What light to use for veg?

Project Ponics

Project Ponics

Well-Known Member
Curious on what light would be better for veg in a 2x2x4.

I personally like T5's because A. White light, and B. You can get them inches from seedlings without burning.

So would you use...

Viparspectra 300w blurple LED (136w pull)

Or a 4tube 2' T5 HO Fixture (96-100w)

I have a viparspectra, but I really just don't like it at all. It's good for late veg plants but I don't think for seedlings (1-2 week from sprouting) or flower of course.

Was considering on buying one of these fixtures for my 2x2 tent and I also have a single 24w T5 Fixture I can add in my veg tent.

Or would a 2tube 2' fixture be enough for a 2x2 tent and say roughly 4 plants in veg?

https://www.amazon.com/Light-4lamps...rd_wg=shqsI&psc=1&refRID=6QMS40QV4C4605MTFAVS

https://www.amazon.com/Casolly-Spec...1534011603&sr=1-16&keywords=4+tube+t5+fixture
 
I have a couple of the original Mars300's. They pull a similar amount of power like your vipar. They have a heavy blue dominance and work ok for veg lights but their coverage isn't that great. They are perfect for single plants but I think they would leave gaps. The T5's would also work but as the plants got larger and more foliage, they probably would have a hard time penetrating the canopy.
 
Project Ponics said:
Curious on what light would be better for veg in a 2x2x4.

I personally like T5's because A. White light, and B. You can get them inches from seedlings without burning.

So would you use...

Viparspectra 300w blurple LED (136w pull)

Or a 4tube 2' T5 HO Fixture (96-100w)

I have a viparspectra, but I really just don't like it at all. It's good for late veg plants but I don't think for seedlings (1-2 week from sprouting) or flower of course.

Was considering on buying one of these fixtures for my 2x2 tent and I also have a single 24w T5 Fixture I can add in my veg tent.

Or would a 2tube 2' fixture be enough for a 2x2 tent and say roughly 4 plants in veg?

https://www.amazon.com/Light-4lamps...rd_wg=shqsI&psc=1&refRID=6QMS40QV4C4605MTFAVS

https://www.amazon.com/Casolly-Spec...1534011603&sr=1-16&keywords=4+tube+t5+fixture
Click to expand...
A lot depends on how many plants you are starting. If you are starting a lot of seedlings at once, then T5 makes sense. OTOH, if you're just starting a few seeds, like three or less, you can just use one or two 14W LED light bulbs for the first 2 weeks.
 
nfhiggs said:
A lot depends on how many plants you are starting. If you are starting a lot of seedlings at once, then T5 makes sense. OTOH, if you're just starting a few seeds, like three or less, you can just use one or two 14W LED light bulbs for the first 2 weeks.
Click to expand...

Not many just 3-4 tops at a time. I see what you mean, instead of buying a t5 just get a cheaper led strip or bulb to add with the VS.
 
Fluorescent tubes with LEDs in them are common now and in my opinion are an EVEN BETTER option. 4000k. Kick ass growth. You can get them in T8 size and are much cheaper/easy to find lying around already, than T5 fixtures. The LED tubes are way cheap too. That's what I would recommend you do.
 
Airwalker16 said:
Fluorescent tubes with LEDs in them are common now and in my opinion are an EVEN BETTER option. 4000k. Kick ass growth. You can get them in T8 size and are much cheaper/easy to find lying around already, than T5 fixtures. The LED tubes are way cheap too. That's what I would recommend you do.
Click to expand...

Do you mean something like this when you say LED tubes?

I already have a 300w viparspectra so I just need something for first two weeks like nfhiggs said.

Not sure which cheap ones to get though? Any suggestions?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BMV69R2/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza
 
Project Ponics said:
Do you mean something like this when you say LED tubes?

I already have a 300w viparspectra so I just need something for first two weeks like nfhiggs said.

Not sure which cheap ones to get though? Any suggestions?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07BMV69R2/ref=ask_ql_qh_dp_hza
Click to expand...
no, I mean a couple of these:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...1534015470&sr=8-3-acs&keywords=LED+light+bulb

Plain old light bulbs like you would use in your living room table lamp. They work quite well as seedling starters.

Airwalker was referring to the T5 to LED conversion tubes like these:
https://www.amazon.com/Sunlite-T5-L...TF8&qid=1534015750&sr=1-6&keywords=t5+led+2ft
 
Last edited:
nfhiggs said:
no, I mean a couple of these:
https://www.amazon.com/AmazonBasics...1534015470&sr=8-3-acs&keywords=LED+light+bulb

Plain old light bulbs like you would use in your living room table lamp. They work quite well as seedling starters.
Click to expand...

Oh ok, well that's great and all but I don't have anything to plug them into lol.

I would have to craft up some fixture to plug them into.

Seen these, I think 2-4 of these would work great? How many bulbs would I need to get them from seed to say anywhere around 4-6 weeks into veg effectively?

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01E9IY6US/ref=ox_sc_act_title_1?smid=AXC6VLRHTOFD2&psc=1
 
Last edited:
Or if you wanna go nfhiggs way, you don't have to do jack shit other than use a 2ft Power Strip and a few of these in each socket.

https://www.amazon.com/Onite-Light-...0_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=bulb+to+outlet+adapter

https://www.amazon.com/Belkin-F5C048-2-6-Outlet-Protector-2-Foot/dp/B0031RFVJ4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1534017381&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=2'+power+strip&dpPl=1&dpID=415Hw+1c8AL&ref=plSrch

This of course is much larger than you'd need. Also the splitters aren't very practical to use with LEDs because they have forward facing light rather than omni directional like CFLs.
You'd be much better off using 2 strips side by side with all bulbs facing down rather than splitting them with a Y on a single power strip.
IMG_0655.jpg
 
Last edited:
You'd have much better light coverage and it'd be probably cheaper if you have a florescent T8 bulb fixture to swap out with LED bulbs.
 
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