Lighting Question

[KushmasterJ]

Im making plans for a veg room and I'm trying to decide what I should do about lighting. There are a couple of questions here...

Would I get the same results running 2 of the 4' 8 bulb T5 Fixtures, Producing 40,000 lumens each, a total of 80,000 lumens for my canopy
as I would using 2 400 watt MH's, with bulbs rated at 40,000 lumens, giving me the same total 80,000 lumens as the T5's? Or is there some reason that the MH would totally outperform the T5's even though its the same amount of lumens, maybe its intensity or something? Ill be using LST so canopy penetration wont be AS much of an issue...

My space is 12 sq ft, so 80,000 lumens gives me 6666 lumens per sq ft.

I know the benefits of the T5 Flourescents would be the very close light placement and no heat buildup, they would use 436 watts each but at a much lower amperage than two 400 watt HID's... I dont mind a total of 72 extra watts if it means I dont have to worry about heat buildup... I may even lose lumens with an MH because I might have to keep them further away from the plants to avoid burning foilage.

Also would it be beneficial during the veg period to use a mixture of 3000K and 6500K bulbs in the T5 fixtures rather than all 6500K?

Once again this is only for the veg period(2-3 months), after which they will be placed under HPS lighting.

ANY help or information would be greatly appreciated.:smoke1:

 

[Kupunakane]

Yo Ho KushmasterJ,

Very excellant question. Very smart !!!

I would choose the T5 Florescents, I think you get a better spread of the spectrum over the canopy, because of the cooler temps you get to intensify it even more by being able to move the light substantially closer. You also gain a more generous safety zone with the less heat. Also the $$ do come in to play later down the road as well.

Yeah, great question

smoke in peace
KingKahuuna

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I agree with KK. I am a big fan of T5s for vegging. I have a 400W MH that I do not use any more in favor of my 4' 4 tube T5. It is a total of 216 watts and 20,000 lumens. The T5 produces lush growth and close internodal spacing at almost 1/2 the watts and far less heat than the MH.

 

[KushmasterJ]

Thanks for the responses, I'm definitely going to go with the T5's :guitar:
I'm looking forward to being able to start a good cycle.