T5 vs. MH
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supersmallgiant
Member
Penetration...
These are my reason to use T5 instead of HID
1.Price is way cheaper to use T5 then it is to use HID
2.I dont see a growth difference in veg there both the same( Unless 1k are used but thats a huge waste imo)
3.Light penetration in veg is meaningless with plants so small 24" or less.
4.My veg and flower rooms are separate so I carry the plants to the HID room
5.usually plants dont stretch at all in veg so the size is very uniform.
Hid lights have a huge impact in flowering more then in veg. Im sure that if someone had
5k and vegged there plants in there they would respond well. Is it worth the extra cost? I will save a tone of cash on the PGE bill with T5.
1.Price is way cheaper to use T5 then it is to use HID
2.I dont see a growth difference in veg there both the same( Unless 1k are used but thats a huge waste imo)
3.Light penetration in veg is meaningless with plants so small 24" or less.
4.My veg and flower rooms are separate so I carry the plants to the HID room
5.usually plants dont stretch at all in veg so the size is very uniform.
Hid lights have a huge impact in flowering more then in veg. Im sure that if someone had
5k and vegged there plants in there they would respond well. Is it worth the extra cost? I will save a tone of cash on the PGE bill with T5.
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Guys, thanks for the responses. So I'm thinking about giving a MH 400 a try.
Question: Would there be something wrong with moving plants from 24/0 to 18/6 lighting schedules? Because right now the way I have it set up is a 4' 4 bulb T5 on the side and then a Darkroom tent with the HID setup.
Question: Would there be something wrong with moving plants from 24/0 to 18/6 lighting schedules? Because right now the way I have it set up is a 4' 4 bulb T5 on the side and then a Darkroom tent with the HID setup.
Reasons to use MH instead of T5 all the way through the vegetative state:
1. Faster Growth
2. Light penetration
3. Different height plants / strains (You don't have to constantly train to a perfectly flat canopy)
4. Easy switch over right to flower (HPS)
5. Price
1. Faster Growth
2. Light penetration
3. Different height plants / strains (You don't have to constantly train to a perfectly flat canopy)
4. Easy switch over right to flower (HPS)
5. Price
nope I use 24/0 and then swap to 18/6 later no issues. plants that dont care are autoflowering strains.
If you want to go with a 400w MH, i'd suggest looking into CMH (Ceramic Metal Halide) there is a great thread here on icmag about them, just do a search or look in the growroom lighting forum. They have a fantastic spectrum, very similar to full spectrum flouros only with more penetration. They are cheaper than most horti bulbs (~50 dollars a piece) Flowering with them seems to be a toss up, but they are an excellent veg bulb for sure. I am currently playing around with a combo of 2 bulbs of t-8 and 2 bulbs of t-5 while i get the rest of my room designed and setup, moved recently. I keep going back and forth with how I want to proceed. At first i was going to setup 2 600w hps to veg under. The last week or so i've been seeing some incredieble growth rates (1-1.5 inches in 2 hours, grew in total about 2.5 inches in ~14 hours) under the flouros. However i've been reading up on these CMH bulbs for a few weeks now and i'm fairly convinced I should just setup 3 400w lights for veg instead of muliple 4ft 6-8 bulb t-5 fixtures. As for you situation, I would weigh out first, if you have enough ventilation for a 400w in your setup. if you don't definitely go with the t-5's. Both bulbs will work well, but neither will work worth a shit if your plants are too hot. Efficiency of the bulb is also determined by the inverse square of light law. In other words which setup will allow you to keep all of your plants equally close to the light source. Due to room size/shape it maybe a better use of power to use the t-5's over the 400, or vise verse. All comes down to what works best for you and your rooms capabilties. Hope that was somewhat helpfull. i'm a bit looped on my meds at the moment, so I may not make complete sense. If anything needs clairification or expansion feel free to let me know and I will do my best to explain better, once my mind is back in one piece lol. As for your other question, there will be zero ill effects from switching 24/0 to 18/6.
Absolutely! CMH is awesome. Got a 400 going right now. Biggest advantage IMHO - no need to change ballasts.
supersmallgiant
Member
You want to shoot for at least 50w per square foot. 2x 600s would be the smallest setup to break that at 52w per.
In a 5x5 tent, you could reasonably use 1 - 1000w in a magnum xxl or similar, a vertical reflector, or just straight vertical bulb. 2 - 600w in appropriate reflector (check picos thread for the best foot print for your space) vertical reflectors would also work very well here, but you may need air cooling for the 1000w or the 600w's. or 4 400w bulbs in appropriate reflectors or vertical bare bulb. whatever you choice make absolutely sure you can cool them. I would opt for the two 600's or the 4 400's for better light penetration/distrubtion, but you have to consider your setup and see what is most fesible for you in the real world.
ive grown with 4x49w t5 (4200lm) and though they grow fine.
they look rather pathetic next to plants ive vegged under a 400w mh.
which again looked rather pathetic
next to plants ive vegged under a 600w hps.
which looked rather pathetic next to plants this guy on another forum vegged with 1-2 1000w hps´s.
the mh grows them the most natural looking.
but under the hps, the plants got much thicker stems and bigger leaves.
slightly more stretched but the stronger stems and leaves more than made up for it.
best looking veg? 400mh and 600w together, look very naturalistic and more elongated leaves (prettier)
but its only really that , that gets added. grow no faster or dont make bigger or better buds.
plus mh bulbs are a lot more expensive.
they look rather pathetic next to plants ive vegged under a 400w mh.
which again looked rather pathetic
next to plants ive vegged under a 600w hps.
which looked rather pathetic next to plants this guy on another forum vegged with 1-2 1000w hps´s.
the mh grows them the most natural looking.
but under the hps, the plants got much thicker stems and bigger leaves.
slightly more stretched but the stronger stems and leaves more than made up for it.
best looking veg? 400mh and 600w together, look very naturalistic and more elongated leaves (prettier)
but its only really that , that gets added. grow no faster or dont make bigger or better buds.
plus mh bulbs are a lot more expensive.
You'll want to use all of the 5'x5' with a 1K... no question, no doubt about it. Which bulb(s) is the question! ;-)
G
guest121295
You want meaty plants, use a fat MH lamp.I use 1000 MH to veg after initial 2 weeks with flouros.Personally you can't beat a MH for veg growth, 400 or 1000.I have a T5 rack too, I use it as a work light.
I have friends who grow the hell out of shit with a T5 rack in veg, perhaps it's long habit, I've used MH as well as every other light possible over 25 yrs and if you want plants with some real thickness, MH is the way to go at the moment.Here's one of my MH veg plants, 1000W.
I have friends who grow the hell out of shit with a T5 rack in veg, perhaps it's long habit, I've used MH as well as every other light possible over 25 yrs and if you want plants with some real thickness, MH is the way to go at the moment.Here's one of my MH veg plants, 1000W.
