t5's or metal halide?

[bubba902]

I'm with you 7green, I need the heat from the HPS, Its in the basement and 50F in there. I'm glad to keep 72-74 light on, no exhaust, and intake on with a lil crack in the door.. Going to end up having to add a heater I think.. I switched to 24/0

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Love the MH, heats not an issue cuz I need as much heat as possible in my grow space.

Maybe now, but what about the summer?

 

[dman1234]

Maybe now, but what about the summer?

but waht about next winter???

LOL, i know from what i have seen that T5's are the bomb, But MH is still the ultimate veg light, imo, T5's do a very good job and may be better on the pocket book but they wont back up a HPS very good if yours fails during flower.

Not trying to be controversial, i believe both MH and T5's are fine for veg.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

Well, like I said, I have a 400W MH just sitting there not being used. It is not energy savings--I really do not care about the small difference in wattage. It is that I truly did get just as good or better veggy growth from 216W of T5 as I get from 400W of MH. I believe that being able to keep the light so much closer to the plants is what makes the difference. My space also stays warm enough. Dman, what makes the MH the ultimate light? Have you tried T5s? Not trying to be controversial either, I am just curious as I believe the opposite.

 

[7greeneyes]

Maybe now, but what about the summer?

Never had a problem, I just leave a door open and vent the heat...Did it this whole summer and had ZERO issues.

eace:,

7GE

 

[Ryder]

I still use both.. I love T5's for small to medium size vegging plants.. Compact growth with tight nodes, less heat and generally the plants love them but I still use MH if I have large Mother Plants because of the deeper light penetration...... peace

 

[7greeneyes]

:yeahthat:

 

[juniorgrower]

What size t5 is needed for a 3x5 grow area?

 

[pcduck]

3x5=15sqftx5000lumens=75,000lumens needed for that grow space. So whatever ones give you that number and you should be good to go. This is for flower.

for veg is would be 3x5=15sqftx3000lumens=45000 So whatever ones give you that number and you should be good to go. For veg

 

[stevetberry]

I have never tried T5's but for me it is the convenience of not having to switch the lights and store the one that I am not using. IMO, it makes more sense to use MH and HPS if you do not have seperate veg and flower rooms. The heat is a wash for me because I exhaust the air back into the house in winter and exhaust it into the attic when it is warm. I love my switchable ballast because I can start out at 400 watt of MH until they are 4 weeks then I turn it up to 600 watt MH for 2 weeks and then flower them on 600 watt HPS for the duration. I can do all of this with 2 bulbs per ballast.

 

[Ryder]

After reading all the different situations we have going on here.. I think its safe to say that both these lighting styles have there place and are both very efficient if used correctly... Im a big T5 fan because the plants love them and grow great as long as your temps and humidity are dialed in.. I think the same can be said for MH.. I wouldnt put a nice size Mother under T5's because they dont have much light penetration beyond 7 or 8 inches and the bottom shoots would get insufficient light.. It all depends on what you have going on.... Heres my T5 tent.. Its a DR120 that I use horizontally instead of vertically.. Its perfect for T5's and younger plants.. When there larger and if there kept as Mothers they go under a 400 MH

 

[7greeneyes]

:yeahthat: there ya go...Well stated and I concur :cool2:

7ge

 

[1lildog]

I've got 4 t-5's and I don't use them anymore. I seem to be doing a better job at keeping the vented dimmable 1000k (set on 50%) lights cooler than the t-5's.

 

[The Hemp Goddess]

I've got 4 t-5's and I don't use them anymore. I seem to be doing a better job at keeping the vented dimmable 1000k (set on 50%) lights cooler than the t-5's.

I find that very very surprising. What kind of ventilation are you using with the T5s? I find that I can keep my space cool with minimal air exchange--less than once a minute.

 

[1lildog]

Me too, I don't understand it. Cap intake 6" fan and another 6" exhaust. 8000 sq ft area, sealed, foam roof, climate controlled. 2 lights on 50% with 1 fan exhausting them on 50% they are pretty cool. I don't monitor how hot the glass is but I monitor the tops and they run 70-72 degrees.

 

[Hushpuppy]

What size t5 is needed for a 3x5 grow area?

For your area, (if you are using the one space for both veg and flower, you have a couple of choices), I would use a 6 bulb T5 fixture for seedlings, clones and young growth, then switch to a 600watt HPS/mh electronic ballast unit for flowering. If you intend to veg the plants longer to get them taller than 12" before flipping then you can put a MH600w bulb in and continue to veg until they are as tall as you want.

Having the convenience of just switching bulbs is nice, but as THG said, heat is a constant issue that you have to consider.

Another option (that I currently use) is to have again the T5 lights for the younger growth (you could go with an 8bulb fixture to bump up the lumens to 40k) I think even though the T5s don't have the penetration that the HIDs have, you can still get easily up to 16" tall plants without any issues. Then switch to 2 400w HPS mounted above the T5 fixture at opposing angles so that the plants get plenty of lumens and better penetration to lower leaves without as much issue of shading.

There are still more options that depend on your particular setup as every one is a bit different and there is no one better option, IMO, for all situations.

 

[johnnybuds]

Yeah I agree that T5s are really nice and work great but I also use MH with my T5s for added lumen potency and it gives extra spectrum as the T5 is 6400k and MH is 5100k. I run the T5s for young startups and until they are close to switching, then I turn on the MH for a week or longer if I am wanting to add some veg growth. I can tell you that I can see them take off when I turn on the MH with the T5s.

:yeahthat: