T-5 or MH

[Strawberry Cough]

I need an additional light.

Am considering MH and Floros.

It is cold here in Winter and I figured the MH would help the other MH to heat up my room.

But floros would be good in Springtime when I put away the MH because of heat.

How does T-5 output and efficiency compare with 400w MH?

Thanks for help.

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

T5's completely rock all around..you could even use T8's but the 5's are better....floro light boards allow you to keep 50,000 lumens(just a reference) much much closer than the 50,000 lumens that come from a 400w HPS or MH resulting in a more uniform grow area and lush, un-shocked or over heated crop...i only use floros to veg in i never have a problem growing dense bushes in a matter of weeks (3-4)..

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I have 2 400W MH that I do not use anymore unless circumstances dictate (like a problem with my T5). I did not see any difference in growth and internodal spacing between my 400W MH (about 36000 lumens) and my 216W T5 (20000 lumens). This may be because you can keep the T5 so much closer to the top of the canopy.

 

[leafminer]

THG keeps going on about T5s so when I was in Home Despot yesterday I looked for some. They had T12s, one T8 fixture, and one T5 fixture - it had 4 very very thin tubes in it and was rated at 13W!
That was it. Rather useless really.
So I still don't know. . .

 

[dragracer]

I was in casa depot today and had the same thing happen, the only T-5 where on display, so I bought a T-12 for my clone box, I believe it has 2 40 watt bulbs...

 

[Bobo]

Id say it depends whats the wattage ur gonna be running with the floros as to the mh to get the same lumens. But htg is right about the floros being able to be put closer to the canopy so if ur not running an air cooled hood then ur gonna run in to the inverse square law. So if u got 20000 lumens from floros a foot away from the canopy, and 40000 with the mh at 3 ft to keep from torching ur plants then ur looking at 15000 lumens at the plant. I also think the floros get a better spectrum for veg. But think the rigging to get the light right costs a lil more. K im ranting on and let us know how it gos for ya either way think u will be fine.

 

[db33322]

Running T5 has its pro and cons and I have found with my Sun Blaze with 8-4ft tubes in a tent that I have more cons the pros. The biggest problem I have had is the heat that comes from the ballast is pushed down on the plants and heats my tent up to 90 with the tent being vented. Now there are some lighting systems that do have built in fans but they run close to $450 if you want 8-4ft tube. The other is that with the T5 yes you are able to lower the light system just over the plants but as you plants grow you must raise the lights and begin to lose lumens very quickly to the lower parts of the plants using a light meter . Then there is the issue with power usage, most of the T5 4ft tubes are 54watts for 5k lumens and then there are the new VHO T5 tubes that put out 7200 per 4ft tube but run at 95watts. Now if you are running 8 tubes you are now up to 432 watts witch comes out to $30-35 at $.12-.14 per kw month if running 18 hours a day. Since I grow autos this is the case each month running for 18 on 6 off through the whole cycle.
Now for the pro's even though I have a problem with heat they do put off less heat the MS system unless you have a reflector hood the is running ducting to keep cool but still have to find a way to get rid of the heat. The biggest pro that I have seen is that my plants sprouted and went through the seedling stages much quicker than with a 600w HPS/MS setup but had to water everything a little more due to soil drying out quick.

Now if you are just looking for a way to help add some heat this will save you a lot of money but does depend on the size of your grow area.
Thing you will need
1 a large 1 gallon bottle I like to use Hawaiian Punch
1 aquirium heater
drill or a dremel
a glue gun
start off with the empty container and remove the lid. Use the drill or Dremel to put a hole the the lid wide enough to fit the heater through up to the rubber fitting at the top. Once heater is in place put lid back on the bottle and use the glue gun to glue in place and seal container up again. Add water to container and put lid back on with heater in place. Plug in set at a temp and let it do its thing. I have been using this type of set up for my eatable mushrooms for year and they are the type you find in the store.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

The HO T5s need to be purchased from a hydro or lighting place--you aren't going to find these at HD or Lowes. The T5 HO tubes give you a little better lumen per watt figure than MH systems. My 400W MH with a magnetic ballast uses about 480W (4.0 amps at 120V) and puts out about 36000 lumens. An 8 tube 54W HO T5 will put 40000 lumens using about the same wattage.

 

[Strawberry Cough]

Thanks for replies so far.

Actually in winter when I run my MH I don't need a fan, so my MH is really close the plants. So how is 20,000 lumens from a T-5 upclose better than 36000 lumens from MH also upclose?

 

[Droopy Dog]

THG keeps going on about T5s so when I was in Home Despot yesterday I looked for some. They had T12s, one T8 fixture, and one T5 fixture - it had 4 very very thin tubes in it and was rated at 13W!
That was it. Rather useless really.
So I still don't know. . .

There is a world of difference between 'regular' T5s (13w) and the T5HO (54w). Plus you need a HO fixture to handle the extra watts.

DD

 

[leafminer]

According to the figures I see in the posts above, the lumen ouput per watt from the T5s is pretty much identical to CFLs.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Thanks for replies so far.

Actually in winter when I run my MH I don't need a fan, so my MH is really close the plants. So how is 20,000 lumens from a T-5 upclose better than 36000 lumens from MH also upclose?

No one ever said (or even implied) that 20,000 lumens from a T5 up close was better than 36000 lumens from a MH up close.

And you always need a fan. You may not need a fan to cool your light, but you should always have a fan running and be exchanging air while your lights are on.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

According to the figures I see in the posts above, the lumen ouput per watt from the T5s is pretty much identical to CFLs.

The 54W HO T5 is over 92 lumens per watt. Do the CFLs do that well?

 

[PUFF MONKEY]

cfl's completely suck when compared to T5's...no if's, and's or but's about it..the long tube type offer light distribution the cfl type bulbs can only dream of...i use T8's right now and they smash the performance of cfl's and T5's are even better.

 

[leafminer]

The 54W HO T5 is over 92 lumens per watt. Do the CFLs do that well?

No, 64 - 70 lumens/watt is typical.

 

[Strawberry Cough]

And you always need a fan. You may not need a fan to cool your light, but you should always have a fan running and be exchanging air while your lights are on.

...in a perfect world: yes. But here is really cold in winter so I can run my MH 6 inches from the plants from end of November through end of March without fans.

 

[Growdude]

...in a perfect world: yes. But here is really cold in winter so I can run my MH 6 inches from the plants from end of November through end of March without fans.

Plants need fresh air to thrive. not just fans blowing air around.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

...in a perfect world: yes. But here is really cold in winter so I can run my MH 6 inches from the plants from end of November through end of March without fans.

I live in a place that has very cold winters also. This is not about cooling the lights. This is about supplying a fresh supply of CO2 to your plants. They need a continual fresh supply of CO2 all the time the lights are on--this is required for photosynthesis and is really not optional. I personally like to exchange the air in my flowering closet about 3-4 times a minute.