Tek-Light 3' T5HO vs. 90w LED vs. 2 45w LED for Veg Only

I'm setting up a veg unit for a perpetual operation.
Will consist of a wooden box 3' x 3 1/2' x 7' tall.

Ill build a shelf half way up and stack 2 DIY aero cloners in here that will double for the veg and first couple transition weeks of flowering, then they will be thrown under hps lighting.

So, I'll need two more lamps. They are each going to cover an area about the size of the box, about a 2 1/2' x 3' canopy.

The plants will be small clones going in, and hopefully about 12" coming out.

I hope to keep internode spacing very tight. They do not need to grow extremely rapidly in the veg box as this is a simple 2 stage perpetual. I'll have the full flowering time of one stage to prepare the veg for the next round.

Both options have some common benefits:
Dual Spectrum Capable
High Efficiency
Good Color Spectrum
Low heat Output


I'll likely go with one of 2 similarly priced options:
(2) Tek Light 3', 6 bulb T5's - 234w, 19,800 lumens
These are high quality lamps with good reflectors

Pros:
Dual ballasts/cordsets means I can start with 1/2 the bulbs and plug in the other 1/2 when necessary.
Choice of mixed bulbs for dual spectrum or all blue for tight internode spacing.
Good known lumen output - 10x that of the UFO.
These have the perfect footprint for this application.
Based on experience, these will have adequate penetration for the canopy I'm looking for and produce fast growth.
Replaceable, easy to find bulbs.

Cons:
Much higher energy consumption, even at 1/2 power.
More heat.
Requires more headroom (should be ok, but if I decide to try a taller strain, could be a problem).
Lower life expectancy.

vs.

(2) UFO LED - 90w, 1980 lumens

Pros:
Lower energy consumption. Also leaves more available power on my already nearly overused circuits.
Less heat.
Less expected radiant heat effect on reservoirs.
Great spectrum.
Long life.

Cons:
Unknown penetration, would seem lacking vs. the T5s.
Poor lumen per watt effeciency (which may or may not be countered by the better PAR value).
This design would require me to keep the lamp furthest above the canopy to cover the required area.
Least even coverage of all options.


vs.

(4) GlowPanel 45 - 90w per system, unknown output

Pros:
2 flat panels may provide a better light footprint than the UFO.
Least vertical height required of all options.
Cheapest alternative.

Cons:
Unknown Output.
Unknown penetration.
Lower wattage LEDs would not seem to offer the penetration of the 1 watt LEDs in the UFO, or the T5s.


What do you all think?

bump. Any thoughts at all? Any experiences with LEDs for Veg?

Well, one more try... Anybody run T5s and LEDs?

AeroKing said:

Well, one more try... Anybody run T5s and LEDs?

Click to expand...

The lumen output is irrelevant when pertaining to LED lights. Lumen output is the light measured that the human eye can see, not the amount of light absorbed by the plant. LEDs put out much less light output as far as lumens however the plants absorb much more of it do to the red and blue spectrums of the LEDS. 75 to 85% compared to the 25% of HIDs. Also the glow panel 45s are 45 watts not 90. I havent actually used LEDs yet but ive been doin my homework for a while trying to decide if i will. I would suggest a UFO 90watt along with a few panels to supplement, either a 45 watt or there are also 14 watt panels available. This is what i most likely will be using soon so if you want, to wait a while i could give more experienced advice.

oh yea and if by t5s you mean florescent tubes. they will work for smaller seedlings but once the leaves and braches really start to develope then it lacks the intensity to penetrate to tha lower leaves and they begin to yellow and die.

If money isnt an issue then go with the UFO's, i have seen good results from them for vegging. But cfls would only be a fraction of the cost and would get the job done just as well with a little more heat

My first thought was the T5s.

The thing is for the 3' lamps that I require, you have to step into these Tek-Lights, which are expensive...

So, I started thinking: Well, shit, if I'm gonna spend $350 ea for these T5s, I should consider LEDs.

The 3 options all total to about the same amount of money.

Out of the LEDs, I'm leaning towards the glowpanel 45's. I think the UFOs are not going to cover the area evenly enough. A flat canopy and even growth are key for this situation. The 45's would seem to give a flatter footprint, but I don't know if the output is reasonable for a 12" lollipop.

I KNOW for a fact that the T5s will work well and that penetration will be fine for my short canopy. I do not know if the LEDs will. I would very much like to save on the energy consumption.

Slow growth is not my concern. I can start a new batch of clones as soon as this box is empty, that gives me about 60 days for 12", so I think I'll be ok there.

If the very bottom branching gets shitty, that's ok, too. It will all be coming off as the plants leave this box anyway.

What does concern me with the LEDs is:
Will they maintain short internode growth without causing stretch?
and
Will they reach far enough into the canopy to keep the necessary foliage green and happy?

I've been reading as many journals with LEDs as I can lately.
It seems that some use them effectively for veg, but I also read that even for veg, they recommend 1 glowpanel45 for each sq ft.
If I have to buy 12 of these, the power savings becomes diminished and the initial cost is too high.

Oh well then yea my bad. sorry i didnt read closer. up to twelve inches you might be better off wit tha T5s.

Ok,
I think I decided to try the LEDs.

I'm going to start a new thread to see if I can get anybody to talk me out of it, but I figure that worst case, I add a couple T5 strip lights and all should be well...

Thanks Xion, for your input. +rep for you