LED Without LEDs -My First T5 Grow

Hey Prof, glad I did not see that article before buying 4 tubes. I paid $34/20 w NW/18w WW led tubes, which fyi use ~ 0.3w diodes/engines.

I am on my second grow using/supplementing with 4 @ 4ft led tubes, comparing to my 8 multi-specialty bulb HOT5s (432w). I only have 4 led tubes + 4 A19 led globes= ~ 115w. Tubes are already becoming dinosaurs as 2 x2/1x4/2x4 panels are replacing them in the marketplace. These panels provide more even coverage across the entire foot print.

You would be shocked at how close the two grows are at 2 months from seed. Pics are misleading in that the seeds are F2, so pheno is all over the place, BUT, at the time I moved one plant (on left in hot5 pics) from my led tent to my hot5 tent they were virtually the same size. The small WHx pheno under the hot5s is the same size as those similar phenos in my led tent

When I first came across your thread I had just started using my Quantum BB with 4 each Quantum Grow/Flower tubes, but instead of using them, I ran out and bought all these specialty aquarium tubes. The biggest disappointment was the UVL 660.

I now know that mixing a bunch of specialty bulbs is unnecessary as NW + WW grow just fine. If someone wants shorter plants with tighter nodes use more NW

pr0fesseur said:

http://www.premierltg.com/should-you-replace-your-t8-fluorescent-lamps-with-t8-led-tubes/

Food for thought.

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Bumbidy bump!!

What would be a good combination of a mix of veg and grow aquatic bulbs? I have 2 Badboy 4ft x 12 lamps T5HO fixtures and was wondering how i could put together a nice combo spectrum. In the room additionally i have 4 x 1000 Hortilux bulbs powered by matrix ballasts. The T5's are acting as a sort of side light as they are positioned high towards the ceiling. HPS bulbs hung vertically are bare bulb style. Currently just started 12/12

Any ideas fuji's, ati's, coral waves, redsuns?? In what order on a 12 bulb?


1rst post ---

Lets keep the thread alive!!

Bump

PetFlora said:

The Prof was experimenting. As with all experiments, not everything you think will work does. The Fiji was a non starter as was the need for actinic blues. There is ample blue for both v + f in 5500-6500 bulbs

Read my threads to learn which HOT5s to use for veg & flower. I also have an tent that I use for experimenting, and now will be shifting to all LEDs. They are safer + equal or better results at half the watts + they last 5-10 years

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Read which threads? Sorry, but I've been reading this thread for hours and the more I learn, the more lost I get. Can someone tell me simply for a 4 bulb setup, what's the best mix for veg and what's the best mix for flower?

Sincerely
Brain Dead.

In my signature. Although I have a great results with my 8 bulb hot5 I would not go that route today. I have excellent results using led tubes, which last many times longer

These are ~ 16 days from first pistils

stonedu said:

Read which threads? Sorry, but I've been reading this thread for hours and the more I learn, the more lost I get. Can someone tell me simply for a 4 bulb setup, what's the best mix for veg and what's the best mix for flower?

Sincerely
Brain Dead.

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Veg Htg 5400k , zoo med flora suns

flower zoo med flora suns, htg 2700k, uvl redsuns

i am growing in a smallish tent that is supposed to be for mothers/clones(4x2x2 ft). i have one 4 bulb 4 foot t5 fixture that i use 10000 k ho bulbs to veg with. my first grow i used the t5's exclusively growing 4 plants. they stayed very compact. i lst'd them but they grew what i thought was slowly. being my first indoor grow and my first real grow, i didn't know any better. i flowered with some 2700 k bulbs and supplemented with couple of 32 watt cfls (2700 k) and a couple of other 5000 k cfls. they were going along fine then a guy on a different forum suggested uv b supplementation. i found a 10000 k with uv a t5. i threw that in and removed one of the 2700 k t5's. that seemed to make my flowers really frosty. the smoke on that grow is really nice. so i am now on my second grow and have been supplementing with the 2700 k cfl's through the veg stage and the 2 plants i have have far out grown my first attempt. i am now trying a scrog. i am in my second week of 12/12 and just put my 10000k with uv a (it is made by agromax)in the tent. the plants just started to show that they are females. i was really happy to see a good reference on t5's though i have not had time to completely read through it. the data i have seen looks solid. i wish i was more disciplined so i could contribute more scientifically. my grow is more of a seat-of-the-pants grow though i am happy with my t5's. thanks for the good read.

How many 10,000k bulbs do you put in? I was thinking about actually getting some of those my self. I have a 12 bulb fixture i wonder how many 10k's to get so there's enough uv-b

i started out with all 4 bulbs in my 4 bulb fixture being 10000 k on my first grow. i think it stunted their growth during the veg phase. this time i supplemented with 2 26 w 2700 k cfl's. the 2 plants grew really fast. i went from seed to flower in 6 weeks. i now have 2 2700 k t5's, 1 10000 k and 1 10000 k with uv a. do the 10000 k's have uv b? maybe that would explain the stunted growth...

That's an interesting observation concerning red light causing skinnier buds. I'm currently using a combination of blue and red for flowering. I considered adding more red for the current crop but ended up not doing it. After reading what you said, it's probably a good thing that I didn't.

For the people who posted above asking for a simple list of lamps to use. Here's what I've been using for flowering. I have 3 sets of 4 lamps with each set consisting of: 1 ATI Purple Plus, 1 UV Lighting Aquasun with reflector, 1 UV Lighting Red Sun, and 1 Wave Point Coral Wave. These are aquarium lights so you usually find them in aquarium supply places. I'm not saying that's the best list of lamps available or anything like that but I'm on my second grow with them and I'm happy with the results.

Does anybody with experience using t5's have any suggestions for changing that list?

I think that one Red Life + one blue (454 Actinic) = ~ one ATI Purple Plus

GeneralTso said:

That's an interesting observation concerning red light causing skinnier buds. I'm currently using a combination of blue and red for flowering. I considered adding more red for the current crop but ended up not doing it. After reading what you said, it's probably a good thing that I didn't.

For the people who posted above asking for a simple list of lamps to use. Here's what I've been using for flowering. I have 3 sets of 4 lamps with each set consisting of: 1 ATI Purple Plus, 1 UV Lighting Aquasun with reflector, 1 UV Lighting Red Sun, and 1 Wave Point Coral Wave. These are aquarium lights so you usually find them in aquarium supply places. I'm not saying that's the best list of lamps available or anything like that but I'm on my second grow with them and I'm happy with the results.

Does anybody with experience using t5's have any suggestions for changing that list?

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I have a total of 24, four foot HO T5s. ( two six bulb fixtures, and three four bulb fixtures) For two years I have been running the following colors. I don't have the aquarium bulbs, just HO T5. I have been getting good results for a long time with my current mix.
I basically mix alternating colors in a pattern: Blue, red, red, yellow. Blue, red, red, yellow.
I have one 6500k, then two 2700k, then one 3000k. I repeat this all the way down the line.
I don't know if this is the "optimum" PAR, but my buds are tight, fat and I am averaging 3.5 - 4.0 oz. a plant. All fluoros, all the time.

@PetFlora: That sounds about right. What is a Red Life? I'm assuming it's a broad red spectrum lamp but I couldn't find anything that matched it.

@RockyMtnMan: It looks like we are doing the same thing - just approaching it from different angles. The lamps I use are mostly a combination of red spectrum (2700k) and blue spectrum (6500k). The aquasun lamp also puts out some light in the yellowish area. With my first crop I also averaged around 4 oz per plant. But I must confess that I left them flower for very long time (15 weeks). I kept waiting for the tricomes to turn cloudy but they stayed mostly clear until the last week.

It's from UVL, aka Red Sun http://www.uvlco.com/AquariumT5.html. ZooMed Florasuns would be a good alternative, though more blue than red

GeneralTso said:

@PetFlora: That sounds about right. What is a Red Life? I'm assuming it's a broad red spectrum lamp but I couldn't find anything that matched it.

@RockyMtnMan: It looks like we are doing the same thing - just approaching it from different angles. The lamps I use are mostly a combination of red spectrum (2700k) and blue spectrum (6500k). The aquasun lamp also puts out some light in the yellowish area. With my first crop I also averaged around 4 oz per plant. But I must confess that I left them flower for very long time (15 weeks). I kept waiting for the tricomes to turn cloudy but they stayed mostly clear until the last week.

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Ahh. Red Sun. That what I'm already using.

Ok glad to see you guys are still doing this. I will offer my advice on best yields using T5. I don't use them any longer but I had 3 good harvests with them.

1. Feed less. Max of 600ppm in flower

2. Easy on the P. Use a 5-5-5 or a 9-3-6 gave best results for me. Any high P nute had my plants looking yellow and spindly like Petfloras

3. Grow in Coco and water daily, feed, feed, flush.

Maximize your hot5 tubes light output with UVL bulbs with built in reflectors

http://www.aquariumspecialty.com/lighting/aquarium-t5-lamps/uv-lighting/uv-lighting-t5-w-reflectors

[h=1]Pr0fesseur, Thank you soo much for this this thread.

I just got the last of my bulbs today and installed them. I'm looking for some feedback on how I have them arranged in my 12 bulb bay.[/h]
Ati Super Actinic
UV 454
Korallen Zuxht Fiji Purple
UV 75.25
UV Red Sun
ATI Purple Plus
ATI Aqua Blue Special
Ati Purple Plus
UV 75.25
Korallen Zuxht Fiji Purple
UV 454
Ati Super Actinic

I have an extra bulb of each plus (two of the Red Suns for flowering) so I can rearrange for the best configuration.