im wondering what your guys experiences are with the two lights. i know T5s are a little pricey but the CFLs with the big hoods look perfect for veg. just get a daylight spectrum. both seem good but need a few other opinions. thanks alex
I had a similar dilema when I was planning my grow, and the decision for me came down to 2 factors. First, the size of your grow area. Mine is about 3 feet, so 4' bulbs would be too long and 2' bulbs would be too short, requiring me to use CFLs anyway. Second, I could find CFLs with the right color temperature locally with no need to order online, while T5s simply were not available to me. If these two factors aren't an issue, I would recommend T5s. While I have very little experience, as I just started my first grow, T5 bulbs will distribute light much more evenly due to the construction of the bulbs. CFLs are spiraled instead of flat, so the amount of direct light hitting your plants will be lower compared to T5s.
hi power t5 and cfl have very little to compare. the hi power will compare with hps/mh setup. run of the mill , home depot t5s again no comparison, much lower power spread out over a larger area. unless you are going to the hi power t5 grow lights , stick with cfl. it is much easier to get the wattage where you want it. cfls are much cheeper to set up and if you go with 42w (actual) or bigger cfls you will need alot less of them. i run a single 200w cfl (actual) in my veg cabinet and it does a good job.
hear, hear!!! unless you "have no choice," use cfl's. otherwise use the t-5's, they are far superior in every respect.
http://forum.grasscity.com/lighting/638112-lighting-technology-comparison-information.html Read up. As a few have said, T5s are a superior technology when compared to CFLs by a significant margin. My plants grow straight at the T5s and basically ignore my 125W CFLs.
Plan on moving soon and hope to start a grow then want to have a plan setup by then. So if i have a 4'x2.2'x8' WxDxH and wanted to try 8 plants t5s would be the way to go? I am trying to use one light setup for both veg and flower. From what ive read their are bulbs i can by to switch out for flowering. Thanks ahead of time for the tips.
The benefit of CFL's is side lighting. You can get light to every part of the plant. I've used a combo of the two. T5 on top and clf's around the side, with decent results. And yeah, you can change the bulbs to the right spectrum with either type of lighting.