T-5's

[my my]

Hey MPers.
As some of you know i have started my first Hydro grow and have been using a 600 watt air cooled hood in my 4 X 4 X 9 feet tall room.

my room has 4--- 5 gallon buckets in it, and that is about IMO all the room there is for plants.

Sooooooo,, my peanut brain has been turning.
this first grow is a Auto and a am at about day 52 or so on a advertised 70 day est. finish time.
(figure mine will most likley take a extra week or two) way to soon for the scope!

So to get to my Question at hand.
i have a eltrician buddy that can get me T-5 fixtures at a much better price then i can even buy on line.
So what i asked him to get me pricing on is
2 4 foot fixtures with 8 bulbs each wich if my math is right is right about 40000 lumens per light, X 2 would be about 80,000 lums right?

well my options for a veg/mother room.
1 option is 43 inch wide by 5 feet long, ceiling is still 9 feet tall tho.

Option 2, i can put up another wall and door, and make a enclosed 43 inchs x 6 feet, still have the same 9 foot ceiling.

the way my set up is layed out, even tho option 2 is a bit of work getting a wall and door put up, it would be more conveint to do option 2.
so is the 80,000 lums enough, or is it too much (if there is such a thing as too much light).
figured i could keep a cont. harvest this way..
Input, ideals, sugestions please!
My My

 

[Locked]

My experience with HO T5's although limited is that less is more for veg anyway...I have a 4 foot 4 bulb T5 going in my 4x2 veg/mother tent and although I am 4000 lumens short of 3000/sqr foot you wld not know it to look at the plants it vegs....they are the healthiest, squattest plants I have ever vegged...if you can get them cheap and only plan to veg with them they wld be a great fit.

 

[WeedHopper]

T5s are awsome for vegging cause ya can get them so close to the Canopy(3-4") and ya get some good bushy plants too. 3000 lums per sf is good for vegging.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Are you talking about swapping out your 600W HPS (600W and 90-95,000 lumens) for 16 54W T5s (864W and 80,000 lumens) or are you going to use the T5s just for vegging and the HPS for flowering?

Make sure that your buddy has the HO T5s (54W 5000 lumen)--not all T5s are the same. Can he get the correct spectrum bulbs?

I generally see no reason to have a vegging space larger than your flowering space. Even if you are keeping several mothers, 18-21 sq ft seems like quite a large space when you are only doing 4 at a time in your flowering room. If you are going to use T5s for veg, there is also no reason to have a space that tall. The T5s need to be kept within inches of the top of the canopy and they do not penetrate very far.

 

[Wetdog]

What your buddy can get, these are the HO T-5's, yes?

There is a big difference between the regular T-5's (HD, Lowes, ect), and the HO versions.

Reg is ~27w/bulb, the HO~55w/bulb.

Just checking.

Wet

 

[my my]

I will ask to make sure they are HO's t-5's. Or is the HO portion in the bulbs alone?

basicaaly what he was told by one supplier when he called was 5K output per bulb, they didnt even mention spectrum.
but he is a comrecial eltrician, so i didnt expect the fixtures would come with the currect (needed) bulbs. HTG website doesnt really mention what the differences are in the bulbs, from what i saw, they just say grow or bloom bulbs.

I was not planning on replacing the HPS bulb for flower.
was just looking at adding a veg/mother area.

my current room, i can barely get around the girls to do anythiing on the backside of the room, and i am a small person, realitively speaking.

I have a cabinet that i had thought about converting into a grow space.
Just thinking of a game plan is all.
Thanks for the input and info.
My My

 

[Wetdog]

You need a HO ballast to run the HO bulbs.

I think all of the ones at HTG are HO, but not positive.

Wet

 

[Locked]

I believe 5k per bulb wld make it HO.....I know I have 4 bulbs that put out 20k total.

 

[Wetdog]

I believe 5k per bulb wld make it HO.....I know I have 4 bulbs that put out 20k total.

Yep, my 2 bulb puts out 10k, 5k/bulb.

Good point.

Wet

 

[woodydude]

You need 6,500Kelvin bulbs for veg, this is important as these fixtures can come with red spectrum too.
I would suggest checking how wide the 8-tubes are, my 4 tube is just over a foot wide so you would need 3 of those to fill 43", unless you are looking to hang them sideways.
How many plants are you looking to veg? I have had 60x4" rockwool cubes under mine (just the cubes to see how many would fit when I bought it)

 

[my my]

Hey Woody and All.
as it turns out my buddy's deal isnt that great. 220.00 us plus shipping costs.
and uncertain how much shipping would be, or what bulbs it would come with it?
So i think i will just end up buying just 1 threw the online store.

as far as how many?
seems most seeds come in packs of 5, and i hope to have 1 maybe 2 mother plants.

so the Veg/mother room has not yet been decided.
I will most likley buy the light firsat, then build the room to fit the light.
I am remembering what THG said about not needing as big a room as the options i listed earlier...

I will probably work (cut down the size) of my one room that is 4 ft X 5 Ft.
My My

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I do not keep mothers--I take clones from clones--so my veg space can be smaller. However, my 2 x 4 x 4' veg space can supply my 3 x 6.5 flowering space just fine.

 

[pcduck]

as it turns out my buddy's deal isnt that great. 220.00 us plus shipping costs.
and uncertain how much shipping would be, or what bulbs it would come with it?
So i think i will just end up buying just 1 threw the online store.

I use and like this place, they seem pretty reasonable.

hXXp://www.plantlightinghydroponics.com/grow-lights-fluorescent-c-321.html