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Need Advice t5 vs MH

U

UptownShakes

I here that t5's give tighter internode spacing than mh true?

Also hear that t5's are great for veg but after 3 weeks it's good to switch to a mh for the rest of the veg, however long that might
be..is this true?

Also within those first weeks of veg ...isn't a 6 or 8 lamp t5 fixture placed within inches of the plant far superior to the MH ... Better light spread and better color representation... After all the plants can use much more of the light from a t5 than from a mh.

Any need for a mh in veg over or after a t5

And which one vegs faster?
 
I

Iron_Lion

UptownShakes said:
I here that t5's give tighter internode spacing than mh true?

not necessarily, there are alot of factors involved, genetics, medium, wattage, kelvin temp etc... you could get tight internodes using a single 23 watt cfl depending on how you used it.

Also hear that t5's are great for veg but after 3 weeks it's good to switch to a mh for the rest of the veg, however long that might
be..is this true?

It would depend on how tall and/or leafy your plant was. Right now I have plants that are 4 weeks old, 6 inches tall with 8 nodes, growing under my MH, this size plant would also do well under a t5 fixture. There are tricks to keeping plants short, keep lights close, keep canopy cool, transplant deep, have suitable humidity levels, these can all aide in keeping plants short and bushy.

Also within those first weeks of veg ...isn't a 6 or 8 lamp t5 fixture placed within inches of the plant far superior to the MH ... Better light spread and better color representation... After all the plants can use much more of the light from a t5 than from a mh.

The again not necessarily, I have a MH in an air cooled hood, i could literally put the glass lense directly on top of my canopy if I wanted and still keep things plenty cool. The 250 MH has a penetration of about 12 inches, the penetration of T5's would be less even with a fixture of equal wattage.

Any need for a mh in veg over or after a t5

You can grow trees under a single MH bulb and run a much tighter floor space using a horizontal bulb, 1000watts worth of horizonatl t5s would take up much more space. Not to say you couldnt grow a tree under T5s but you'd have to box the plant in with light fixtures. With T5s to get the best results you have to keep the plants shorter because the light cannot penetrate as deep into the canopy.
If T5s were really so great you'd see large scale grow ops using them and not HPS and MH. Any person well versed in growing weed would tell you its hard to match the penetration of HID lighting right now. T5s would be ok for a personal grower but anything else they just wouldnt cut it. For instance my 600w lumatek digital ballast works perfect over a 3x4 (50watts per sqaure foot) grow space, 600w of T5 fixtures would take up more like 5 x 4 grow space which ultimately give you less than 50 watts per square foot.

And which one vegs faster?

See your first question
Click to expand...

If we were talking about growing lettuce I'd say the t5's would work perfect, MJ is a bit different, it grows tall, it grows bushy and the buds want to be soaked with heavy penetrating light. Lots of lighting options have popped up over the last few years, t5's, LED, someday these might compete with HID's, but right now theyre just not there. There is a reason why my t5s are collecting dust right now, I just see no benefit of running them over my digi's.
 
Medium Pimpin'

Medium Pimpin'

Ask Beavis, I Get Nothing Butt Head
Veteran
this is about the 3rd different subforum i have seen this same thread in.
while your at it, there a a couple subforums you didn't post this in yet.
get to work!!


on the real, practice patience and read up on burning temps (kelvin) and relationships to color spectrums and MJ.
 
MileHighGuy

MileHighGuy

Active member
Veteran
T5's are awesome..... If you don't have heat issues, keep the Metal Halide.... there is a reason everyone uses them, they work.

IMO they both work great when used properly.

I just prefer T5's to keep temperature, ventilation, and electricity costs down. Not to mention, you can get several T5's for the price of one HID Bulb, Ballast and Air cooled hood.... and, to keep it simple in my tent, I was able to daisy chain three T5's together.... I love that.
 
U

UptownShakes

I've researched this quite a bit and after all my reading it seems, and correct me if I'm wrong ... For short plants, in veg we're talking, verging 12 inch or shorter plants that the t5 is superior ... Would you guys/gals agree there?

Also vie heard that the amount of light is what keeps the nodes tight ... Basically a t5 or a mh at optimal distance will both produce tight node spacing ... Essentially it comes down to the growing environment
 
U

UptownShakes

And yes, I figured if I worded a new post a bit differently I might get more responses ... Guilty as charged
 
gaiusmarius

gaiusmarius

me
Veteran
you are not allowed to make multiple versions of the same thread. it's considered spamming and will get your threads deleted .
 
U

UptownShakes

gaiusmarius said:
you are not allowed to make multiple versions of the same thread. it's considered spamming and will get your threads deleted .
Click to expand...

Point noted, won't happen again.

I generally don't by the way, occasionally however, in an occasion where a timely answer is of the essence I have made the exception but for all points and purposes i will keep that in mind for the future, my apologies ...

Thank you for being such a well polished moderator ...And incidentally, for future reference, I research long and hard so if i post a question or two, it's cause I'm drained from research and still at a loss. Im not just a lazy loaf lol ...

By the way, thank you all kindly for your input
 
MileHighGuy

MileHighGuy

Active member
Veteran
One more fact I found... Not sure how true it is -

-95% Lumen Maintenance For T5HO
-HID light levels drop as much as 60% as the lamps age.
-T5HO light levels maintain 95% over the life of the lamp.
 
MileHighGuy

MileHighGuy

Active member
Veteran
The HO T5's do get hot... but I can touch the bulbs with my hands and keep the light within a few inches without any issues.

In my 4' x 8' Sunhut XXL tent, I have Three HO T5 lights totaling 16 bulbs and all I have is one 4" exhaust fan, the temps are at about 75 - 80 all the time.
 
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