T5 update

Just wanted to post some of my observations with my latest T5 grow. I have been very happy so far.
Innersun T5 HO 54 watt bulbs 3000k
8 bulbs per fixture, 2 fixtures 16 bulbs total
4'X8'X8' room
Mylar on all surfaces. Been costing me about 9$ a month for electricity to run the whole room.
Using Superthrive and Purple Maxx ferts.
Been getting 3 ounces per plant of cured trimmed bud per plant.
The Purple Maxx really seems to help bud production.
The starin is call Hurk,indica dominate.The pics are of the latest grow 2 weeks into flower.

Hey man I just got my T5 fixture and bulbs in today. How do you have your bulbs set-up???

Blue Bulbs for Veg. Red/Yellow bulbs for Bloom

Killerweed420
How many plants you putting in that 32 sq ft?

The 3 oz to the plant does not sound to bad. Were the plants seed plants or clones? How long did you veg them, and how long were they in flower?

It just seems to me that your lamps totaling 864 watts is not quite enough, or do you have some empty space in the room?

I have used the T5 HO for almost 4 years growing. I was pretty impressed with it, but as of late I have been steering back towards the T8's. I think maybe this next run will be a combination of the two.

I recently discovered a new fluoro type of a fixture that I think might be even better than any type I have seen. It is called an induction lamp. It is a gas fired tube and the temps are low with the approx. lumens of HID.

I was told about a ballast called an ice blue 660 i think. It can be used for T12,T10,T8,T5 HO and VHO. Some how it is supposed to over drive the HO 54 watt and put out 84. I would sure like to learn more about that ballast and maybe if anyone else produces such a ballast as the ice blue one was a pricey ballast.

I've got 5 plants in there now. Have done everything from clones. I had one plant just start herming about 8 months ago.Ended up with one seed off of it and the seed is going gangbusters.
They seem to be doing quite well with the 16 bulbs. The buds are nice and firm and tight when harvested. I'll probably give 2 400w hps lamps a try in the near future just to see the difference.
I read an article a while back where you could just rewire the T5 bulbs themselves and overdrive them. Haven't tried it yet.

I went from the T5 to using 3 -1,000 HPS. The HPS does do a nice job but in the summer months here, even with AC and enclosed fixtures with an intake and an exhaust fan the heat build up is more that I want. I suppose I could use bigger AC but as it is the electric bill is just to much and I hate to have a bigger footprint. It is hard enough explaining why an empty building is using $250 +.

Since I am still in the process of building a new grow room and summer is about here I am going to use my T5 DIY fixtures and augment some with T8s.

You don't happen to know where you read the info on rewiring to overdrive those lamps do you because I would try it.

Oprah,

They are called Ice Cap ballast and I run 2-430 models to drive 2' T5s to 40watts. More important you double the lumens out.
While they may seem expensive to you, you don't need to buy a fixture, just the ballast and end caps and make your own set-up.
Plus you can run cheap wally world fluro's and drive them to VHO levels!

oldmac