# t5 help



## legalize_freedom (Jan 18, 2010)

I have 1 1/2'x3'x6' veg space.  I had been running a 400w switchable ballast in there, but decided that it was overkill for the application.  I have seen that many of you here have been haveing success with the HO t5 systems, so I ordered one from hydro farm.  It is a 2' 4 bulb deal.  I moved the 400 into my flowering room, along with my 600w HPS.

My question is how far off the tops do you all keep your t5's?  Also this light produces very little heat, and I am now haveing trouble keeping my veg cabinet warm enough.  My cab is in my basement, where the temp is around 65*.  I thought about putting a false floor in the veg cab, so that the space was alot smaller than 6'...maybe go with 1/2 of that to help keep it warm.  I'm open to other ideas to...I also thought about running the exhaust from my flower room into my veg, but this will only produce heat for 12 of the 24 hrs a day.  

I'm wanting to pop a few of my Atomic Bluberry Jam seeds, but I'm afraid to with this low of temps...I know I could keep them alive, but I'm afraid they won't thrive.  The C99/AK47 clones I have in the veg cab now are alive, but they are not doing alot of growing at the moment...and I know it is because of the cool temps.

I just wondered if any of you have run into similar problems with your t5's if running in a basement...if so what are you doing to rectify it?  Thanks in advance.  Do I just follow the hand under th light rule on how high to hang the t5?  Because I believe I could hang it 2" from the tops without burning them.  Thanks for your time folks!


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## umbra (Jan 18, 2010)

I run the same 4 2' T5 setup in my basement. I keep my lite about 3" from the top of the plants. When first starting out seedlings, I use a seedling heat mat. Solves the temp problem and is inexpensive.


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## pcduck (Jan 18, 2010)

I have 4' 4 bulb 54 watt t-5's and have them right down on top of my plants. Like 1" works great.


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## Gone2pot! (Jan 18, 2010)

I only have one, it's all the light I have. It frequently touches the plant (I move it around, it's not hard mounted. I need more light I know, but to address your question, it has not burned any leaves when touching them.


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 18, 2010)

Allright thanks guys!  

Umbra, are you dealing with this low of temps to? (mid 60's) I have the clones on a heating mat right now, but I mean it's hard to reach 70 in there right now with it being so cold outside.  My clones stems have all turned purple, and growth has really slowed down.  I think cutting the height in half will help alot, and I will try running a couple CFL's in there to help bring up the temp some.  In 4 or 5 weeks I can move the clones into the flower space, and veg them for a week or so there to get them healthy.   I'm a little nervouse to pop any seeds until I get some better temps...which sucks cause I wanted to flower the atomic plants at the same time as the clones.  And then shutdown the indoor through the heat of the summer.


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## umbra (Jan 18, 2010)

Yes I'm doing some clones right now. My set up is in a cabinet I made. Temps with the mat are about 74 degrees.


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 19, 2010)

Thanks man...I think I'm just going to have to make my cab smaller...6' is overkill anyway, but it is made out of an amwar (sp?) thats what my ex called it...lol. double door closet type thing.  but I could put like a shelf in it to shorten the area.  That will give it a lot less area to let the heat build up a bit.  Thanks for the tips folks!

This light sure doesn't seem very bright...but you guys are all haveing success with them for veg huh?  I guess I'm just used to seeing that 400mh in there.  Do you guys run all blue spectrum bulbs, or do you mix say one red in there?


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 19, 2010)

legalize_freedom said:
			
		

> Thanks man...I think I'm just going to have to make my cab smaller...6' is overkill anyway, but it is made out of an amwar (sp?) thats what my ex called it...lol. double door closet type thing.  but I could put like a shelf in it to shorten the area.  That will give it a lot less area to let the heat build up a bit.  Thanks for the tips folks!
> 
> This light sure doesn't seem very bright...but you guys are all haveing success with them for veg huh?  I guess I'm just used to seeing that 400mh in there.  Do you guys run all blue spectrum bulbs, or do you mix say one red in there?



All T5s are not created equal.  Are you sure you got the HO T5?  What is the wattage and lumen output of your tubes?

My 4' 4 tube T5 from HTG has 54W tubes that put out 5000 lumens each (20,000 lumens total).  My 2' 2 tube T5 are also 54W tubes that put out 5000 lumens each (10,000 lumens total).


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 19, 2010)

Hydro Farm called it an HO...I'll have to look, but I think they were 27w for the 2' tubes, I'll be pizzed if it's not what I wanted!  I'll have to check the website as far as lumens, the box doesn't say.  I'll get back to you on it.

if mine are not the 54w like yours do you think I could buy the ballast for thse tubes and install it in this same housing?  I guess I should have done a little more research...I thought HO was HO...


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## DonJones (Jan 19, 2010)

legalize freedom,

Using the CFLs to add heat may work, but usually incandescent bulbs give off more heat, but the light is not real beneficial.  CFLs produce a more concentrated light and heat than normal florescents, but I believe the total is the same.

You can change the ballasts but I'm not real sure where to get them.  I think someone said they get them at Home Deport for around $37US each.

THG, is the 4' setup HO or just standard?  I always thought that the 4' tube had twice the wattage/lumens as the 2' tubes.  Am I misinformed ?

Great smoking.


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## OldHippieChick (Jan 19, 2010)

HTG claims that it's 2' HO T5s also put out 5000 lumens each.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 19, 2010)

OldHippieChick said:
			
		

> HTG claims that it's 2' HO T5s also put out 5000 lumens each.



Yes, they are a special double tube fluoro--they do not look like the normal tubes.  I believe they call them PL-55 tubes--10,000 lumens from this fixture.


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## DonJones (Jan 19, 2010)

I see now, it is actually a 4' bulb in a 2' space.  That makes sense. 

How hard are they to find?

Great smoking.


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 19, 2010)

mine is a 4 bulb deal, but not set up like that...mine are 4 single bulbs...crap  I guess I should have looked into it a little better.  Mine has 4 bulbs, spaced evenly apart...I'm pretty sure they said they were 5000 each though, or I wouldn't have bought them...I will have to look.


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## RAR. (Jan 19, 2010)

Hey legal on your lamp ends wherethe label is imprinted  on the tubes see if it says something like f54t5860. That's what my lamps say, 54 is your wattage, the 860 is 6000k color. My 12 lamp t5 it puts off a good bit of heat I currently running mine 24" above growth, mine is in basement also,


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 19, 2010)

RAR mines a 2' t5, it says flt5264 for a replacement bulb.  they say high output tubes. but the whole light is 96 watts...so would that make each bulb 24w?  I'm new to these floro's...lol...I'm used to using HID's ...man that feels wierd to say.  I can't find the lumens anywhere on the box, or in the paperwork, I'll have to check the bulbs somehow online.  If this isn't the right thing, Hydro Farm is going to get an earful!  THG...do you know if I can get those bulbs and ballasts seperately?  I'll just use this fixture and change everything out if I need to, if I can.  If it's not what i want, I'm going to send it back...screw it...I'll say it don't work, loosen a wire or something.  I've only had it for a few days.  I guess I thought HO meant HO...and they were all the same, kind of like a 400w HPS is just that....I guess I should have done a little more research?


6800 lumens is what the hydrofarm site says...so it's going back, if I can get one more powerful...THG yours came from HTG?


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## surreptitious (Jan 20, 2010)

LF, thank you for asking this question.  i also am starting to veg some clones with HO T5s and was wondering how high above the plants the lights should be.

do you have a link to the product you purchased?  96 watts total looks like 24 watts per bulb to me.  I have the sunlight supply sunblaze T-5 lamp.  i've got 2 of them...one is 4ft 4 bulb and the other is 4ft 6 bulb.  each of the bulbs are 54 HO bulbs made by Spectralux.  8 of bulbs are 6500k and 2 of them are 3000k

but now that i think about it.  i also have a 2ft one with 4 bulbs and i believe those bulbs are 24 watts and they are HO as well.  is your lamp a 2ft one or 4ft one?

oh and it's armoire.  it's french i believe.


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 20, 2010)

2' I don't have a link, but I bought if off ebay, and I'm thinking I must have gotten confused looking at so may that night...becuase I know what I need for minimum lumens, and I could have sworn I thought I was getting a total of 10,000, but after looking at the hydro-farm site it says this fixture only produces 6,800.  I have decided to keep it, I'll find some use for it, as side lighting maybe, it was my mistake in not fully researching it.  You can look at it at hydrofarm.com I guess if you want to.

For now I put 2 shop light dome style reflectors, the clamp on type with 45w cfl's in there.  I have these bulbs from a cloner setup that I use. they are supposed to be equivelant of a 150w bulbs.  I don't know how many lumens they produce, but I know they have worked for me in a pinch before for vegging so these 2 cfls along with the t5 will have to work for now in my 4.5 sq ft.  adding the cfl's warmed up the space quite a bit to.  Right now I'm feeling like I was misled by the seller of the light, but on the other hand it could very well be that I got confused on what I was buying to, I guess I looked at so many lights the night that I bought them, that I think I took for granted that all HO t5's were the same.

I'm certainly not going to pull the 400w out of the flower room, cause it is serving it's purpose nicely in there with the 600w...I should have combined those a long time ago...lol.  Oh well live and learn!


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 20, 2010)

I also have a 4' 4 tube T5 (tubes are 54W) that puts out 20,000 lumens.  I buy my T5s from HTG because they have the best prices with the best lumen output.  I do not think that you can change out to higher wattage bulbs (I think that ballast must match like with HIDs)--but I don't really know for positive.  You might call HTG.  If you could put some 54W 5000 lumen bulbs in that fixture, you could be cranking out 20,000 lumens.

I am not sure exactly what the HO designation really means.  Your bulbs are 24W and put out 1700 lumens or 70 lumens per watt.  The 54W 5000 lumen bulbs put out over 92 lumens per watt.


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 20, 2010)

Yeah ...thanks THG, I'm pretty sure that you can't change the bulbs without changing the ballast.  I haven't tore into the housing or anything, but I know that changing the ballast on a regular floro is a simple process I wonder if I could buy a ballast and 4 bulbs for those 54w tubes...and switch it out with whatever the ballast in mine is...I may have to do some modifying, but I'm sure I can do it if the ballast dimensions are the same.

Sure sucks haveing to tear into a brand new light though!...I feel like a dumb mule...lol...should have done a little more homework I guess.  Chalk it up to learning!


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## pcduck (Jan 20, 2010)

get another lamp, most likely would be cheaper and just use 27watt for seedlings. When I was checking I also was :confused2: then realized what was going on, I then had to go back and recheck all prices for the 54 watt lights.


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## mojavemama (Jan 20, 2010)

I use 4 foot T5 Ho's in veg and flowering. I augment with CFL's in flower. 
I keep my plants as close as possible, I'd say 3 inches max from the tops. I adjust the height daily. They do give out heat, yes, but not as much as my old T12's and T8's--but maybe because I have less of the T5's. I don't know. I just know the plants seem to love them and not get burned. 

HTG is good on prices, unbelievably good. You can get 4 4' HO T5 bulbs for $20! Locally, I pay $11 each for them--either 6500K or 3000K. 

I think the CFL's are much hotter, give off more heat than my T5 HO bulbs.


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## Gone2pot! (Jan 20, 2010)

I'm jumping in with a really dumb question...what is HTG? Just .com after it? I can't think of a store with those initials. newbie, newbie, newbie, newbie newbie...etc.


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## The Hemp Goddess (Jan 20, 2010)

HTG is *H*igh *T*ech *G*arden Supply.  hXXp://www.htgsupply.com/about.asp
Change the XX to tt.

Weirdly, I noticed that it is cheaper to get 2 4' 2 tube fixtures (2 x 49.95= 99.90) than it is to get 1 4' 4 tube fixture (129.95).  I had a couple of bulbs that did not last a year and they were very good about replacing them.


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## legalize_freedom (Jan 21, 2010)

Yeah well I guess I learned a lesson here...I thought it didn't look like nearly enough light, but then I'm used to seeing a 400w in there.  I think maybe with my veg space being so small  (4.5 sq') that I may be better off with a lower wattage MH.  Even with your lamp THG it would be shy on the lumens I need, and would take up all the space.  I have like 6" on the ends of my fixture, and only maybe 3" on the front and back. The cabinet is 1 1/2' x 3' so I can't go biggr than a 2' t5.  Maybe I should have done a little better planning...lol...instead of getting baked with the credit card in front of me...lol

I am happy that I moved the 400w in with the 600w...that was a good move regardless, and the plants are loveing it.  I just should have looked a little closer when replaceing the 400.


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## Droopy Dog (Jan 21, 2010)

The Hemp Goddess said:
			
		

> Yes, they are a special double tube fluoro--they do not look like the normal tubes.  I believe they call them PL-55 tubes--10,000 lumens from this fixture.



This is what I have also, thanks to THG. 

Price is right, bulbs are cheap, and that sucker is bright!!!!!!  Bought 2.

DD


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