I found a good deal on a T5 ho cfl, how much of a difference would I see if I bought two. One 8 bulb for above the plants and one 4 or 6 bulb for horizontally. Just thought if I had two instead of just one might help a bit. I would rather go with T5's then HPS, as from what I have read for the effeciency and reduced heat I would feel much safer.
My last grow I had a 2ft 4 bulb t5t over thbetop and a 2ft 2 bulb on the side she grew over 4 ft tall and got 2 1/4 oz off her. No heat issues at all with t5s
I'm using t5s currently, 2ft 4 bulb. No issues with heat or electricity consumption and my plants are growing well. I do wish i had more light though. I'll probably end up supplementing with CFLs. If you can get a larger fixture I'd go for it, but, unless your prices are really good, it might make more sense to just spend the money on an HPS/MH setup. T5s work, and work well, but HPS/MH are the standard for a reason. Either way, you'll be happy with the results. Good growing, AZ
Efficiency, by what means? I think if you compared a T5 to an HPS, on Electricity usage, Yeild & Quality ... I'm willing to say that the T5 wouldn't seem so "efficient" anymore. Thats my 2 cents.
Thanks guys, I will keep thinking about what I am going to go with. I have time so who knows. But being in a house that was built 130 years ago, and it is an atic grow thinking T5's are the way to go. But I have thought about HPS with the duct to vent out heat. I just want to have a decent set up since I finally have a place to put one.
The space is 42" wide, by 50" tall and 50" deep. I was thinking around 4 plants and something that is shorter and bushier. I had originally thought of going with hydro but am leaning towards dirt for the first few times. I really wanted a 4 ft. 8 bulb fixture. Been looking at the quantum bad boy T5 HO, the sun blaze t5 ho, and the new wave t5 ho. I like the tek-lighting and the sun blaze t5 vho, but just don't want to spend that much. I have been researching and seems sum just use the red bulbs for flowering and others use HPS for flowering. I really wanted to try using the blue bulbs for vegging and the red bulbs for flowering. I really do believe that they should be almost as good as a HPS especially if you get the good (correct) bulbs. I have not made any decisions yet as I am still framing the space and waiting for funds to finish it and by that time will either decide on cfl or hps.
It won't be the same. A 400w hose puts out 45-50k+ linens while a t5 I *think* are in the 25-30k range if thay