i tried a cfl/tote grow once all said in done wasted about 50-60 bucks and alot of my time. i dont have goodluck with things going right for me haha i always find a way to screw it up i have a 600w mh/hps light fixture but its way to hot, my room naturaly is mids to high 70's and yes i could get a air conditioner put in but im trying to not use up all the electricity and outlets in my room. so im gonna try my way with the t'5 light. i have seen good pictures and videos people growing with them and my hydroponic store has told me to go with them becuase of how they dont give of much heat.
I got great results in veg .. no doubt .. a 400W MH might grow em a week faster .. but I reccon thats about it .. plus the MH use a bit more power aso.
dunno how they do in flowering .. 2 things comes in mind .. penetration .. as they stretch to double size .. realy need to train/LST em a lot to make it work or some SoG/Scrog or sumthing like that .. need to keep em close to the light .. only top foot will produce smokeble buds ..
and Lumens per Sq. Ft. a Veg plant is one thing .. they do great with 3K Lumens per Sq Ft. wile a flowering plant need atlest 5K .. +10 is better
so in my oppinion and what I have seen online .. vids and pics from ppl. who grew from start to finish ..
if you dont want limpy plants who take ages to grow and provide littel smoke who is flimsy and not wort smokeing .. you need to do it right .. all other things need to be spot on .. and when you have it running a hydro/DWG system might do the diffrent .. so you get more end product then a nub with a 600W HPS ..
realy need the right fixture and tubes/Kelvin .. them few I have seen wher you realy couldnt see a diffrent from a HPS had nice sunblast/sunpower or what ever 8-12 tube fixtures .. atleest HO if not VHO ..
and grew low plants (sea of green) and knew what they wher doing ..
I would for sure .. if I had come to the conclusion that T5 is the way and I cant use HDI lamps use time and do my research and use most money on the right fixture (as I only need one and I want it to cut it) get a nice 8 tube minimum . maybe even 10 or 12 use them money you wont use on a big HPS and ventilation ..
sumthing like this :
http://www.greners.com/i/grow-lights/fluorescent-grow-lights/t5-fixtures/tek-light-t5-fixtures-4-foot-2-4-6-8-tube.html
and the right bulbs .. agin do the research .. ther is diffrent once .. I know you can get a "standard" and some a littel more expensiv once that dont just have the right Kelvin but is made to grow with .. and get enough .. and changes em often ½-1 year .. dark in the ends ther are old ..
tho T5 is much better then T8 when it comes to life time and light lost over time ..
mix em up .. more blu for veg and more red for flowering .. do the research .. or chose to grow Auto seeds now you have T5 and not a big HDI .. they are kind a perfect for tubes I guess .. low and fast .. mostly 2700K bulbs needed then a few 6500K .. maybe 10-2
plastick around em .. so just made a DIY fixture out of them and got 6 new bulbs (49W 2x2700K and 4x6500K) 40$ in total .. plus the ½M maylor for my fixture .. be creativ ..
