metal halide vs flourescents for veg

[acheron11000]

i wanted to get peoples opinions on metal halide and flourescents to see what everyone though was better overall for the growth of the plant. specifically the T5 light fixture for flourescents and 600 watt metal halide since this is the most efficient wattage.

 

[Rodrigo]

I grow hydro and in my veg cabinet I only have some fluorescent tubes for side light support (standing upright in the corners) but on top of the plants I only have CFLs and they grow beautifully. I have two hoods for my veg cabinet, each is about 45-50cm long and has one 100w CFL on each end, so 200w per hood. I keep up to 2 plants per hood when they're ready to flower (at which point they go into the flower room under a 400w HPS and some CFLs for support)

So a MH lamp may be better but in my opinion is not necessary, I don't believe that the extra initial expense plus the monthly power bill is worth it. T5s and CFLs are more than enough for veg.

That's what I think.

 

[KarlJay]

I'm a VERY results oriented guy. I started with modified Walmart T8s and CFLs. My harvest from the 1st grow has been tested by people who have "sampled" a LOT of product.

Every single person has said very good to excellent about the product I harvested.

I still use T8s and CFL for veg and HPS for flower. They look even better now than they did before.

I actually can't run MH in the veg room because of the total elec usage, I'm REAL close to my limit right now.

One upside to the T8/T5/CFL is the heat. My HVAC is focused on the flower room, the veg room is fine just the way it is, the flower room is a challenge with 4 sources of cooling!

MH will provide a deeper light, but in the end, will there be much difference? I don't know, but if I have to stay an extra 2 weeks in veg to = what a MH would produce, or if the plants would be 20% larger, is not an issue for me.