Lol, the T5 will just be like a 5% reptile bulb, lol! 5% UVB, 30% UVA and 65% visible light.
I remember they said somewhere in the flowerpower describtion, reptile bulbs are shit and only their flowerpower bulb has enough juice to increase thc significantly.
I like the small F20 bulbs because they are just as powerful like the 4ft bulbs and you can drive them at 10-12w. Perfect for a shorter distance 12-18" and 4x 15 minutes. So if I order solacure anytime I'll either use the 2ft F20 or the 2ft B-type T8. They still have half as much UVB in the 285nm range but with half as much intensity. They should work in the same way but easier to use cuz the risk to damage the plants is much(50%) lower.
Pretty sure I'll change my mind a few times until then, lol! Both have their pros and cons!
- F20 lasts two times longer cuz they need only to run half the time to create the same UV dose but they have the potential to cause damage.
- T8's are safer to use but need to run two times longer so they last only half as long but with a 50% lower risk to damage the plants.
Yeah, this way I got my 6 Agromax 2footers, bro. I've found an Solacure EU distributor in the UK but only for 1000mm and 4ft bulbs. I need again 2footers if any.
But reptile bulbs work too and it seems they accept it now cuz they have relativized a few things.
For instance they say, their measurings are not comparable to other brands bulbs. That's BS! A UV meter is a UV meter and measures UV! Spectrums are not comparable, raw output is.
They also work on a T5 bulb now with an UVB to A to visible light ratio like a 5.0 reptile bulb usually used for jungle reptiles. I thought they would not work, Solacure? And now they do?
For now I've still enough brand new 12% Arcadia's laying around and the Agromax bulbs left(still 4) will be sold over e3ay.
@Or_Gro has send me a link of an announcement of an LED based UV fixture for cannabis and other plant species using only 285 and 365nm but it's not available currently. Seems its soon not needed to further use T12/8/5 bulbs.
Hopefully they are not too expensive.
But as soon as we know which diodes they are using its easy to create something similar to integrate it in our lights directly.
https://www.agricultra.com/secondarymetabolite
BTW, have you seen the new Sonoff basic r3's? They have a DIY mode and don't need a router anymore to switch them on/off manually or change timer settings. They create an own wifi hotspot the phone can be connected to.