what type of light to be used growing lowrider??

hi, I was just wondering would you get good results growing a lowrider under t5 lights or flro? which of the two would you say is best, or led?

also do you need the red spectrum or woud 6000k do it just as good?? oh and leaving the lights n 24hours should make up for not having sodium lights (400watt lets say)..??? or not??? cheers...

You are speaking of three different components to lighting, where one aspect will not necessarily have a direct correlation to the other.

Spectrum - the Kelvin rating of the bulbs
Intensity - lumens and overall light saturation
photoperiod - how long you are leaving the light source on

You should plan for all three areas and not necessarily use a particular decision in one of these areas as a substitute or making up for a shortcoming in another. I do not feel the mechanism or method used to deliver the light (t5, LED, HPS, MH, etc.) is as important to the actual plant needs. There are many ways to deliver the light, some more efficient than others, but in the end will have their own advantages and disadvantages. I would recommend you analyze what your strain needs (spectrum, intensity, photoperiod), and build a lighting plan to meet those needs.

You want to start off with a 6000-6500k spectrum. When you start seeing flowers, then you want to switch to a much lower spectrum. Having the lights on 24 hrs/day will not make up for not having a high intensity light source. If you are going to use CFL's I recommend getting as many in there as possible with a 6000-6500K spectrum for the first couple of weeks and a more red spectrum for flowering.

I've actually built and wired my own DIY reflector before using cfls. I bought 5 105 Watt CFL's (about $20-25 a piece). I mounted the cfls horizontally because you get more lumens that way and put it inside my small/medium sized grow box. I was able to grow about 4 regular plants at a time using sea of green with that method and I was able to get some very good, dense bud (which is a problem sometimes with CFL's). With the auto strains, just like any other strain, you're going to want as much lumen output as possible. Unless you can build and wire your own reflector and are able to pay over $100 for 4-5 105 Watt CFL's, I think I'd recommend getting 2 sets of T5's and have them hanging right beside each other. If you are able to pay over $100 for lighting then I'd recommend going with an HPS for flowering and some 6500K CFLs for vegging.