2000w fluorescent
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wheels619
Well-Known Member
umm... any reason your not going for density or yield? more light = bigger buds dude. also 1 600 hps is the same lumens my friend. get 3 600s and call it a day. just my .02
wheels619
Well-Known Member
thats what i was thinking as i had a laugh becuz i pictured it in my head. lol.
Slipon
Well-Known Member
me to
but to answer your question, you should use a mix unless you want to buy twice as many bulbs and switch them when you begin to flower
in short 6500K for Veg and 2700K for flowering, but mix em up, some 5000K is also useful (some even use all 5000K from start to finish)
but IMO you should do some research before you use so many money on bulbs/power, and not just ask in here and take the fist person word for it..
all we try to do indoors, as we for one reason or another cant grow out doors is to "copy" nature
Sun stand high in the sky at spring, in a angle that let most "blue" light in ("6500K") plants have adapted over thousand of years and will use mostly the high blue colors in Veg. once in flowering the summer is at the end and fall have started so the sun stand low in the sky and let mostly red/yellowish light in, agin plant have adapted and use the red/yellow light ("2700K") to grow its flowers/Buds
so mix em up and use mostly 6500K early on and switch a bunch of em to more 2700K once in flowering (maybe in a 1-3 ratio and switch that around to 3-1) if you dont want to switch anything around, use 2x 2700K per one 6500K all grow, but dont expect low bushy plant`s with close nod space then, use a net in a scorg, also very useful for fluorescent light, if you did your research you would know to keep em close to the plant`s (2-4 inch`s according to my light meter measuring my T5HO 49W) so some sort of training is requiter for a decent result
but to answer your question, you should use a mix unless you want to buy twice as many bulbs and switch them when you begin to flower
in short 6500K for Veg and 2700K for flowering, but mix em up, some 5000K is also useful (some even use all 5000K from start to finish)
but IMO you should do some research before you use so many money on bulbs/power, and not just ask in here and take the fist person word for it..
all we try to do indoors, as we for one reason or another cant grow out doors is to "copy" nature
Sun stand high in the sky at spring, in a angle that let most "blue" light in ("6500K") plants have adapted over thousand of years and will use mostly the high blue colors in Veg. once in flowering the summer is at the end and fall have started so the sun stand low in the sky and let mostly red/yellowish light in, agin plant have adapted and use the red/yellow light ("2700K") to grow its flowers/Buds
so mix em up and use mostly 6500K early on and switch a bunch of em to more 2700K once in flowering (maybe in a 1-3 ratio and switch that around to 3-1) if you dont want to switch anything around, use 2x 2700K per one 6500K all grow, but dont expect low bushy plant`s with close nod space then, use a net in a scorg, also very useful for fluorescent light, if you did your research you would know to keep em close to the plant`s (2-4 inch`s according to my light meter measuring my T5HO 49W) so some sort of training is requiter for a decent result
unless all these lights were gifted to you, I'd strongly suggest that you use T5 HOs. You could use about half the bulbs and fixtures and get more lumen density for a similar lumen\watt efficiency. If you choose units with optimized reflectors efficiency will be higher because of the narrow thickness of a T5 tube.
for tubes I would put in one 420 nm actinic, one 10K or 65K tube, one wide spectrum pink plant tube and one 3K tube for each 4 tube unit.
Why go with T8s? Just because you have the fixtures already? A 12 tube VHO T5 setup puts out that many lumens at 12*95W. If you want to cover a larger area, 2 8 tube fixtures will put out over 100000LM at 16*95W. Both options use less wattage and put out more light. You could run 4 horizontal 2 tube 55W HO fixtures around the side of the room and still be under 2000W.
It's not a cheap way to do things, but if you need 2000W for prop, odds are funds aren't an issue.
It's not a cheap way to do things, but if you need 2000W for prop, odds are funds aren't an issue.
There is a reason why T8s are cheaper.
I could use one T5 HO unit to replace two T8 units.
Most of the commercial (office buildings), the pet industry (thanks to saltwater aquariusts) and the ag industry are moving to T5 HOs as the fluoro standard.
Bulb selection is higher with T5 HOs.
I can get a decent T5 HO 4 bulb units for a 100 and less. check around, especially on ebay.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/T5-Grow-Light-4-Ft-4-Lamps-DL844-Fluorescent-Hydroponic-Bloom-Veg-Daisy-Chain-/321084842187?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac225e0cb
This unit uses the "racehorse" ballast.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Fluorogrow-4ft-4-Lamp-T5HO-Fluorescent-Grow-Light-w-Lamps-NEW-/140928931022?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item20d004d4ce
btw I wouldn't go with a VHO ballast unit cause they tend to burn the tubes out early. They were important when T12 was the standard, and everybody was looking for a much bigger punch by overdriving the tubes.
Jimdamick
Well-Known Member
I use an 8 lamp t5 VHO for 8 medium sized plants and they love it. The fixture throws 157,000 lumens, which is more than a 1000w MH. If you are serious about flourescent, I would forget about t8's and go with t5 HO or VHO personally, and the reason the t8 are cheap is because they simply are not that good compared to t 5's. Mine has paid for itself a while ago, so you have to take time and really plan this out. VHO'S do beat up bulbs, but to replace them costs 1/2 the price of HD bulbs and they should be replaced every year anyway. Good luck.
if you compare VHO tubes to HD bulbs I can't disagree, but comparing life on a T5 HO ballast (even the racehorse ballast that slightly overdrives) to a VHO ballast the cost is still significant.
Jimdamick
Well-Known Member
You are right, I mistyped. Thanks for the correction. Peace