What's the best current T5 fixture? Sun Blaze or New Wave or Tek light?

[Bandit420]

OK so after going over stats on three T5s that could possibly replace my hps 430s I've reached the conclusion that any T5 would be a downgrade to what i have now. Here's the run down of what I was considering...

1. Two HTG Slimstar 4' 6 tube T5HO would offer 60k lumens @ 648 watts for $356 + shipping

2. One Sun System Solar Flare or Solar Wind 4' 8 tube T5VHO would offer 57,600 lumens @ 760 watts for $400. no shipping, is available locally

3. One Quantum Bad Boy 4' 16 tube would offer 80k lumens @ 864 watts for $500

My two 430 Son Agro lights w/ Eye Hortilux bulbs offer a whopping 118k lumens @ 860watts

Heat would need to be controlled with all the lights so I dont think i could save on energy consumption unless i went with the HTG but that would cut my lumens in half and only be a drop of 220 watts. Common sense is telling me to keep burning the extra 220 watts for double the lumens.

The Quantum is still very intriguing to me. the loss of 40k lumens is quite discouraging but the idea of lighting being spread out over the entire overhead space with some side lighting is very interesting as opposed to just having a single focal point of lighting over the top of the canopy

 

[Sweetgreen]

Interesting number crunching Bandit, thanks or that.

I've heard about those Son Agro lights, but I though they were just the bulbs? I thought they were a 430 bulb that could be put in any 400 fixture? Isn't the Eye Hortilux the same idea, just a different brand?

I don't think I'd be able to use a 400 in my tent, unless maybe I can use a dimmer ballast. Haven't done enough research yet to know if dimming actually reduces power usage. I've read it just lowers the light, but doesn't really lower the power usage respectively.

What about a 250, does Son Agro or Hortilux make a same idea bulb but for a 250w fixture?

Thanks again

 

[Bandit420]

Interesting number crunching Bandit, thanks or that.

I've heard about those Son Agro lights, but I though they were just the bulbs? I thought they were a 430 bulb that could be put in any 400 fixture? Isn't the Eye Hortilux the same idea, just a different brand?

I don't think I'd be able to use a 400 in my tent, unless maybe I can use a dimmer ballast. Haven't done enough research yet to know if dimming actually reduces power usage. I've read it just lowers the light, but doesn't really lower the power usage respectively.

What about a 250, does Son Agro or Hortilux make a same idea bulb but for a 250w fixture?

Thanks again

Yeah the Son Agro is only in 430 watts in the US. I think there might be 860 watters in Europe. It's a different animal than the 400s and uses it's own type of ballast. The popularity of the 430 was done in by the 600 in the US but the 430 is still widely used in Europe. I believe Hydrofarm is the last American company still making 430 Son Agro ballasts.
The 430 Son Agro was specifically designed for horticulture. It's basically a 400 watt hps with a 30watt mh arc inside the bulb. You wont find them in use for anything else like you see hps and mh being used for street lights, stadiums, wharehouses, etc.
Only two bulbs are available. One is from Phillips which is a basic bulb and the other is a super hps bulb from Eye Hortilux. This is a bad ass bulb that emits nearly 60k lumens! That's some real good punch for a light in the 400 watt class!

 

[Sweetgreen]

So HTG says a month till they get more Tek 4's in. Sucks, but I guess it gives me more time to do more research and get everything else all picked out.

A question tho about the Tek 4; do you guys think it would be ok to pull 2 or 3 bulbs out of the fixture for seedlings/clones, so there is only one or two bulbs giving light? I just think the Tek 4 with all 4 bulbs might be too much for the first week or so. I would just like to avoid having to buy another small fixture, like a CFL or something, even if it is cheap.

If removing bulbs is not a good idea, what can you guys suggest for seedlings/clones? Maybe just a 50w CFL or something?

Thanks again

 

[Setting Sun]

First thing I checked when I took it out of the box.

There are two separate ballasts, so you can just run two tubes if you want instead of all four.

You can't run just one. It's either all four, or two.

 

[The Lurker]

Thanks Bandit, good stuff!

Great results, and beautiful buds!

Thanks for posting those pics TL! Is that one of your grows?

Nope, thanks. Except for some experiments in the early 90's with old-style VHOs, all my actual flowering has been under HPS or good ol' daylight. I'll still use FL for at least part of veg, though. These are from some cats on another board I know. Interesting...every board has a different 'mix' and leans more one way than another when it comes to how folks grow, and with what...it's a tribal thing, perhaps. People of similar interests tend to congregate together in unique social groups.

All the cool PL-L's have come out since I last bought any light fixtures. The new ones'll penetrate ~14-15" into the canopy easy. They're certainly tempting...then again, so is LED, these days...

I like your updated side lighting concept in a tent - a PhotoTent! Same idea as the (ghetto) High-Pod, but more flexible and robust. Always thought a Phototron could benefit from just a little top-lighting, too...love to see you do that, if ya get around to it.

I'm almost tempted to try that with LED strip lights. Kinda sucks not having a space to grow right now and most of my stuff in storage until I'm properly moved...seeing everyone else's pics is making me drool more'n a cat hearing a can of tuna being opened in the kitchen...

The buds look nice and solid too. The buds on the VK culls I grew out under the 110w PL-L were solid and sticky.

Love to see results like that with low-wattage lights!

Hehehe yes they do and yes it is. You had some nice girls under the HTGs yourself. Seeing other folks have success with these helps to break down people's preconceived notions about what can - and can't - be done using what. I agree, T5's need a little more respect...

I think Bandit's right - good bud porn sells more lights before 9am than most words do all day...

So HTG says a month till they get more Tek 4's in. Sucks, but I guess it gives me more time to do more research and get everything else all picked out.

A question tho about the Tek 4; do you guys think it would be ok to pull 2 or 3 bulbs out of the fixture for seedlings/clones, so there is only one or two bulbs giving light?

Sun's right, if you can run 110W starting out you should be fine. No need to get another fixture if you've got at least some vertical space to play with, simply start the light out a little higher and reduce the distance gradually every day. Better to give them fairly high irradiance levels (without cooking 'em) early on though; less adjustment later on and it'll increase the propensity of females from seed.

 

[Setting Sun]

Thanks Bandit, good stuff!



Nope, thanks. Except for some experiments in the early 90's with old-style VHOs, all my actual flowering has been under HPS or good ol' daylight. I'll still use FL for at least part of veg, though. These are from some cats on another board I know. Interesting...every board has a different 'mix' and leans more one way than another when it comes to how folks grow, and with what...it's a tribal thing, perhaps. People of similar interests tend to congregate together in unique social groups.

yep, it's the same no matter what the interest. Sub-groups form, and people naturally want to hang where they can learn specifically about how they want to grow.

HorsebadOrtiz recently started a coco thread in order to generate discussion and consolidate data on growing with coco, so that's a great thread for me, as I'm very interested in that medium, but I enjoy the diversity here at 420mag also. "Don't surround yourself with yourself" and all that jazz.

All the cool PL-L's have come out since I last bought any light fixtures. The new ones'll penetrate ~14-15" into the canopy easy. They're certainly tempting...then again, so is LED, these days...

My new Tek Four 220w T5 stresses the plants if it's lower than 12", so yeah, these ain't yo daddy's shop lights, lol

These T5's veg and bloom well, and some of the newer LED's do also. It's always good to have multiple viable choices.

I like your updated side lighting concept in a tent - a PhotoTent! Same idea as the (ghetto) High-Pod, but more flexible and robust. Always thought a Phototron could benefit from just a little top-lighting, too...love to see you do that, if ya get around to it.

I'm definitely going to do it because it wouldn't cost me too much to set up, as I already have the top lighting, I enjoy growing with fluorescent lights, and I'm really curious as to how well plus/minus 400w would do in one of my reflective tents.

I'm a bit concerned that having the side fixtures pointing directly at each other might produce phase cancellation, but I guess they would have to be perfectly aligned? Then some eggheads on a physics forum confused me by discussing energy conservation, and how if phase cancellation actually occurred, then there would have to be the same degree of positive phase amplitude elsewhere to compensate for it.

smoking weed that stimulates thinking doesn't help, lol

I'm almost tempted to try that with LED strip lights. Kinda sucks not having a space to grow right now and most of my stuff in storage until I'm properly moved...seeing everyone else's pics is making me drool more'n a cat hearing a can of tuna being opened in the kitchen...

that would be a sweet LED setup for coverage/penetration for the same reason I think it would be a sweet setup for T5's.

Hehehe yes they do and yes it is. You had some nice girls under the HTGs yourself. Seeing other folks have success with these helps to break down people's preconceived notions about what can - and can't - be done using what. I agree, T5's need a little more respect...

It would be fun to compare a 120w LED to the 110w Tek Two in my cab .

I think Bandit's right - good bud porn sells more lights before 9am than most words do all day...

no doubt

Sun's right, if you can run 110W starting out you should be fine. No need to get another fixture if you've got at least some vertical space to play with, simply start the light out a little higher and reduce the distance gradually every day. Better to give them fairly high irradiance levels (without cooking 'em) early on though; less adjustment later on and it'll increase the propensity of females from seed.

It seems like sprouting seeds outdoors in direct sunlight tends to produce a favorable male/female ratio.

 

[Growing247]

I run a Sunblaze 4 ft 4 bulb T5 and is PERFECT for 6 clones before senidng them into the flower room. Vegetative growth is very fast and lush. VHO T5 would be nice but not needed IMHO for the price. Haven't tried the Bad Boy but I could always throw some red T5 in my Sun Blaze in there if I wanted to. These things are amazing for the first 4 weeks of vegging clones and mothers. Plants love them. Especially if you supplement with CFL or LEDs. After that I would throw them under a HID and watch them double in size

 

[Saturn]

Great topic.

Real interested in the HO florescent.

Still on the sidelines watching the LED thing, so far I'm not seeing what is needed for good growth, make that, great growth. I hear stuff like, the LEDs work great with a T5 or a HPS or ? Truth is the T5s and HIDs work great all by themselves and its "my opinion" that the LEDs just aren't there yet.




A bit more about lighting: Again, JMO, you can't trick the plant into thinking it's getting more than it is as far as light is concerned. 1 doesn't equal 2.

All the info about fluorescent shared is great. Thanks.

 

[Growing247]

When you buy a T5 no matter what size you salways wish you bought a wider one with more bulbs. When I moved in to my house the previous owner had a T-12 in the greenhouse and let me tell you those things suck. The ballasts were bigger, bulbs were wider and the things were just outdated technology. The plants needed to be within a few inches of the bulb to get any usable light at all. This is not so with the the High Output T5s. The reason why is the improved technology, smaller bulbs, more efficient. So now you can have the T5 like a few feet away from the plant and the T5s are SUPERIOR AT HELPING YOUNG CUTTINGS AND NEW CLONES DEVELOP HEALTHY AND VIGOROUS ROOTS FAST. Better than HID because less heat issues for the new cuttings which stresses them out more although if the leaves are touching the bulbs they will get burnt. They are great to use for vegetative growth but looking at your photos I might need to look into flowering with it also! As far as LED go I am sure there are times when those would be useful for growing plants. A time and a place for everything. I have seen some of the photos of plants grown uender LED here and for hobby growers they are great because there is no heat/inline duct fan/ducting/noise/power bill/ problems. So, every light has its advantages and disadvantages you could say. Did I mention I really like my Sun Blaze? I want to get another T5 to use for side lighting and hang it on the wall. Christmas is not that far off...

 

[boilerroom]

Before I order this, I would like the opinion of the fine folks in here. Thank you, or if this is a bad choice, a URL to a decent light please. Options also if there are entire grow tent kits worth exploring to get started? Cheers!

T5 Grow Light (4ft 4lamps) DL844s Ho Fluorescent Hydroponic Fixture Bloom Veg Daisy Chain with Bulbs