So I found a few hps lights in a low range of wattage. 60-150. Anyone use this type of hps before? Would it be worth the cover of not using as much power, or will it be waste of time? I would be using hps for flower stage, along with t5s the whole way through. Sent from my HTC One S using Grasscity Forum mobile app
Get a dimmable 400 watt light setup. You can run at 100%, 75%, or 50%.. Basically 400, 300, and 200.. All those little hps bulbs are not worth it. Those little bulbs throw quite a bit of heat and not very many lumens. The part of the equation we don't have to help you is the size of your intended garden, number of plants, etc. A 400 watt hps will do a 2.5' by 2.5' pretty well, 3 by 3 decent. But 400 lacks penetration below the canopy. Which you could use your t5 for side lighting. You could get away with like a 250 watt hps with supplemental t5 lighting. But your harvest will be light. If your trying to keep wattage low and still use your t5 lights, (which again we don't even know how many t5 lights you use, length of your bulbs, and whether you use cool or warm bulbs) you could add a bunch of CFLs to your area. Or more t5. If it was me. I would go the 400 watt route and use your t5 as side lighting. Would also use scrog or other LST techniques. Buckle up kids, its gonna be a long strange trip.