nice for veg, clones or mother plants.. you can use them for flowering, just not ideal..
my $.02
Click to expand...
I'll be using the 1000w HPS for flowering, if I have T5's/LED I may run it dual with the HPS. I obviously can't if I go with the MH as it uses the same ballast/hood. Other then that & the energy use, I'm leaning towards the LED/T5 which is what I was hoping to get in response to persuade me.

Probably going to go with the T5 8-bulb unit if you think it'll produce an avg/above avg girl ready for flowering. She'll be in veg stage for 6-weeks total, from the beginning of germination. 6-weeks later they'll go under 1000w HPS for 45-60days.

For example, would this work?
 
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racerboy71

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
ButItsTheOriginal said:
I'll be using the 1000w HPS for flowering, if I have T5's/LED I may run it dual with the HPS. I obviously can't if I go with the MH as it uses the same ballast/hood. Other then that & the energy use, I'm leaning towards the LED/T5 which is what I was hoping to get in response to persuade me.

My issue with the LED is it's not blue dominate. I haven't found any high-wattage panels that are blue dominate or ALL blue LED's. Most are setup to veg & flower so they add a lot of the reds. Would an aquarium LED that is all blue/white be sufficient? I've seen a reasonably priced 120w (3w ea) blue/white aquarium LED, but I'm not sure it'll work like I'm thinking it will because spectrum/etc. Any thoughts?

Probably going to go with the T5 8-bulb unit if you think it'll produce an avg/above avg girl ready for flowering. She'll be in veg stage for 6-weeks total, from the beginning of germination. 6-weeks later they'll go under 1000w HPS for 45-60days.

For example, would this work?
Click to expand...
oh hells yeah, t5's are great for vegging plants under.. nice tight nodal spacing, etc..
sorry, but i'm not all that up on the led technology, and i don't really like giving info on something i'm not familiar with first hand.. you could always post your questions in the led subforum, we've got tons of good peps over there killing it with leds from what i've seen..
 
B

ButItsTheOriginal

Member
I'll use the T5's I think. Reliable, energy-efficient, history to back it up, safe. How many bulbs are recommended for 6-plants? I'm thinking I'll go 8, but if I can get away with 6 comforatably, I may do that to save some cash. But if we're looking at a significant yield difference (Hell, even 50+ grams per girl) for the 8-bulb, I'll go that route as the price difference is only $20-30 or something like that... I appreciate all the insight! Very much!
 
racerboy71

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
ButItsTheOriginal said:
I'll use the T5's I think. Reliable, energy-efficient, history to back it up, safe. How many bulbs are recommended for 6-plants? I'm thinking I'll go 8, but if I can get away with 6 comforatably, I may do that to save some cash. But if we're looking at a significant yield difference (Hell, even 50+ grams per girl) for the 8-bulb, I'll go that route as the price difference is only $20-30 or something like that... I appreciate all the insight! Very much!
Click to expand...
i've got a 2 foot, 4 bulb jobby i got from htg supply years ago. i love it, i do wish i'd have sprung for the 8 bulb jobby though. i don't think t5's use much in the way of wattage, compared to other forms of lighting like hids.. the only "problem" with t5's is that you have to keep them close to the plants to get the best results, which imo, isn't that much of a problem, just keeps you a bit busier during veg, moving the lamps at least daily at certain points..
 
racerboy71

racerboy71

bud bootlegger
i think i was fitting about 3 of 4 small plants under the 2 foot 4 bulb.. results? well, just normal, healthy looking cannabis plants. :D
another plus with t5's is they don't get nearly as hot as hids ime..
 
weedenhanced

weedenhanced

Well-Known Member
ButItsTheOriginal said:
WHAT I WANT TO KNOW? I feel as if I have everything I need to start! The only thing I'm missing is the Veg-lights. I'm spending $150.00 max for the lights. I'll be starting from seed. Which of the 3 would you choose for vegging?

*360w LED system (3w per bulb) 10-band system.
*8-bulb T5 system (HO 6500k bulbs).
*1000w Eye Hortilux bulb.

What I currently have:
Plant Quantity: Growing 6.
Goals: 3.5'ft" each plant, yield 1-g per 1-w. Hopefully pull 3.5oz per-plant dried.
Grow Area: 5x5x5
Current equipment:
*(1) 1000w Eye Hortilux HPS bulb
*(1) 1000w XXXL Hood/switchable ballast.
*(1) Brinks digital wall-timer.
*(6) White label tabs
*(6) red solo cups for seedlings
*(6) 5-gallon smart pots for transfer from red solo cups
*(6) 3'ft" metal plant stakes
*(2) bags of Fox Farm soil
*(1) medium-size floor fan
*(1ea) Big Bloom. Tiger Bloom, Grow Big (Fox Farm nutes) & Bushdoctor Microbe Brew/Sledgehammer/Kangaroots.
*Digital Thermometer/Humidity Temp.
Click to expand...
U allrdy have a switchable ballast mh bulb all the way if ur not worryed about power consumption use a mh they rock at veg for growth and growth speed th3 nodes will be nice and close
 
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