What lighting do you Perfer, HPS, T5 or CFL?

doggyd

doggyd

Active Member
Well I have a great question for everyone:shock:

What lighting do you prefer? HPS, CFL or T5 grow lights? Explaining Why?

I'm trying to figure what will be a good setup for flowering in a closet grow! I'm looking for a system that will not get to hot because I don't have good air flow, just an oscillating fan! My room is about 3x4 or lets just say 3x3 with a height of 5 1/2 feet. I am currently growing in veg. with a few CFL's and want some really great BUD! What do you Like to use and why? How much heat does it give off and how do you compensate for it with low cash? Best answer will get a ++REP:clap:
 
hoagtech

hoagtech

Well-Known Member
I would use a T5 for your veg. Their effecient and excellent at covering surface area with little penetration like a small vegging plant. Then I would use at least a 250w hps, because your gonna need your HID to penetrate through your full size plant. I dont understand why they even sell bloom t5's but the only reason I can think of is to mix with your veg t5's to create a full spectrum to veg with. They are not siuted for blooming though
 
pthree

pthree

Well-Known Member
im using t5 4 bulb setup for my first grow

i plan to buy the 2 flowering bulbs and switch out two when i do flower so i still have 4 bulbs, just two of the reds and two of the originals.

since this is my budget and what im stuck with for my first go at it im liking what the t5's have given me within a months time of veg.
 
jondamon

jondamon

Well-Known Member
I currently use the following
24w T5 6400k for seedlings/clones
200w ECO CFL 6400k for donor plants/vegging
600w HPS in a cooltube.

ENVIRONMENT plays a massive part in successful growing, you should exchange the air in your grow room once a minute in order to supply the plant with enough Co2 to function.

J
 
doggyd

doggyd

Active Member
Wow so it looks like everyone pretty much goes with the HPS when flowering? Any one else have any input?
 
del66666

del66666

Well-Known Member
i like candles, gentle relaxing and no electric needed...........anyway can anyone help me cause my plants have died and i dont know why...........hps
 
hoagtech

hoagtech

Well-Known Member
There are still some hardcore MH only folks out there that claim that they can control their aggressive veg growth with Metal Halide into their blooms with the right nutrient plan. I like the hps personally for bloom because I get really leggy plants compared to when I upgraded to the hps. MH is better suited for finishing outdoor plants indoors if you have a early cold spell or high humidity in fall because of MH's full kelvin spectrum, Its closer to the spectrum of the sun than an hps
 
doggyd

doggyd

Active Member
Well I think I'm going with a 250 watt HPS system. I don't need anything bigger than that. I wanted to get a 400 watt HPS system but Thats going to run really hot in my closet! But for One plant, It will work.
 
sso

sso

Well-Known Member
so, how much bud do you need?

are your fingers green to the bone?

i smoke a gram a day plus, i simply cant grow what i need with t´5 or cfls and im an allright grower, get donkeydicks thick as my arms with my 600w hps.
ive tried cfls and t5 and mh in flowering too. sure you can flower with them and get good results, but not compared to hps.
i smoke too much and im not good enough of an grower.
 
tafbang

tafbang

Well-Known Member
If you have the money. MH for veg and HPS for flower 1000watt bulbs

If you don't have the money, get a smaller watt hps like a 150 would be fine for a couple plants.

If you are super cheap, CFLS work really well also.


I didn't notice you talk about the heat and low price. Just get some more CFL bulbs, Daylight and Warm mixture, mostly warm as it helps with flowering which is the most important part, but if you have the money, veg with a bunch of daylight bulbs.

How many plants are you growing?
 
MidnightJoker

MidnightJoker

Well-Known Member
For one plant, then yes, a 250w will work just fine. But I would still go with a switchable ballast that lets you use both MH/HPS...Different light spectrums. MH has more blue for vegetative growth, while the HPS has more red for flowering.
 
hoagtech

hoagtech

Well-Known Member
doggyd said:
Well I think I'm going with a 250 watt HPS system. I don't need anything bigger than that. I wanted to get a 400 watt HPS system but Thats going to run really hot in my closet! But for One plant, It will work.
Click to expand...
Well if its just one plant I would go with a 150w hps fixture. There cheap and readily available and because the ballasts are light they are usually included in the fixture which makes it easy to hang and easy to deal with ventilation without breaking the bank
 
tip top toker

tip top toker

Well-Known Member
250w HPS and you should be laughing mate, that'll grow some right lovely bushes! i personally run a 600w in my cupboard with extraction straight up through the ceiling, seems dandy although truth betold i stood on my thermometer about 2 years ago and couldn't see a reason to replace it :D
 
doggyd

doggyd

Active Member
:idea:So I went out and this is my New Grow Closet Setup! 250 watt Hps Setup. I bought a veg light bulb and a flower bulb for next week flowering! I'm so happy! So lets see what she will look like soon!:clap:

I have a few other things to buy like an inline fan with carbon filter but don't have the money. Maybe on the clone thats growing might get that!
DSC00748.JPGDSC00746.JPGDSC00747.JPGDSC00749.JPGDSC00745.JPG
 
Serious Weeds

Serious Weeds

Well-Known Member
If you are considering HID CMH might be something you would want to look into some claim to be able to do as much with a 400 watt ceramic metal halide as they would with a 600 watt hps, saying a 400 hps is no comparison.

Also has UV, For more resinous plants. I have one on the way right as we speak with a extra bulb for my hps ballast, yeah they run off a HPS ballast can let you know how they do after I use them. but then again I am also converting from fox farm soil to aeroponics so I really wont be able to give to much of a comparison. HTG SUPPLY has a complete setup for $179.
http://htgsupply.com/Product-HTGSupply-400-Watt-Ceramic-Metal-Halide-Grow-Light.asp

And A little info on CMH http://www.advancedtechlighting.com/cmhfact3.htm
 
G

GreenGrin

Active Member
I just upgraded to the Lumatek 250w switchable ballast. Sorry I wasted so much money on magnetic ballasts in the past. The Lumatek acutally squeezes additional lumens out of both the metal halide and high pressure sodium bulbs.

For the amount of space you have, 250w should be enough.
 
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