6 tube T5 or 400watt MH

which is better for veg a 6 tube T5 or a horizontal 400watt MH in an air cooled hood?

T5's if they are 4' and you have the extra time to veg them out longer. Dont work well if you have plants in different stages of veg because you want T5's very close.
400W MH if you want fast growth with tight nodes.

If i had to choose between my T5's and my 400w i would take the 400w. It doesnt produce a lot of heat. I run t5's as side lighting with a 400w above to veg, works great so there is always that option.

Well for me its one or the other, and I think 400 fits my purpose best, thanks for all your help

The 400 is cheaper to rebulb. Jmo. cn

yes and its better for my uses because i intend to setup a perpetual and so there will be bigger and smaller plants, therefore I need something that has equal light spreadage over each different level of canopy e.g. a 400

The New Jim Jones said:

yes and its better for my uses because i intend to setup a perpetual and so there will be bigger and smaller plants, therefore I need something that has equal light spreadage over each different level of canopy e.g. a 400

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In that case the T5 has much to recommend it. It's not a point source like the MH. I'm running a point-source 300W light right now, and I'm a bit bothered by the light pattern. cn

If you went t5 you could just raise the pots of the smaller plants. I like t5 for moms and veg for the same reason cannabinner said. Every plant has the light source directly over it. T5 bulbs cost more then mh but if I remember correctly there lumen output doesnt drop as fast as a mh bulb.

The only thing with t5 is they can put out and trap alot of heat under them. The fixture acts like a embrella. I wouldnt recommend a fixture that takes up your whole width of grow space. Ie: I ran a sunblaze 48 (47"long 22"wide) in a 4'x2' tent and temps were in the mid 80s in a a/ced room. But with a sb 44 there 73-75.

If you're canopy isn't even, you're not going to get equal light regardless of what light you use.. The 400 loses intensity real fast over a short distance.