T5 Lights

[S.Indica]

Ez, Think of setting up a veg chamber to house roughly 8 mothers and wondered if using T5's would do the trick, my plan was to use the Sun Blaster T5 Flourescents, would 4X4ft T5's be enough to keep a space 4ft by 2 by 2 with 8 mothers happy and could I possibly keep more mothers.

strictly indica

 

[ImWaldo]

I know T5 have a good spectrum for veg. What color temp are they? On the bulb it should say warm or cool or have a number. you want cool for veg, and any color temp above 5000K is considered cool.

I dont know how many you need though, just got some myself to veg then led it in flower.

 

[Weed420]

T5's work excellent for mothers. If you're going to have more than 4 mothers I would buy multiple t5 assemblies to cover a larger area better. If all you have is a 2ft X 2ft area thats not really enough room for more than 3 or 4 mothers. They will grow quite large on you if you don't keep them trimmed back.

 

[clayhead]

Do it Dude I use 2 - t5's In my veg room each have 8 lamps (bulbs) and 2 different spectrums to emulate the sun. Some people use flouresent all the way through. I use the HPS in bloom. Mothers get big ! Why 8 ? you are going to get 35 to 40 clones
For 8 mothers use two 4 foot flourescents

 

[Goldengoose7]

I use T5s exclusively for all my indoor growing areas. You might want to consider a 6 tube fixture since it is a tad wider and covers the canopy a little better. I use a 4' X 6 tube fixture in my flowering room and a 4 tube in my veg room. High wattage CFLs can also be added as side fills and such. All depends on how much $$ you've got to spend.

 

[clayhead]

Hey Golden
You are the proof ! I was afraid to use flourecents all the way through but
You get a good yield using flourescents all the way ? I am afraid to see my electric bill. Its been sitting on my desk for a week and I'm afraid to open it.
You said in the last post ...depends on how much you want to spend ..........
Flourescents are a lot cheaper than HPS and use a hell of a lot less kilowatts

 

[S.Indica]

Guys thanks for your responses,

The spec for these 4ft T5's are 54w - 6400k.

My plan is to keep bonsai mums so trimming back wont be a problem and it will keep me with a constant flow of clones via a DIY ez cloner seen Here thanks to 420fied
DIY 50 site aero cloner for under $100.00


I had also thought about getting the assembled T5 Unit with 4 lamps but have decided on the single T5's daisy chain linked with 6" space between each lamp and a constant flow of air to keep my mum's happy, the reason I only want a 4ft by 2 by 2 room thou this could change as I am not opposed to raising the height to 3ft and possibly build another room of the same size on top of the mum's with a further 4 T5's as a pre veging room where i could train my cuttings by pinching and (or) topping when kept in a slightly prolonged vegetive period before being placing in my grow area where hight will be an issue

Video on Pinching ‪How to Pinch your Garden Plants‬‏ - YouTube


Golden, thats a great tip about using both spectrums during first two weeks of flowering to help reduce stretch in certain strains

Strictly Indica

 

[Goldengoose7]

Hey Golden
You are the proof ! I was afraid to use flourecents all the way through but
You get a good yield using flourescents all the way ? I am afraid to see my electric bill. Its been sitting on my desk for a week and I'm afraid to open it.
You said in the last post ...depends on how much you want to spend ..........
Flourescents are a lot cheaper than HPS and use a hell of a lot less kilowatts

Hi ClayHead!

I prefer to veg them outside during the summer like I am now cause nothing beats the Sun, but I have no trouble going from Seedling/Clone all the way to harvest using T5s. The Blue Cheese plant I have entered in the Plant of the Month Contest was raised under T5s from start to finish.

I use 3000k tubes for flowering and 6500k for veg. I will also combine the two during first two weeks of flowering to help reduce stretch in certain strains like Purple Urkle.

 

[S.Indica]

I use T5s exclusively for all my indoor growing areas. You might want to consider a 6 tube fixture since it is a tad wider and covers the canopy a little better. I use a 4' X 6 tube fixture in my flowering room and a 4 tube in my veg room. High wattage CFLs can also be added as side fills and such. All depends on how much $$ you've got to spend.

Hey Golden can I ask what bulbs are you using in you T5 fixture 54w or 24w?

Do CFL's give off much heat ? I like you way of using them with light coming from the side, I also plan to do this with the T5's for the lower canopy when flowering

 

[S.Indica]

Also hope you dont mind me asking but would 4 to 6 2ft 24w keep my 8 mums happy in a 2ft by 2ft deep & 3ft high

 

[Goldengoose7]

Hey Golden can I ask what bulbs are you using in you T5 fixture 54w or 24w?

Do CFL's give off much heat ? I like you way of using them with light coming from the side, I also plan to do this with the T5's for the lower canopy when flowering

No problem!

All the T5s I use are High Output T5s. Pretty sure that means 54w. I've got three T5 fixtures at the moment. 4 Tube x 4 foot, 4 tube by 2 foot and a 6 tube by 4 foot. I also use a couple of 125 watt CFLs and half a dozen 40 watt CFLs as side-fills that can be moved to diferent grow rooms and plants.

As for the type of bulbs... 6500k for daylight veg and 3000k for bloom. They do put out a good deal of heat if you are using a lot of them like I do. Nothing like Sodium lights and stuff like that, but they do get too hot to hold onto after they have been on for awhile.

 

[S.Indica]

No problem!

All the T5s I use are High Output T5s. Pretty sure that means 54w.

Ez Golden, Have just been looking into it and it would appear that mostly the 2ft lights are 24w and the 4ft ones are 54w, for me its going to be better to go with the 4ft lights at 54w I only inteneded on using 4 but adding another 2 would not harm and in my space of 4ft by 2 deep and 3 high, I think I could happily keep 8-12 mothers happy 6 54w lights.

 

[Greenie]

Has anyone ever found the t5 bulbs at a local hardware store? or only hydro type stores? And if you have found them in local... what are they "labeled" as? thanks!!!! (the 6500k equivalent / 54 w)

 

[Goldengoose7]

Has anyone ever found the t5 bulbs at a local hardware store? or only hydro type stores? And if you have found them in local... what are they "labeled" as? thanks!!!! (the 6500k equivalent / 54 w)

I always buy mine in bulk online from the cheapest vendor I can find with a brand I know. Now that I think about it, I don't recall seeing any T5 sized tubes at Tru-Value the other day when I was buying a few 3 way CFL bulbs for non growing use.

 

[Greenie]

I found the fixtures, doubles, and some bulbs... but not sure they would be the "correct" spectrum .

 

[Goldengoose7]

I found the fixtures, doubles, and some bulbs... but not sure they would be the "correct" spectrum .

6500k is what I use for veg. 2700-3000 for bloom.

Sent from my iPod touch using Forum Runner

 

[Greenie]

Are you using just the plain old 4 ft tube? It says 6500k (but 3000 ish for the lumens)

 

[Goldengoose7]

Are you using just the plain old 4 ft tube? It says 6500k (but 3000 ish for the lumens)

I have both 4 foot and 2 foot fixtures here.

That number is the COLOR TEMPERATURE in Kelvins. 6500k is considered a DAYLIGHT bulb and is used for VEG since it has a broader spectrum of wavelengths. 3000k is considered a BLOOM bulb since it has virtually NO BLUE light and a heavier concentration of yellow and red light wavelengths. The same wavelengths flowering plants prefer and need for bigger blossoms.

You can read more about Color Temp and Lighting HERE

Hope that helps clarify!

 

[Greenie]

Thanks for the info. Nice of you to take the time to school me

So, would I be able , for veg, to use the t5, 6500k that the local store sells? Or must I go to a specialty store?

 

[Goldengoose7]

No problem! Happy to help!

As long as it has 6500k stamped on the tube, you have the same thing as any expensive grow bulb rated at 6500k. If you want to try something more inbetween the two ends of that spectrum, THEN you get out of the "Hardware Store Variety" and into specialized T5s produced for the Cannabis MMJ market and other Indoor growing hobbies.

At specialty stores you will find these bulbs listed as GROW LIGHTS and they generally have a temp of between 4700k and 5500k.

When I bought my first growlight fixtures, they came from the factory with 6500k tubes, and I figured that HydroFarm must know what they are doing!

I've never tried anything but those and the 3000k bloom bulbs I had to purchase separately for my flower room. 3000k tubes are also hard to find cheap, because until recently everyone was using 6500k for office lighting etc.

However, things are changing as more and more people are looking for the WARMTH of lower temp flourescents so there is hope! You can find 2700k CFL bulbs most places these days, although I have to buy my 45 watters online since no one around my areas sells anything larger than a 28 watt!

Cheers.

P.S. Feel free to visit my grow journal! The first few pages have a ton of photos and info on my all flourescent lighting rigs.