Any info on 4ft T8 LED lighting system configuration

[420Yooper73]

Hi everyone, I've grown weed with some friends in the past and they were in the HPS/ HID lighting camp but I want to go LED. I've done tons of internet searches on K values of lights, lumens, watts, PAR values etc...my grow space is 6ft x 9ft...I've done the math on optimal lumens for that size space and the number is just physically unattainable...maybe I'm going about this the wrong way...is anyone using t8 led bulbs...any advise would be greatly appreciated. Thank you

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Advice on t8 or lights in general

I've used t5 for veg and seedlings, worked ok, but HPS, Quantum Boards, or good LED lights are much better

 

[420Yooper73]

Advice on t8 or lights in general

I've used t5 for veg and seedlings, worked ok, but HPS, Quantum Boards, or good LED lights are much better

Thank you Chris for the reply...I wanted to get away from HPS for several reasons..mainly because of heat and cost issues. The only reason I wanted to go with t8 led bulbs is because I scored some t8 fixtures for free. Bypassing the ballast is a piece of cake but I'm having trouble deciding which bulbs to buy in terms of k value and lumen output to give my plants enough light and maybe more important the right color light at the right time

 

[Chris Scorpio]

I ran 6500k in veg and wanna say 3000k in flower with my t5 lights
Ended up mixing them for my last veg

Why I got away from hps was heat

 

[420Yooper73]

I ran 6500k in veg and wanna say 3000k in flower with my t5 lights
Ended up mixing them for my last veg

Why I got away from hps was heat

Right on. Thanks...those were pretty much the numbers that kept coming up online...I guess it was the lumens that kept throwing me off...optimal is round about 7000 lumens per square foot...there is no way I can get anywhere near that. I guess I will play with the 6000k and 3000 or 3500k bulbs

 

[Chris Scorpio]

Not sure you can get that high with t8s

Penetration isn't good either. I had mine around 6" above plants, like I said it did ok, but much better options for not much more $$$$

 

[420Yooper73]

Yeah, I kinda figured that too. I was hoping to get through a small grow so I can afford some better lighting. I still might play around with it just as an experiment but I agree with you..good quality LED lights are the way to go. As far as penetration goes, I don't think that will be much of an issue since we have always manifolded our plants and I'm planning on doing that still. Thank you for the replies

 

[TurboBucket]

If you have fluorescent fixtures and are considering bypassing the ballast grab some led drop-ins. They'll fit your existing fixture and you can run them on 120vac. Consider changing the holders to t5 for more options.

As Chris mentioned mid powered diodes are the best bang for your buck.

 

[420Yooper73]

If you have fluorescent fixtures and are considering bypassing the ballast grab some led drop-ins. They'll fit your existing fixture and you can run them on 120vac. Consider changing the holders to t5 for more options.

As Chris mentioned mid powered diodes are the best bang for your buck.

Thanks TurboBucket..LED drop ins are the way I'm going to go but I didn't know I could convert my fixtures to t5's...i will definitely check that out

 

[420Yooper73]

Thanks TurboBucket..LED drop ins are the way I'm going to go but I didn't know I could convert my fixtures to t5's...i will definitely check that out

I'm actually considering mixing up K values for veg and flower stages...my fixtures are 6 bulb style so I was going to go 4 6500k and 2 3500k bulbs for veg and just the opposite for flower. What do you think of that idea?