HO T5 Fact and Fiction

There has been a lot shit being talked about HO t5's and weather they are any good or not. For those who do not know a HO T5 is a High output linear fluorescent tube setup. I did some research and I also have a HO t5 setup, so I will be also speaking on experience.

Fiction HO T5's are less efficant than HID setups. This is not true. Here is a quote from Jorge Cervantes Jorge's RX in the latest high times

"Pay attention to the number of lumens produved. plants need lumens to grow. Your right a 250watt MH system is only 500 more lumens than your 200 watt HO t5 set up. Both lighting systems are very similar in lumen output,but the design of the t5 system makes it more efficient therefore more productive. The T5 fluorescent bulb delivers light along a long linear path, While a 250w MH system delivers light from a single point. Light diminishes to the square of the distance; in other words id fades fast. When light is delivered along a line rather than a single point it travels less distance to get to the plants. This makes the t5 inherently more efficient than the 250w MH lamp. Also the T5s run cooler than MH's so you can place them closer to the plants."
Jorge Cervantes
I am not going to argue with him!

Fact
T5's run cooler than HID. This is very true I have a 150 HPS and my 220w 6, 3 foot t5s are much cooler than that one bulb.

Fiction
You dont need to vent with T5s since they are so cool.
You always need to vent when indoor to get rid of the humid air. Yes T5 run cooler than HIDs but not "cool" they still get pretty warm and heat can build up in a enclosed space.

Fiction
T5 must be placed 2 inches away from plants.
Not true at all T5's are a High Output fluorescent. I found with my plant grew quickes when the t5's were 6 inches to a foot away.

Fact
T5's are expensive
This is true but the price in them is coming down a lot. watt for wat they are about equal to a HID setup.

Fiction
All Flourecents are the same and produce light fluffy buds
So very false! its in the name HIGH OUTPUT T5. They produce way more lumens than a reg CFL per watt.

I hope this helps anyone out. Like I said I have HO t5s and I love them! another pro is you can move individual tubes around your grow room to brighten up shady spots.

I was told to get T6's instead. The grow houses around here swear by them. Don't know, just was told that.

I have never herd of T6, Iv herd of t5 t8 t10 t12. As long as they are high output and have a similar lumen to watt ratio then yes they should be about the same. The entire T and number is an old measurment of the thickness of the glass of the bulb the lower the number the thinner the glass. the thinner the glass the more effiencant. I would ask more about those t6 bulbs to find out the differnce. I am sure they are on par since they guys at the Hydro shop swear by them. I also got mine on the advice of the clerk

I'm def saving up for a T5 setup. You are very right: "Jorge Cervantes ...I am not going to argue with him!" One of my primary concerns is heat. I have a MH and HPS system, 4ea 65w multi-spectrum CFL's and a bank of 16 CFL's (25w) but I'm looking forward to the cooler, more energy efficient T5's. Like Jorge said "Light diminishes to the square of the distance"; that's an extremely important fact. If you can safely put your plants an average of 8" from your light but only 20" from your HID, that's a foot difference. Using 250w as a standard, a 27,500 lumen bulb (regardless of the type) gives 19,695 lumens @ 8". At 20" the lumens drops dramatically to 3,151. It makes perfect sence to me. As I understand it, the spike in someones electricity bill is usually how someone gets caught. Using T5's will give you more lumens on the plant than anything in the ballpark with an HID system - and a lot less heat.

Pot pimp. you will not regret the t5 purches. If your in Toronto close to I know great place to get t5s @ Toronto Hemp company downtown. Tey sell 2 foot 3 foot and 4 foot T5's They sell them in singles but there ids a daisy chain to connect them all together in sieries. They also told me that the 4 foot t5s have an overdriven ballest so they bulb produces 3x more light than a reg ho t5. that 15,000 lumens compared to 5000 lumens. This will shorten the life of the bulbs 3x. and replacements are not cheap. I worked it out and it would be more expensive to maintainthan a HID

You are prolly right, but he argued with me for almost 20 minutes about how T6 is better. He may have been under the influence of his medicine. LOL

I know my Aerogarden will work for the short term, but I will have to get a light setup. Bleh......

mattso101 said:

I have never herd of T6, Iv herd of t5 t8 t10 t12. As long as they are high output and have a similar lumen to watt ratio then yes they should be about the same. The entire T and number is an old measurment of the thickness of the glass of the bulb the lower the number the thinner the glass. the thinner the glass the more effiencant. I would ask more about those t6 bulbs to find out the differnce. I am sure they are on par since they guys at the Hydro shop swear by them. I also got mine on the advice of the clerk

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