T5 lights

can I use T5 lights throughout my entire grow?

You can if you get the flowering bulbs but you will have a much better yield with HID.

have you looked into CFLs? T5's should work with the right temp...IE 6500k, 2700k, etc.

Yep, they'll work. If you want to get the best results out of them, use them in a SCROG style grow. It was developed specifically for flouros, getting the most out of their limited light penetration.

jawbrodt said:

Yep, they'll work. If you want to get the best results out of them, use them in a SCROG style grow. It was developed specifically for flouros, getting the most out of their limited light penetration.

Click to expand...

whats a scrog grow?

sorry I am a newbie

It is a LST (Low stress training, I beleive) but it is basically a screen with around 1-3 inch holes that is put above the plant and the plant grows through this screen, seperating each "Branch" and allowing maximum light consumption by the plant. It is ideal for your setup (and mine), to compensate for the lack of wattage from t5's or CFLs. I am going to try this method. or the tie down method. There are a couple of good forum post on the subject. It is a beautiful idea that I never would have thought of if I didnt join rollitup

^You've got the right idea, but are a little bit off. The idea behind SCROG is to keep the canopy at an even level, rather than seperating branches for light penetration. It allows you to place your lights as close to the majority of budsites, as possible, eliminating highspots that are the usual lower limit of light placement. Typically, only 6-10" ends up growing above the screen, but those all get excellent light intensity and produce great. So, you end up with a bunch of fully-developed smaller colas, rather than one or two big ones, which can provide amazing yields, if done correctly. Everything below the sceen, is useless.

I haven't read up on it an awhile, but I think that's the general idea. Hmm....ya know, I might give it a try sometime soon, now that it's fresh on my mind. Sounds like a cool project, and would be interesting to see if it outproduces larger plants in the same sized growroom.(I'm 90+% sure it would) Hmmm.....

sounds like a plan jawbrodt. I am going to give it a shot on my seedlings If I get enough females (they are bag seeds).

Thanks for adding to my post. I am a new.. uhh.... biology student...

T5's are actually more efficient that MH hid lights and the newer t5 HO lights are only slightly less efficient than HPS. I would suggest doing your own research rather that asking about set ups on here due to the huge amount of ignorance on here in the form of "my way is the right way" mentality.

I would suggest what the above poster said about doing your own research. but with the new site setup I can barely do my own research.

HTG supply has alot of info on grow lights. If you check out any t5 on there site there is tons of FACTS!!

Hmm... i might have to look into some t5s for my overhead lights... once again good point bigv

yep. do a scrog search. it was invented before the lights that we have now.

hey guys,

I have a bunch of T5 lights and just bought a 4 ft, 4 bulb set up to hang in my tent i just bought. I will let you guys know what the temps are like coming from it once it is fully functional.

They run pretty hot, I can tell you that. Not as hot as HPS/MH,(maybe 60%) but alot hotter than CFLs. Plan to have a good exhaust fan at the top of your tent, or it's going to get hot in there.

That was my only opposition to T5.. I heard they ran hot... but I have the equip. for a good intake and exaust.. so I might be able to swing the high temps out of my stealth box!.. im still debating them though...

^If you choose to go with the T5 setup, I think you'll really like it. They're pretty much fool-proof, and as long as you keep them close to the tops of your plants, you'll get the kind of growth that you're looking for. CFLs will work too, but, they have to be setup properly, whereas the T5 is much easier to get right.

I used a two bulb T5 lamp for two plants and was amazed at how well they vegged over the course of one month. They got pretty bushy, but the LST probably definitely helped lol. I want to try and flower with these to compare to my HPS. Probably no point, seeing as the HPS will produce a better yield, but it'd be fun to have two different setups.

yeah, the guy at my grow shop was telling me he has the T5 bloom lights for when I need them for my tomatoes =) so i will try those during flowering. I am new to this so i'm excited. its been a week and they are looking good. I am going to set my tents up and large T5 later in the week when i get the tent in. i also am going to use a 4' duct fan for exhaust. might need more though. I will see

nattyhead357 said:

That was my only opposition to T5.. I heard they ran hot... but I have the equip. for a good intake and exaust.. so I might be able to swing the high temps out of my stealth box!.. im still debating them though...

Click to expand...

TO what depth will the T5 HO's be effective? I've been thinking of using 24" to mother, clone and veg. Can they be effective 12 - 18 inches? How would the heat from 8 24" T5 HO's compare with a 400w MH?