Suggest a T-5 Fixture

[cubby]

I'm looking to buy a T-5 fixture, probably within the next few days.

I'm looking for recommendations on a 4 foot 4 or 6 bulb fixture. I've looked at the Quantum Bad Boy, the High Bay, the New Wave, ect. I've looked for reviews, comparisons and such...to no avail.

So I'm asking you peeps. What T-5 light/fixture do you recommend, and why?

 

[Rosebud]

Mine is a 4' 6 tube...make sure you get the veg lights and not the red flowering, I know you knew that, but i made that mistake.

I like them because they are quiet and not as hot as a mh. You can put them right on top of your plants. internodes are much tighter. that's all i got.

 

[cubby]

Thanks RoseBud, I will only be using it for veg, so I'll be using the blue spectrum bulbs.

I was mostly looking for advice as far as manufacturer quality, reflector quality, and such.

 

[Dr. Green Fang]

I use two Sunblaze T5HO 4 bulb 4 foot. Absolutely love em!

 

[7thG]

Have you looked on htgsupply.xom

 

[cubby]

Have you looked on htgsupply.xom

I've looked at several hydro sites as well as general lighting sites but they don’t tell you much beyond price.

I'd like to know why the huge differences in prices for fixtures of the same size? If manufacturers have a reason their fixture is $1oo or more than their competitor I'd like to know what it is.

Just like when they say "the reflector is made of German Aluminium" so what? Aluminium is aluminium right? Does German aluminium come with a beer? A coo coo clock? Maybe some leiderhosen? :hubba:

I guess what I'm mainly looking for is a recommendation as to the brand of the unit..........so the question could be...Who makes the best T5 fixture?

 

[Rosebud]

Mine has the name hydrofarm on it, but on the other side it says made in china...so mine came with fortune cookies and rice. It has not failed me yet and i bet i have had it at least three years. no leiderhosen.

 

[Hushpuppy]

I have only used the Sunblaze T5 fixtures and have really liked them. I did buy 1 of the Biax bulb fixtures from HTG but was very disappointed with it. It was poorly made and the bulbs would wax and wane constantly.

 

[Auburn1985]

Sunblaze all the way. I've had both the Quantum Badboy and the Sunblaze fixtures, and Sunblaze is better quality and runs a bit cooler (IMHO).

The Badboy is FLIMSY...but it does work well. I just like Sunblaze better.

 

[nouvellechef]

I hated T5's. I know a lot of you like them. I have the Badboys, a few of them and they have been collecting dust for few years. I don't even grow that many plants. IMO, you can keep the same heat level on a 600 watt light in a aircooled hood as the biggest T5. Supposed to be great for small spaces and heat produced. I found the opposite. Take a 600 all day.

 

[hashcraze956]

Have you checked SPAM REMOVED

I believe you should check them once. They are very good in LED lighting solutions.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I hated T5's. I know a lot of you like them. I have the Badboys, a few of them and they have been collecting dust for few years. I don't even grow that many plants. IMO, you can keep the same heat level on a 600 watt light in a aircooled hood as the biggest T5. Supposed to be great for small spaces and heat produced. I found the opposite. Take a 600 all day.

Everybody has to find what works for them. I have MH lights just sitting around gathering dust. However, it isn't just less heat (I really do believe they really are cooler), but I believe they spread the light better and they have such a small profile, which saves on headspace in shorter spaces. In addition, I found that I can get the same vegetative growth from fewer watts.

Cubby, I have a HTG fixture (4' 4 tube) that I have had for years and had no problems with. I initially bought the cheapest one that I could find because I wasn't sure that I was going to like using a T5 instead of a MH. I figured that I would buy a better fixture or one with more bulbs later, but this has worked so well, that I am still using it.

 

[cubby]

Thanks for the input everyone.
I've decided to go with the SunBlaze 46.
The 4 foot 6 bulb should work well in a 2X4 tent with a 4" inline fan and carbon filter.

 

[Melvan]

Mine is a 4' 6 tube...make sure you get the veg lights and not the red flowering, I know you knew that, but i made that mistake.

I like them because they are quiet and not as hot as a mh. You can put them right on top of your plants. internodes are much tighter. that's all i got.

I veg totally under T5s, and I use alternating red and blue bulbs for a full spectrum veg. Yes, it slows the veg a tad, but I get much stronger main stalks and stems, and less stretch when flipped to the full spectrum of the 1K hps.

 

[orangesunshine]

I hated T5's. I know a lot of you like them. I have the Badboys, a few of them and they have been collecting dust for few years. I don't even grow that many plants. IMO, you can keep the same heat level on a 600 watt light in a aircooled hood as the biggest T5. Supposed to be great for small spaces and heat produced. I found the opposite. Take a 600 all day.

t5 footprint is bigger than the 600 no?

sounds like your all-in already cubby

i like the sunblaze T5HO-48 by the sunlight supply Co.---2' x 4' w/8 bulbs---they can be daisy chained and have a switch to use all 8 bulbs or only 4 at a time

 

[Locked]

HO T5's for me.... I get tight nodes. Never got nodes as tight when I vegged with my 600w.

 

[7thG]

Anyone ever looked at that 2ft T5. Its bulbs are like 2 bulbs in 1. They loop back around so its like 2 per socket. They claim 10,000 lumens for a 2 foot 2 bulb light.

 

[Rosebud]

I veg totally under T5s, and I use alternating red and blue bulbs for a full spectrum veg. Yes, it slows the veg a tad, but I get much stronger main stalks and stems, and less stretch when flipped to the full spectrum of the 1K hps.

Thanks for that idea, i do have a red one i will stick in there...

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Anyone ever looked at that 2ft T5. Its bulbs are like 2 bulbs in 1. They loop back around so its like 2 per socket. They claim 10,000 lumens for a 2 foot 2 bulb light.

I have one of those. It works just fine. It has a special name like PLL55 or something like that. They also make one in a 4 tube so you can have 20,000 lumens in a fixture 2' long.

 

[Wetdog]

Anyone ever looked at that 2ft T5. Its bulbs are like 2 bulbs in 1. They loop back around so its like 2 per socket. They claim 10,000 lumens for a 2 foot 2 bulb light.

I have 2 of those and love them. Love them even more when I quit using the bulbs from HTG, they really suck. I use EIKO brand now, same price as the HTG bulbs.

The last time I re-lamped was 11-10-11. The bulbs in the other fixture are even older. Of course, now that I bragged on them they are sure to burn out. The HTG bulbs seldom lasted longer than 3 months.

Wet