Lighting - T4 - T5 or HPS?

[dzog]

Hi all.....I hope I'm posting in the correct forum.

I'm wanting to know if I have the correct lights for vegging.....or maybe I'll need adjustments?

T4s?....are the lights in question...I will elaborate.

I bought some shop lights....two tubes in a very reflective box...ideal I thought.....I bought two of them.

They are 24 w cool tubes I think.

Is this going to be enough?

They do seem a little dim........

I didn't realise they were T4.'s..I was originally going to buy a bank of four T5s.......Do my cloning and seedlings under the fluresents....for a few weeks then, I'd put them under my 600w hps for flowering.

Thought I found a bargin..Hmmmmm.....so I'm a little perplexed as to what to do and which way to go.

My options...stick with the T4's.....(I'm sure they will be fine for cloning, maybe better as the clones do not need intense lighting, I normally shade)...as they will do the job fine........but what about getting them 'beefed' up ready to go under the 600w hps?

Will I need an intermidery stage......of needing to put them under T5's?...........or will they go straight under my 600w hps.........

Or should I get another ballast for my spare 600w hps....and use that inconjunction with the T4's?

Hmmmmm....I hope some friendly folk can help me unravel my conundrum.



dzog

 

[Chobble]

T4's may barely do it for you. You probably want to go out and pick up some blue t5 tubes and fixtures they're pretty cheap. If your looking to spend a little more money a 200$ 8 bulb hood is a really good investment it also comes with all the bulbs.

Chobble

 

[LivenBurn]

IMHO-- Ditch the t-4...
Go with a t-5 &/or 600w hps.... & do everything under those. keep young plants farthest/shielded/shaded from the lights by raising light fixtures n older plants higher-- closer to the light... that way the light is farther from the precious ones.

ur gonna have to do something about the whole heat/air ventilation/circulation dealio thingy tho... if u got all the bits to run the HPS I'd do that... cept' I'd swap for a MetalHalide bulb for veg growth & to start. HPS to finish.

 

[dadums]

You can get 2 ballasts, add them to the t4's to overdrive them. That will give you lots of light and dirt cheap bulbs.

 

[dzog]

Thanks for replying....much appreciated..........it looks like i got a couple of options.....

So bottemline.....the t4s are no good for growing........bummer...maybe i can re post them on ebay.

However...dadums....lol........your idea is funny...i reckon that would make em pop like f**k too.....lol.....surely you jest?

Livenburn....i appreciate your frankness........ok...so its either t5 or 600w mh/hps...ok understood...thankyou....Which way to go from here....

Pros and cons of each i guess.....this is what i know...t5....will veg ok....alot cheaper to run......leaves may be a bit thin though, and may...(will)...get stretching.........(hmmmm...this point is worth me considering....).....I've got a good flowering set up, I'm serious about this stuff.......in a focused way......I'm wanting to grow the best quality organic, indoor, medical conisseur, sensi that I can........This is very important to me, for many reasons.

The flower room is a mylar tent...2mx2.4mx1m.....two air cooled 600w hps...intake fan outake fan........all dialled in......growing in compost with mychoriza, perlite, worm cast, well well rotted(so it smells sweet like chocolate)... manure..., rock dust...and a bit of DE............feeding with canna veg and floranova.

So, I'm gonna need the mothers and precious ones to be maintained at top standards....

Which I guess is beginning to nudge towards the mh/hps option....(However, i'm still considering chobbles idea of replacing parts, to upgrade to a t5.....if its cheap enough.....hmmmm

Costs are a bit of an issue.....naturally so...we all wanna keep that down as much as poss.......However, top quality is my goal and that does take investing...

Ok....t5 will do it.......but a 600wmh/hps...will do it proper...i'm sensing???............furthermore i guess they will be no shock delay on transfering........vegged under mh.....bam straight under hps?

Couple of questions on that........I havn't got a ballast for my lamp..(will get one if this is best choice)....but i do have two reflectors with one 600w hps...........Will a mh bulb screw straight into a hps socket, so that it can be used for both?......and are the mh/hps lights significantly more expensive to run than a bank of t5's?........(however, the quality may be worth it?).

Ok...Thanks for reading.......plenty to guide me on, if your up for it....max kudos to you all.....

dzog

 

[dadums]

I'm serious although I haven't done this yet it works. I used shop lights for my first grow and now have cfl's. there are a lot of links to over-driving lights . I may do this for my veg area with cheap shop lights. I'll pm a link for one.

 

[LivenBurn]

Hope this helps out a lil... peace

...Costs are a bit of an issue.....naturally so...we all wanna keep that down as much as poss.......However, top quality is my goal and that does take investing... have you thought about LED's? upfront'll bite ya-- IMHO worth it tho. here's a pic of my veg tent running 2 300w led's @ 1/2 power ONLY-- 18/6 for the past 2 months.

Ok....t5 will do it.......but a 600wmh/hps...will do it proper...i'm sensing???............furthermore i guess they will be no shock delay on transfering........vegged under mh.....bam straight under hps? No humanly perceivable shock/delay when I go from t-5 to daylight--YMMV. I think the major differences between t5 & MH/HPS is coverage/intensity/heat

Couple of questions on that........I havn't got a ballast for my lamp..(will get one if this is best choice)....but i do have two reflectors with one 600w hps...........Will a mh bulb screw straight into a hps socket, so that it can be used for both?......and are the mh/hps lights significantly more expensive to run than a bank of t5's?........(however, the quality may be worth it?). I'm pretty sure the bulbs'll fit, mine do. As far as cost... depends on what u pay for electric, but 600w is 600w no matter the light fixture-- the reason MH/HPS can be more expensive is that you most likely have to run auxiliary equipment to maintain your environment-- & you may just get by w/ a couple a fans & an open door/window for circulation with the t5's

 

[dzog]

OK...I'm getting clearer.....dadums...I like the thinking.......i'm interested in alt elec/energy soloutions?.....Do you know much about the 'free' energy gadgets.......that there are designs for?

livenburn.....thanks for thorough reply....i'm liking the thinking, in regard to the leds.......(low power....low heat...no need for extractors...hmmmmm...i will go checkout some prices.

Its beginning to appear that mh/hps may just be overkill for ...its for personal.......not industrial....i could do without getting more fans and stuff really....so the t5s is a good option too...considering there is no noticable affect.

Thankyou livenburn........i'm beginning to get a bit of brain ease on it.....(i'll go checkout some prices).

 

[dzog]

lol.......well that answers it...leds....look and sound great...way...waaayyyy out of my league.....so......as i'm only small scale....t5s, are looking fav...which takes us back to chobbles idea of upgrading the unit i've got, from t4 to t5.....I need to look into the how of doing this.......and what parts to get......any pointers will be greatly appreciated....In the meantime, i will go do some research and report back......

 

[Chobble]

lol.......well that answers it...leds....look and sound great...way...waaayyyy out of my league.....so......as i'm only small scale....t5s, are looking fav...which takes us back to chobbles idea of upgrading the unit i've got, from t4 to t5.....I need to look into the how of doing this.......and what parts to get......any pointers will be greatly appreciated....In the meantime, i will go do some research and report back......

Your veg room only needs to be about 1/4 of your flowering room wattage, use that as a good guideline when designing a veg room. If your doing 1200 watts I would recommend going out and spending the 200$ on a 8 bulb T5 hood. Im sure you can find them cheaper then that. The hood comes with brand new bulbs and thats just a 12$/bulb savings.

Chobble

 

[dzog]

Thanks for the 'wattage' pointer chobble...that makes good sense....T5s looking favorite then.......Do you not think upgrading the current t4s are worth doing?.....changing the fittings......four bulbs fits snug into a 1mx1mx2m tent........(i'm begining to sense the veg tent maybe too small....hmmmm...it can't be....lol...i got no more room)

dzog

 

[LivenBurn]

here's a pic of my 2 12lamp t5 BadBoys... on a sun supplementation schedule for an added 8hrs of light/day.

How big u planning on going in veg? finishing? if ur veg room is 2m high, i'd split it & make a bi-level tent/cabinet & use 2' t5 tubes-- or run the 4footer t5s vertically... etc. Of course your gonna need a separate tent/room for flowering.

 

[dzog]

Thanks for the pics LivenBurn.......inspiring...in many ways....(I think I'll take some pics of my grow and begin a journal...it looks like there is plenty of support here....Hmmmmm...impressive...Yes, I'll think I'll have a go at that)......Also your design...I was thinking about a similar design to keep the Mothers in......Ok let me back a mo...

T5s..it is then.......(thats good thats decided).......Now its which way and how.

I'd like to comment on your post LivenBurn......so i can get more clarity, to make the decsion on how to design the t5s

You mention: 2/12 lamps.........is that meaning 12 in each?.......I'm assuming they are 2' tubes?...going width ways, instead of say 4'/5' tubes going lengthways......interesting.........Is there a major benefit for this?

The plants are looking very healthy, with a vibrancy of health about them......nice one.....and I see your growing in soil...like myself.....Do you hand water?.....(I see a few pipes there).

Sun supplementation schedule.....(You like to take them out to give them sun?.....Definatly I get that...Is this an always or just when you can?

How big am I planning on going in veg?.......good question....

I think I'm gonna need two rooms......a room for my mothers, and a room for vegging...(sorry three rooms, inc the flower room. However thats taken care of for now, but will post pics and stuff in the journal I begin).

Back to point......two rooms...So your idea of splitting the 2m tent into two is a great one....
...Thankyou....I'll be implementing that notion.

To try and keep cost down, I'm gonna try to see if its viable to make a couple of T5 light banks......

therefore...is it really do able and cheap to convert the t4s to t5s?...(if so thats one tent sorted)

I've also got three 4' t5 or poss t8 tubes and one 5' tube....I'm sure they would work on maybe a flat wide design, like LivenBurns.....(for my mothers maybe).....hmmmmm....I need to go have a nice chong to ponder.........

 

[dzog]

dadums.......Thanks fo the film clip..

I did try replying...but I cannot coz I'm a newbie.......So I posted reply here.

QUOTE=dadums]How To Build A Super Charged Fluorescent Grow Light By Overdriving - YouTube[/QUOTE]

This is good viewing dadums....Thankyou....Very do-able indeed!....I will give this a go at some point.

Its making the prospect of transforming a T4 into a T5....simples!..Woooooaa!....I nearly missed the point....overdrive the T4s!.......

I like your journals too...inspiring....I'm thinking of starting one myself....It looks like you get a lot of support....Thats most welcome!....

All the best to you



Dzog

 

[LivenBurn]

...I'd like to comment on your post LivenBurn......so i can get more clarity, to make the decsion on how to design the t5s

You mention: 2/12 lamps.........is that meaning 12 in each? ys, each fixture measures 4'x3'x.25'.......I'm assuming they are 2' tubes?...going width ways, instead of say 4'/5' tubes going lengthways......interesting.........Is there a major benefit for this?
Each 12 lamp fixture measures 4'x3'x.25' the veg room measures 7.5'x4'x5.5'
The plants are looking very healthy, with a vibrancy of health about them......nice one.....and I see your growing in soil...like myself.....Do you hand water?.....(I see a few pipes there).
I hand water everything in the garden... NOT PIPES-- electrical cords, LOL! Above the lamps is a 6" extractor fan plugged into a temp. trigger, along with the power strip that feeds the whole cab.
Sun supplementation schedule.....(You like to take them out to give them sun?.....Definatly I get that...Is this an always or just when you can?
ALWAYS...rain or shine-- I have an open air G-house.
How big am I planning on going in veg?.......good question....
I hear ya, I'm always in flux with this ? too.

-- it took me 5 months to source ALL the gear for my op... so plan, be patient, plan ,plan & stay liquid-- shit happens, buy/have 2 or more of the things that require power.

 

[dzog]

I think I'm done on this..........T5s.............and I need to source some.

Overdriveing the T4 idea......I love that.....I gotta try it.

A big thankyou to all....

 

[GrowPanda]

I Just have a couple questions. I have 3 plants grwoing right now that are females and I have 2 65W bulbs and one 55W bulb. The plants are about 2 and a half weeks into flowering. My concern here is that the two 65's are 'Soft White' and the 55W bulb is a 'Cool White'. How will this affect my grow and is that enough wattage (185W) for three plants?
Oh, and they do look very good right now and seem to be on the right track. Very strong stems and great leaves. The area is well ventilated.

 

[dadums]

I Just have a couple questions. I have 3 plants grwoing right now that are females and I have 2 65W bulbs and one 55W bulb. The plants are about 2 and a half weeks into flowering. My concern here is that the two 65's are 'Soft White' and the 55W bulb is a 'Cool White'. How will this affect my grow and is that enough wattage (185W) for three plants?
Oh, and they do look very good right now and seem to be on the right track. Very strong stems and great leaves. The area is well ventilated.

Are these cfl's? "warm whites" give off more red and that is what you want for flower. Some strains require more light to finish , and more would be better. You will take longer with what you have.