question about T5 fluorescent :) help me out here

[thenewgrow]

so im thinking about buying a T5 fluorescent for my veg's plants, but i dont know what i have to look at in spectrum on fluorescent i know its like a warm white and like a cool white :) then mix them but what k ? is it like 3000 k and 6500 k ? or what do i have to look at when i buy them ?

plz do not answer if you have not tried fluorescent:thumbsup:

[OMB]

I'm running T5HO's for both Veg and flower right now, so I guess I can comment on this. :) 6500K for Veg and 2700 for Flower. I run a 6 bulb 4' T5HO fixture with (2) 6500's
and (4) 2700 bulbs and my buds are tight. I use a 2' T5HO as a supplemental sidelight and have LST'd my plants.
Lights are 4-6"s above the plants with a fan blowing down the gap. The T5's DO throw some heat, especially if they don't have a glass face. Good results with them, though I have a 150HPS I will do a direct comparison with when I drop 2 more into flower tomorrow.
2 under 35,000 Lumen's (about 500 watt's) of T5HO, and 2 under 150 watt HPS. These are short bushy plants so I am able to get away with 2 under the 150HPS...should be interesting anyway.

[thenewgrow]

hey OMB sound's great :) im thinking about only veg's my plants under T5 so do i only need to buy 6500's then or do i still need to mix the 2700's and the 6500's ?

and then i will flower under a 400 hps bulb

but now i just want something i know that work's great in veg's

[OMB]

T5's work great for Veg, at least they do for me. You only need the 6500's, I only mix them to cover the spectrum in flower.

[thenewgrow]

ok thx for the fast respond :) i think i have found my own Christmas gift :D

[catbuds]

40+ yrs of growing, BS in hort...formerly HID's with fluorescent side & underlighting. Circumstances forced me into very sm grow space, so now..6 tube 4' T5's, CFL's for side & underlighting. Was using grow lux tubes in shop light fixture for under & side lighting, but after reading up on a comparison, now use cfls instead because they put out more light over all than grolight tubes, especially in the uv spectrum, which helps bud formation & ripening. Keeping with 6500k throughout keeps stretching to a minimum (T5's), but I do change my cfls from cool to warm for the last 2-3 wks to help ripen buds. Small firm buds (but not too sm)! :) :) :)

[thenewgrow]

hey catbuds im glad you took your time to help me out :)
but I do not like cfl to grow unfortunately
it's just my opinion :)

i do think im just wasting my money when i use cfl's :/

thats why i want T5's i get allot of space covered in light for less watt's then if i had to use cfl's and its cheaper in the long turn T5's have a longer life time then cfl's to.

but thanks for the feed back :)

-peace-

[OMB]

When I had 4 clones and mama under a 4 tube, 4 foot T5HO it worked great. Then when I moved the clones to flower, I used 3 CFL's to reduce power since it was only mama under them.
The CFL's worked great! Mama was healthy as can be. I have no problems using the CFL's for Veg and Clone, I think they are a great alternative personally for only a couple plants.

[thenewgrow]

hey man yes i know that ppl think cfl's is good . but I dont like them. i know they can preform but you are wasting the same money on them and I know that people like and use cfl 's. but I do not like cfl .
and you're wasting as much money and run cfl as T5 if you're not wasting money on clf 's because you spend so many cables and power lines . it 's just a begging bomb waiting and catch fire when you take one line and then all of a sudden make it 1 line on the 6-13 wires then there is a very high risk of fire can occur in the linkage. and I have other human risk and think beyond myself living in this house . so I take no risk. it's just my opinion. I have worked for an electrician a few years back and I've seen what damage it kind of sloppy work can do.

so I will go with T5 for myself, I take no chances when it comes to my and the lives of others who live in this house. T5 does just the things I need for doing low heat and cover a large area with light to my veg 's plants and clone 's

nothing personal just my opinion bro :)

[OMB]

No worries, I Run T5HO's for both Veg and Flower. Be advised that a 4 or 6 tube 4 foot T5HO fixture does generate some heat though. If possible, get one with a glass face over the bulbs like a Solar Wind or the like, they run cooler.