I'm trying to put together everything I would need for a secondary veg light system, mainly to keep mothers and get clones going. I will have very limited vertical space, and I'm concerned about heat so I've narrowed it down to these choices. I did consider CFL's as well but unless someone knows of a hidden low cost source, by the time I priced out the bulbs and a decent reflector the cost went up quickly. I would prefer to go all out anyway, light is definitely one area I don't want to skimp.
I was hoping initially I might be able to get away with minimal cooling for the T5's but upon investigation they run much hotter than typical Fluoro's. If you check out this article http://ecmweb.com/ops/electric_fluorescent_lamp_coming/ it mentions that optimum operating temperature for T5's is 95° which is obviously way too hot. On the plus side the whole enclosure would be very thin and give me more room. Another downside is no glass lens option to aid in cooling.
As for the MH light, I expect 175W to be plenty for it's intended purpose and there's no denying the tried and true performance of HID lighting. I chose MH only because I intend this to be for Veg and never flowering. I also thought it might supplement the main HPS if needed or I changed things up. Aside from the heat the big downside is the vertical space the unit needs to occupy. On the upside, I could put a lens in it and hook it up to the inline fan.
So, thoughts? Opinions? Thanks in advance
I was hoping initially I might be able to get away with minimal cooling for the T5's but upon investigation they run much hotter than typical Fluoro's. If you check out this article http://ecmweb.com/ops/electric_fluorescent_lamp_coming/ it mentions that optimum operating temperature for T5's is 95° which is obviously way too hot. On the plus side the whole enclosure would be very thin and give me more room. Another downside is no glass lens option to aid in cooling.
As for the MH light, I expect 175W to be plenty for it's intended purpose and there's no denying the tried and true performance of HID lighting. I chose MH only because I intend this to be for Veg and never flowering. I also thought it might supplement the main HPS if needed or I changed things up. Aside from the heat the big downside is the vertical space the unit needs to occupy. On the upside, I could put a lens in it and hook it up to the inline fan.
So, thoughts? Opinions? Thanks in advance