T5 HO

PepTalk

PepTalk

Anyone have anything good to say about these? Im seeing them in the stores for 39.99 plus the cost of 2 HO bulbs. They are rated at 5000 lu. Supposedly they have a specialized ballast.
I need to upgrade my standard T5. My peppers and tomatoes are reaching for the sky!
I'm not into buying a 250 or 400w MH.
I just wanna save a few dollars and get the best bang for the buck.
 
T5 HOs work well. They are cheaper to run than MH but I didn't know that they were cheaper to buy. When I bought mine they were much more costly but I save on electricity and cooling. They don't put out as much heat as the MH but they are NOT heat free as some advertise. HO stands for high output, @54 watts = abt 5000 lu. The new ones out are VHO (very high output) and something like 110 watts = abt 8000 lu. I forgot the exact figure right now but you can look into it. So, light your room up as much as you like with these fluorescents but you may have to invest in some cooling as well. If you do not have the right ballast the bulbs won't get to wattage they need, so you can not stick a 54 watt bulb in your frame and get the same light effect. I don't know if they will even fire up.
 
HIDs are actually cheaper to run and cooler than any other light source. The issue you get is there is only one bulb in a 400watt metal halide and 8 bulbs in an equivalent 400watt T5. HIDs have a higher output of light as well just in a smaller area.
 
i just got two 4 foot 2 bulb strip T5HO lights. Very Bright. Perfect for my set up i just built. One strip lights up a two foot by four foot area prefectly. Sounds like what you are talking about. These were $40 each and $10 for each of the 54watt bulbs. So at $60 a strip they are a good deal. Just saw a four bulb T5HO light at the grow store and it was $225.
I also took aluminum foil and draped over to make a hood/reflector to help keep light aimed down. Seems to help with these just being strips. Plants are loving them!
 
I disagree about the "cooler" part, if you compare 600 watt MH and ~450 watt HO T5, the HO T5's are cooler, and are comparable in performance.

As for the whole "you get more lumens per watts with HID," I think this is a statement that is underthought. Basically what people say is that you will get more penetration (2+ feet) with MH due to higher lumens. However, a lot of the time, you don't really need that much light penetration (think lettuce, smaller toms, Jalapenos, strawberries, etc.), but really what you want is a larger surface area for your growing area so you can grow more plants rather than really tall ones. You can cover the same amount of grow surface area with my 8-bulb HO T5 setup (~450 watts) as you can with a 600 watt MH bulb. So you tell me, which is more efficient if I don't need those penetrating lumens? If I grow the same amount of lettuce with a 450 watt HO T5 as a 600 watt MH, I think that the HO T5 is cheaper, as we pay for electricity in terms of KwH or based on the amount of watts we use in other words.
 
GA Growhead said:
i just got two 4 foot 2 bulb strip T5HO lights. Very Bright. Perfect for my set up i just built. One strip lights up a two foot by four foot area prefectly. Sounds like what you are talking about. These were $40 each and $10 for each of the 54watt bulbs. So at $60 a strip they are a good deal. Just saw a four bulb T5HO light at the grow store and it was $225.
I also took aluminum foil and draped over to make a hood/reflector to help keep light aimed down. Seems to help with these just being strips. Plants are loving them!
Click to expand...
Exactly, This is what I was looking for. $60 vs $200+ and more Kwh usage, no thanks, I'm just starting seedlings not growing out plants.

GA Grow did you find these at HDepot?
 
PepTalk said:
Exactly, This is what I was looking for. $60 vs $200+ and more Kwh usage, no thanks, I'm just starting seedlings not growing out plants.

GA Grow did you find these at HDepot?
Click to expand...

Yes. Be prepare to wire in a plug. I used extra power cables from computers of the past. And to clarify, $120 for two strip w/bulbs versus $225 at the grow store without bulbs. You don't get the killer reflector like the G store's ones, that's what you pay extra for. I am covering two 4ft x 2ft shelves for that price.
 
GA Growhead said:
Yes. Be prepare to wire in a plug. I used extra power cables from computers of the past. And to clarify, $120 for two strip w/bulbs versus $225 at the grow store without bulbs. You don't get the killer reflector like the G store's ones, that's what you pay extra for. I am covering two 4ft x 2ft shelves for that price.
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Yep, I will be making my way to HD tomorrow afternoon, Thankx GA
 
Helltaco said:
Oh. I guess when they describe fluorescents as "cooler" light sources by comparison with HID lights they mean like hipper or groovier or something.
Click to expand...

Probably color temp, cooler= bluer.

hydromike said:
I disagree about the "cooler" part, if you compare 600 watt MH and ~450 watt HO T5, the HO T5's are cooler, and are comparable in performance.

As for the whole "you get more lumens per watts with HID," I think this is a statement that is underthought. Basically what people say is that you will get more penetration (2+ feet) with MH due to higher lumens. However, a lot of the time, you don't really need that much light penetration (think lettuce, smaller toms, Jalapenos, strawberries, etc.), but really what you want is a larger surface area for your growing area so you can grow more plants rather than really tall ones. You can cover the same amount of grow surface area with my 8-bulb HO T5 setup (~450 watts) as you can with a 600 watt MH bulb. So you tell me, which is more efficient if I don't need those penetrating lumens? If I grow the same amount of lettuce with a 450 watt HO T5 as a 600 watt MH, I think that the HO T5 is cheaper, as we pay for electricity in terms of KwH or based on the amount of watts we use in other words.
Click to expand...

Comparing a 600watt MH vs a 450watt T5HO is like cheating. Compare wattage because that is the cost. You can find 400watt metal halide high bays all day for 25-40 bucks vs i dont know how many hundreds for a 450watt T5HO, hang them on an 8 foot ceiling and have a grow area of 10x10. That is what the penetrating lumens get you. I didn't say HIDs were the best for every application. I agree that crops like lettuce and strawberries a T5 setup or even a T8 setup would provide stellar yields without the cost or power usage of an HID but to say the penetration doesn't matter on tomatoes and peppers is a bit wrong.
 
millworkman said:
Probably color temp, cooler= bluer.



Comparing a 600watt MH vs a 450watt T5HO is like cheating. Compare wattage because that is the cost. You can find 400watt metal halide high bays all day for 25-40 bucks vs i dont know how many hundreds for a 450watt T5HO, hang them on an 8 foot ceiling and have a grow area of 10x10. That is what the penetrating lumens get you. I didn't say HIDs were the best for every application. I agree that crops like lettuce and strawberries a T5 setup or even a T8 setup would provide stellar yields without the cost or power usage of an HID but to say the penetration doesn't matter on tomatoes and peppers is a bit wrong.
Click to expand...
I dont know how to respond to this, sounds like a pissn match to me. I didnt ask for an analogy, I just wanting some info on T5 HO's .
I am not growing indoors to full fruiting maturity, just starting seeds.
 
Ive been using the Hydrofarm 4' Strip T5HO's for years. They come with a nice reflector, bulb and switch on the power cord.
I want to say I paid around $89 a piece for them.
Enough light to flower orchids and bromiliads.

Ive never used HID lights before but just the power consumption and heat turns me off to the idea.
 
millworkman, you've been driving that car of yours to all the wrong places. I've got a couple of thousand dollars invested in fluorescents and my returns have been phenomenal. My cooling bills are way down from using T5s instead of HIDs. A small T5 makes more sense to me than a large T8.
 
millworkman said:
Probably color temp, cooler= bluer.



Comparing a 600watt MH vs a 450watt T5HO is like cheating. Compare wattage because that is the cost. You can find 400watt metal halide high bays all day for 25-40 bucks vs i dont know how many hundreds for a 450watt T5HO, hang them on an 8 foot ceiling and have a grow area of 10x10. That is what the penetrating lumens get you. I didn't say HIDs were the best for every application. I agree that crops like lettuce and strawberries a T5 setup or even a T8 setup would provide stellar yields without the cost or power usage of an HID but to say the penetration doesn't matter on tomatoes and peppers is a bit wrong.
Click to expand...

Right.

What I wrote:

"However, a lot of the time, you don't really need that much light penetration (think lettuce, smaller toms, Jalapenos, strawberries, etc.),"

I didn't say, nor mean to come across as saying that for tomatoes or large peppers that the HID wouldn't be more worthwhile. Just that it depends on what application you're using the light for and for many types of plants the penetration power wont be as useful.

Too each their own I suppose. In the end, I think the value of both types of setups are similar. However, the HO badboy T5 setup I have right now looks much better than the 400 watt HID setup I used to have.
 
I bought my Hydrofarm® T5 HO 4' 4 Bulb for $80 used on Craigslist and ever since I bought it, it's been kicking ass.

As for the usability I seen guys here use that Walmart T8 shop light and it's a 4' , 2 bulb. Good results with those too. Like millman said save the bucks and get the T8's if you only want to grow them til plant out. If you just want a pimped out light get the T5's. They're pretty and work very good, and have good penetration.

If still in doubt just check out the glogs and see what everyone is using and what results they get. Then go with what you really want and achieve.

,Vegas
 
PepTalk said:
I am not growing indoors to full fruiting maturity, just starting seeds.
Click to expand...

This makes the answer simple. I have single bulb T-5, 5,000 lumens. I have used it to start seeds (6 to 8 weeks before transplanting into the garden) for the last 4 years, and the results have been great. This is my unit:

http://www.amazon.co...uct/B0001XLSGQ/

Check out my grog from last season for proof:

http://thehotpepper.com/topic/29098-dragon49s-2012-grow-log/

Best of luck!
 
millworkman said:
You can find 400watt metal halide high bays all day for 25-40 bucks vs i dont know how many hundreds for a 450watt T5HO, hang them on an 8 foot ceiling and have a grow area of 10x10.
Click to expand...

I'd love to find a MH fixture with ballast for $25-$40. Have a link or vendor to share?
Comparable 400w-450w T5 HO is $150-$189 including bulbs/shipping.
 
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