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

Sweetgreen

New Member
Going to be growing in a Secret Jardin DR60 2ftx2ft grow tent. I think I think want to get a 2ft 8 bulb fixture.

Trying to decide on what T5 fixture I should be getting. I've heard the Tek light is the best, but the chassis is black which I find kinda odd for a grow light. Shouldn't it be at least white like all the others? I feel like the black would absorb light, especially in a small tent like mine.

Your thoughts?

Thanks
 
T5's need to be fairly close to plants for best effectiveness.
So any light that gets up to the black chassis is already minimal, so it's color won't effect the lights intensity.
I believe the Tek lights are black due to the company first establishing itself in aquarium lighting, where that is the norm.
I would recommend the New Wave or Tek lights over the Sun Blaze model.
Individual reflectors are very important and focuses much more of the light onto the plants, the Sun Blaze lacks these reflectors.
So if you were theoretically putting the same bulbs in and had the same growing conditions for all 3 models, the Sun Blaze would yield noticeably less.
Get the Tek's if you can, but the New Wave's still have the features you need if your budget is tight.
Good luck.
 
Ok thanks for the tips.

I'm now aware that the 2' bulbs can be had in a 54 watt version pumping out 5000 lumen! I always thought it was only the 4' bulbs that put out that much.

Now my question is; can I use the 2' 54 watt bulbs in a regular 2' T5 fixture?
 
The 2' 54w tubes are double tubes that are designed to go with "power compact" T5 fixtures, which use different connectors.

For the usual 2' T5 fixtures, the max is still 24w per tube.

I use the power compact style fixture and tubes because they're more efficient.
 
Now my question is; can I use the 2' 54 watt bulbs in a regular 2' T5 fixture?

NO!!! The regular fixtures aren't designed for HO bulbs.

I use the 'power compact' like SS. 2', 2tube, 5000 lumens each, 110watts from HTG. PLL-55

DD
 
Hey guys thanks for the replies, I think I'm going for the 2' 4 bulb HO T5 from HTG.
hXXp://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=56795

Can't beat the 20,000 lumens for the price. I think it's gong to be better than the 2' 8 bulb which only puts out 16,000 lumen. Should blast 4 plants pretty good I hope.

Those 2' 54watt PLL-55 bulbs seem the like best T5 bulbs that are out there. But yeah they use a 4 pin vs 2 pin.
 
Hey guys thanks for the replies, I think I'm going for the 2' 4 bulb HO T5 from HTG.
hXXp://www.htgsupply.com/viewproduct.asp?productID=56795

That's the one. ;) Best bang for your buck in the PL-L ready-made fixtures. I was happy to see them come out with the 4-tube unit recently.

Many folks've been able to consistently pull ~1oz+ per tube with those in flowering, too. Just keep 'em nice and flat and your girls will love it.

Good luck! :wood:
 
That's the one. ;) Best bang for your buck in the PL-L ready-made fixtures. I was happy to see them come out with the 4-tube unit recently.

Many folks've been able to consistently pull ~1oz+ per tube with those in flowering, too. Just keep 'em nice and flat and your girls will love it.

Good luck! :wood:

Wow seriously?! I wasn't sure if I'd have to go with a 250w HPS to flower, but if I could just change the bulbs to the 3000k, and I can get at least 4oz from 4 or 6 plants with that light, then I would be happy! Maybe I can suppliment a few smaller CFL on the sides, with different spectrums, to bring an even higher yield? or is that overkill?
 
Make SURE you buy extra bulbs!!!!!!!

DD
 
and don't use a digital timer with these PL-L bulbs.

They will blow tubes very quickly if you do that. Apparently, digital timers leak a very tiny amount of current constantly, even when "off", that wreaks havoc with lifespan, so go with a mechanical timer.

I blew 3 tubes in one month before I figured it out.

Some of the larger spiral CFL's also don't like digital timers for the same reason.

I just got my HTG Tek 4 yesterday. Gonna try to get it set up in the HID tent temporarily.

It's a nice light, and both the Tek 2 and the Tek 4 are a great bang for the buck.

I've got a stockpile of tubes in both bloom and veg colors. You can find them being cleared out sometimes, and then stock up. I've paid as little as $3.21 for those 55w tubes.

The 65w PL-L tubes will also run on those ballasts, but they still only work at 55w. I mention that because it increases the options for good deals.

They also make those biax tubes in some strange colors for the aquarium enthusiasts, so might be worth exploring to see how our plants react.
 
^^^^
What he said.

Wow seriously?! I wasn't sure if I'd have to go with a 250w HPS to flower, but if I could just change the bulbs to the 3000k, and I can get at least 4oz from 4 or 6 plants with that light, then I would be happy! Maybe I can suppliment a few smaller CFL on the sides, with different spectrums, to bring an even higher yield? or is that overkill?

A 250w HPS will be moderately more efficient, but also put out a lot more radiant heat. That's definitely the highest w I'd go in that tent...

(PL-L's will put out heat too, esp. from the ballast - don't skip on your ventilation just because you're using fluorescents)

Depends on whether you want to spend more $$$ on another light (and need more bud), or just switch tubes (or not - see below) and be happy with ~4oz+. Changing a few bulbs is definitely a lot cheaper than buying another light. Don't worry about supplemental lighting at all. Not if you do it like this...
|
V

Here's what a decent PL-L harvest looks like:

220w (4 tube): 120.5g (4.25oz) = 0.55 g/w
(Garden used 4100K tubes the entire grow, in Coco)

1_SN_Harvest_Cab1.jpg


2_SN_Harvest_Bud-O-Lier1.jpg

(Bud Chandelier: A Bud-O-Lier) :)

3_SN_Harvest_Buds.jpg

-------

And one more, for good measure:


330W (6 tube): 180g (6.35oz) = 0.54 g/w
(Mixed Spectrum Bulbs)

4_SP_43_Days.jpg

(43 Days)

5_SP_48_Days.jpg

(48 Days)

6_SP_Handful.jpg

(Harvest (50 Days): A Small Handful of the Many Buds Produced)

------------------

Would that just about meet your needs? ;)
 
Great Thread! :welldone:
I'm big on t5ho lighting but i never even heard of these Tek lights 'till now. Thanks! Funny how it looks like HTG is selling out of the Tek 4 quick since yesterday!;)
I did a little number crunching on the comparison of that light & bulbs compared to a standard t5ho using 6500k 2000lumen 24 watt 2' tubes from Plantmax, Sylvania, & HTG Agrosun

Basically what I came up with is that it would take 10 regular 2' t5ho tubes to match the lumens of the 4 tube Tek Light but the regular t5ho would use 20 more watts to accomplish the job. I'm not sure about the amperage or footprint comparison.

My first impression of the tek lights is that they would be a good choice for getting the performance of T5VHO in a 2' light since it seems that the T5VHO only come in 4' lengths. If I did'nt already have the standard T5HO lights in my grow room now I would probably opt for the Tek lights as my first buy. I may still get one just see what I've been missing! ;)
 
Very nice post and I agree with your conclusion.

They give you the performance 2' T5 VHO tubes would give you, if they existed, which they still don't, which is a shame, since the 4' units won't fit into a lot of grow spaces.

I think a tent like my DR80 with the Tek Four for top lighting and a couple of 4' two-tube T5's mounted vertically on the sides would do very well. Around 400w altogether.


BTW, I have absolutely no affiliation with HTG or any other vendor.

I've been very happy with the performance of these Tek lights, so as a Consumer Reporter, I like to share this kind of information.
 
Noooooooooo....where'd it go????!!!!

lol yeah Man HTG sold out! They're onto something with the 4 tube light. I looked at other light makers and i think HTG is clearly the best choice on this system. Sunleaves has the "Nova" which is the Tek 2 for $110 msrp & Hydrofarm has the "Propagator" which looks like a cheap diy for $110. HTG has the only 4 tube light.
Right now I've got T5 fever. I've seen so many possibilties over the last couple hours my mind is spinning. I really like those Quantum Bad Boys! I'm thinking of swapping out two 430 hps for the 16 tube monster with some standard single strip T5 for side lighting kinda like what SS is moving towards. My bloom space is 4'x6' and I also have three movers to play with for the configuration. So many choices! :tokin:
 
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