T5 lights ?

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dmoney20

Member
hey im new to the grow world and im trying to put together a 4x8 grow tent
im using a bubble bucket system and was originally going to put in 2 600 watt cool tube lights but i just think my light bill will be way to high for me so as an alternative i wanna try to use T5 lights but i wanna know how many panels i will need to sufficiently light my 4x8 tent wich will hold 8 bubble buckets ?
 
smoke and coke

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
i have never used t5's to grow with. i have installed them before and they are very bright, but for a complete grow, idk if you will be happy.

sounds like you have a decent set-up and maybey some t5 users will chime in. i suppose they will work if you keep the plants short.

imo you should just go with the 2 600's, but if your that worried about electric think of this.
i installed 2' x 4' light with 6 lamps at 80 watt per lamp so 1 light is 480 watts.

if you run 1- 600 watt for a year then add the 2nd 600 watt, wont be a big jump all at once.

on a side note. if you get a t5 light and decide later for the 600watt, that t5 will be great to veg. with, then add the 600's to flower.
 
jaydiesle

jaydiesle

Active Member
ive never flowerd with t5 and i dnt know how much u would need but if thats the rout ur gonna go i would suggest magor training (lst) and topping with a scrog m8 and best of luck 8-)
 
Total Head

Total Head

Well-Known Member
i've flowered with t5 (with cfls on the side) and decided i will stick to just vegging with them. i just find it to be too much work to make them effective during flower. they are absolutely awesome for vegging, though, and i have zero desire to replace them with a mh (unless i hit a number or something). for flower i'll stick to my hps (which is only 40 more watts than the t5 system). like jay said you will definately want to do some training or you are going to be adjusting your lights all day long.
 
D

dmoney20

Member
the 2x4 light with six lamps sounds like a interesting way to go.....and thats not a bad way to out smart the electric company either
 
D

dmoney20

Member
Total Head said:
i've flowered with t5 (with cfls on the side) and decided i will stick to just vegging with them. i just find it to be too much work to make them effective during flower. they are absolutely awesome for vegging, though, and i have zero desire to replace them with a mh (unless i hit a number or something). for flower i'll stick to my hps (which is only 40 more watts than the t5 system). like jay said you will definately want to do some training or you are going to be adjusting your lights all day long.
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yea i may just go with the t5s just for vegging that will save me $ instead of a MH.....do i use the cool white for vegg or warm red ?
 
smoke and coke

smoke and coke

Well-Known Member
dmoney20 said:
yea i may just go with the t5s just for vegging that will save me $ instead of a MH.....do i use the cool white for vegg or warm red ?
Click to expand...
cool white for veg and the red or mixed spectrum for flower.

you really only need a 400 watt MH to veg and the t5's will run you 480 watts to run so no money saved there. and t5 fixtures are not cheap to buy and the bulbs are expensive. you better do some price checking before deciding on just electric useage also.
 
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dmoney20

Member
oh i see now....but yea hps may give a better yield in the end but there so much light the the plant soesnt even use....i wish there were better alternatives than LEDs cause every grow ive seen with LEDs have been weak!
 
tomahawk2406

tomahawk2406

Well-Known Member
hps will increase your yield over t-5's time and time again, but sometimes you have to weigh your options. if heat is an issue that you'll never resolve or would rather not bothering fighting.......t-5 is the answer.
 
Total Head

Total Head

Well-Known Member
dmoney20 said:
yea i may just go with the t5s just for vegging that will save me $ instead of a MH.....do i use the cool white for vegg or warm red ?
Click to expand...
when i bought the system i got a full set of veg and bloom bulbs. even though i only use it for veg now i still mix them up. it's a 6 tube system and i have 2 bloom and 4 veg. i haven't really played around much with spectrum combos during veg but i like the idea of making the light seem more "natural". it's easier on my eyes and the plants are doing great. if the system you get comes with veg bulbs i would just use those. i don't have any hard evidence that my mixed spectrum is any better than just the veg bulbs, so i can't really justify the extra expense.
 
Dennis Rodman

Dennis Rodman

Active Member
If you want to use a 4x8 tent, you're going to have to pay for electricity to sufficiently light it.
Dont invest in all that equipment and skimp on the lights, t5's dont penetrate and wont give you the results you want.

Consider flowering in a 4x4 tent instead, and get a 600w if you dont want to pay for a lot of electricity.
 
D

dmoney20

Member
Dennis Rodman said:
If you want to use a 4x8 tent, you're going to have to pay for electricity to sufficiently light it.
Dont invest in all that equipment and skimp on the lights, t5's dont penetrate and wont give you the results you want.

Consider flowering in a 4x4 tent instead, and get a 600w if you dont want to pay for a lot of electricity.
Click to expand...
that sounds like a good idea the only thing is will it fit 8 bubble buckets
 
D

dmoney20

Member
Total Head said:
when i bought the system i got a full set of veg and bloom bulbs. even though i only use it for veg now i still mix them up. it's a 6 tube system and i have 2 bloom and 4 veg. i haven't really played around much with spectrum combos during veg but i like the idea of making the light seem more "natural". it's easier on my eyes and the plants are doing great. if the system you get comes with veg bulbs i would just use those. i don't have any hard evidence that my mixed spectrum is any better than just the veg bulbs, so i can't really justify the extra expense.
Click to expand...
will do thanks for the help
 
sso

sso

Well-Known Member
humm, it would take a shitload of t5´s to light 4x8.

cost more initially than the 2x600 and run way more electricity (10x) if you wanted the same yield as with the 600´s

...

8 bubble buckets? hehehe sounds like you dont know anything about cannabis and are just going for the "easy money" :)
 
Milovan

Milovan

Well-Known Member
Little of subject but I was wondering if T5's are sufficient
lighting for rooting cuttings?
 
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