Will CFL's and a T5 work just like a HPS?

I have a 2 foot T5 fluorescent light bulb sitting under 5 plants and im going to switch to 12/12 soon and want to have more light to help my babies thrive. My question is that if I keep my T5 and include 5 or 7 150w cfl's will that work just as well as a 400w hps lamp with a reflective hood?:rastasmoke:

-Thanks

Are the CFL's 150 actual watts, or equivalent 150 watts to a normal house hold incandescent bulb? the best way to really know is to break down the lumens. A typical 400W light has about 40,000 to 50,000 lumens. But off the cuff, probably not.
Adieu

You get better penetration through the canopy with a HPS.

If you go flouros, you HAVE to keep your plants short and your canopy even, or expect to provide a LOT of side-lighting.

T5s are the bomb for starting seedlings though.

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Originally Posted by BlueBear

Are the CFL's 150 actual watts, or equivalent 150 watts to a normal house hold incandescent bulb? the best way to really know is to break down the lumens. A typical 400W light has about 40,000 to 50,000 lumens. But off the cuff, probably not.
Adieu

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=to 150 watts

could i just have 2 T5's over the crops and 5 or 8 of the highest wattage CFL's around them? :rastasmoke:

You could, but the satisfaction of your results will greatly depend on your expectations. If you are looking for a QP then you will probably be disappointed IMO, but if you just want to enjoy the experience of growing your own smoke then anything will work. Like Stinky said, having the lights as close as possible will give you the best results, like 1 inch, just make sure you have a fan blowing between the lights and the plants and check on them every day because they can grow into the bulb over night.
Adieu

Quote:

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Originally Posted by BlueBear

You could, but the satisfaction of your results will greatly depend on your expectations. If you are looking for a QP then you will probably be disappointed IMO, but if you just want to enjoy the experience of growing your own smoke then anything will work. Like Stinky said, having the lights as close as possible will give you the best results, like 1 inch, just make sure you have a fan blowing between the lights and the plants and check on them every day because they can grow into the bulb over night.
Adieu

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so a lot of CFL's and two T5's wont give me as good of a yield as a 400w hps lamp. :rastasmoke:

I just ordered 2 of these. I'm hoping they'll do the job without the heat problem and at a lower cost

There is a significant difference between allot and 4 or 5 low lumen CFL's. Start adding up the numbers of lumens/usable plant light, read up on some CFL grows and grow from there. Some people can pull a half LB from CFL's, but most don't. Some can pull off a LB from a 400W. You need to do the math and learn about the plants needs and life cycle.
Sorry I can't seem to help you much.
Adieu

Ive seen some excellents grows with cfls only and have also seen some skimpy ones. I think cfls are the way to go for your first grow or two, maybe you could sell some of your crop to enhance your grow the next time around. If you can grow a bud and get high from it, thats sucess.