Quote Originally Posted by hewhispers
doco: I read his thread. kd's T5s are 27watts. Growers would do better with the 54 watt (HO = High Output) set up.

This is the little that I know about floros in general that might keep things straight.

Every size of fluorescent tube comes in three power levels:

  • NO (normal output)
  • HO (high output)
  • VHO (very high output)


All you will see in Home Depot and Target are the normal output ballast/fixtures and the tubes that fit them. With T5 you want the 54 watts only as they are they throw more lumen power than your 27 watts, so check specialty light shops or aquarium shops or online. The prices are slowly coming down for T5 HOs to the point of being viable.
All T5's are HO and you will not find anything like the New Wave T5's at Target or Home Depot. Kdspecials T5's are 27w because they are 24" as are mine (mine are actually 24w though), the 48" are the 54w. I use 24" T5's for my Mothers and for cloning/vegging (with T8 side lighting) and they fit my cab perfectly while providing excellent results. There is a great deal of misinformation being disseminated about these lights and your "facts" about which lamps are suitable for growers is just another example of that.
doco Reviewed by doco on . Who's working with T5s They keep calling me and I have seen other logs elsewhere where T5s are being used from seed to harvesting. Is there anyone here using them? What were your results? What were the positives, negatives? Thanks! Rating: 5