T5 Club... Show Us Your Stuff...

[ZZTops]

Sounds very interesting and Much Welcomed...

It's more like the Pirate's Code around here and they're more like Guide Lines...

Welcome aboard the Black Pearl...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b6kgS_AwuH0

 

[2 Legal Co]

Hey ZZ, it's starting to look like my tall sativa cabinet is going to end up being T5 VHO instead of T5HO... I have a ballast that will power 4 of the 54w T5HO tubes, but it runs them at 80w instead. Will I still be allowed in the club? Don't make me have to create another club (of which I will probably be the only member, lol).

How much extra heat do they make?
Saw one in a Grow store online, had an 'air cooled' cabinet on it.

Keep us posted as to how it goes please.

 

[2 Legal Co]

My neighbor says my house smells like Mary J Wanna?

How could that be?

 

[2 Legal Co]

I use 4 blubs @ 3000K & 4 bulbs @ 6400K in a 8 Tube Fixture...

That's what I've got too.

 

[hush]

I don't know how much extra heat they make, but one thing everyone agrees on is that this ballast will run 54w T5HO tubes at 80w. So, what is that, 50% more wattage? Will that transfer to 50% more heat? That I don't know. All I know is T5HO lamps are very hot to the touch, at their normal HO state, so overdriving them will almost certainly make them radiate too much heat. I need to contain that heat and separate the plants from it.

I've never overdriven T5 lights this much. I did overdrive a 31w tube to 39w one time, lol. But that hardly counts. All I know is that when I ran VHO T12's over my deep reef tank, I had to use a chiller in order not to cook my corals.

 

[SirSteely]

I don't know how much extra heat they make, but one thing everyone agrees on is that this ballast will run 54w T5HO tubes at 80w. So, what is that, 50% more wattage? Will that transfer to 50% more heat? That I don't know. All I know is T5HO lamps are very hot to the touch, at their normal HO state, so overdriving them will almost certainly make them radiate too much heat. I need to contain that heat and separate the plants from it.

I've never overdriven T5 lights this much. I did overdrive a 31w tube to 39w one time, lol. But that hardly counts. All I know is that when I ran VHO T12's over my deep reef tank, I had to use a chiller in order not to cook my corals.

heat and watts almost directly proportional i.e more watts=more heat

 

[2 Legal Co]

Hush
So it's a 600-700 watt ballast? Where did you come up with that..... and the idea to use it for T5s? Most interesting. ..... I think. lol

By the way. What temps do you keep corals at? Just curious.

 

[ZZTops]

My neighbor says my house smells like Mary J Wanna?

How could that be?

Marry J Wanna What...lol

 

[hush]

It's a popular ballast for reef keeping. It's called the Icecap 660. It is designed to safely overdrive everything. It can handle a maximum of 4 lamps at 440 watts, I think. The manufacturer designed it to work with VHOs, T5HOs, power compacts, our any mix-match thereof.

Most corals do well at around 75 degrees, give or take a few.

 

[ZZTops]

2 Legal Co... Up-Date...

I'll let 2LC explain what he's doing here...lol

 

[ZZTops]

It's a popular ballast for reef keeping. It's called the Icecap 660. It is designed to safely overdrive everything. It can handle a maximum of 4 lamps at 440 watts, I think. The manufacturer designed it to work with VHOs, T5HOs, power compacts, our any mix-match thereof.

Most corals do well at around 75 degrees, give or take a few.

I think you will be fine with the diy cool tubes you got going...

 

[2 Legal Co]

And now there is just One.

Sorry about the photos, I'm definitely not good with the camera.

These are/were from seed. One was ready, and the other still isn't. Soon maybe. lol

I won't have any weight #s, as i've not bothered to buy a scales. Let's just leave it at; I'm happy with the quality, strength, and volume.

The only 'problems' that I had were some gnats.

 

[njrmutcd]

How would 4 LST plants do vegetating with a 2' 8-bulb fixture? 192 watts total or 48 watts per plant in a 2' x 2' area. Flowering will be done in a 3x5x6 room with a 600w HPS.

 

[hush]

That sounds like a good plan, and it is the right amount of fluorescents for the size space, but you should know that most 8 bulb T5 fixtures are a bit wider than 2 feet, so if your space is exactly 2' x 2' you might have some problems. I think they tend to be around like 26 inches. Lengthwise, the 2' fixtures will fit in there just fine. It's the width that might be a problem.

That being said, even if you had to go with a 6 tube fixture, that would be plenty of light for vegetative growth, in that size space.

Edit: Or, you could put a 4 bulb unit suspended from above, while angling a 2 bulb unit over the front, and another one over the back. In other words, kind of making a quasi-dome shape over the plants.

 

[njrmutcd]

Yeah, I'll build a cabinet around the fixture. That's just the general size I'm working with... Thanks for the input!

 

[ZZTops]

And now there is just One.

Sorry about the photos, I'm definitely not good with the camera.

These are/were from seed. One was ready, and the other still isn't. Soon maybe. lol

I won't have any weight #s, as i've not bothered to buy a scales. Let's just leave it at; I'm happy with the quality, strength, and volume.

The only 'problems' that I had were some gnats.

Looks like some Fat Sticky Buds to Me...

 

[njrmutcd]

Question about vegetating with T5s: will the plants stress out when going from a T5 to a flowering HPS? I know when growers move from indoors to outdoors they need to "harden" the plant gradually to acclimate them to the more intense light.

 

[ZZTops]

Welcome aboard njrmutcd...!

YES... Great care is needed to make the transition from T5 to HPS just like from indoor to outdoor...

I place my 400W HPS at 24" from the canopy for a week and then slowly move closer 1" per day...

I learned the hard way on this, so take note...

 

[Hank Hemp]

Very good job right there!!!

 

[njrmutcd]

Welcome aboard njrmutcd...!

YES... Great care is needed to make the transition from T5 to HPS just like from indoor to outdoor...

I place my 400W HPS at 24" from the canopy for a week and then slowly move closer 1" per day...

I learned the hard way on this, so take note...

Thanks!