light question

hi what is the difference between T5,T8 and T12

thanks

I know the t5 don't burn as hot as the others, and if someone can tell me what light is cheaper to burn out of the t5 t8 or t12 or i can go with a 150watt cfl

t5 lights are generally a specifically built rig, they house quite a few of the floro bulbs and some people really like them. t5's are the "cream of the floro crop" the t8's are your basic "shop lights" as are the t 12s but they are a bit smaller. t5's are your best bet for general growing. as the others will not be very effective past maybe 2 weeks. its just not enough light. cfls work great. the 26 (actual) watt daylight bulbs are great for veg. if you use clfs Y splitters are your friend. you can put many different bulbs in one main socket. you can grow an entire crop with just cfls/floros but HID lights will out perform them. to grow with cfls you must be creative. you need to build a decent rig that can keep your lights close to your plants. my first decent light set up was a t 8 rig with about 6 cfls mod'd into it.

as for cost, your not going to really even notice floros on your power bill. unless your running like 500+watts of them and then its still not much.

switching to cfl's today!

rebelfied ,
please let me know what cfl you went with and if you tell the diff in growth and cost.
what sq ft are you working with?

I am working with around 1.5-2 sq ft with TWO 6500k 26 watters for now until I get further along into veg. After about the 4th-5th week of veg I will switch to a higher wattage.

These(2 x 26w) will put out right around ~3200 lumens for the one plant.

edIT: These are the ones you want!





if you can find a higher wattage bulb just like these I would recommend it. Like said, I am only growing one inside and will have both of the bulbs on it.

when i say be creative with the cfls this is what i mean.. the first pic is of the cfl rig i was using before i switched to 600 hps, it also had 6 U shaped t8 bulbs as well.

the second is my old cfl rig i grew my first grow with the mod'd out t8 shop light. it produced a BEAUTIFUL plant. from which im growing seeds now.

I'm pretty sure the t-5's are smaller in size than the others.

all i'm going to do is clone and veg with the light, so i'm not sure what to go with.
a t5 or cfl's
here are my ops
price for the light?
cost to burn the light?
heat from the light?
growin power(same watt)?
waht do you think is the winner of the two?

POLARIS01 said:

all i'm going to do is clone and veg with the light, so i'm not sure what to go with.
a t5 or cfl's
here are my ops
price for the light?
cost to burn the light?
heat from the light?
growin power(same watt)?
waht do you think is the winner of the two?

Click to expand...

by the way i'm workin with a 4' x 2' x 6' h

cfl's all the way man..you wont regret it!! Do some searching here on the site, if you havent already. CFL's are supposively better on electric cost and better for the plant, imo.

The two pack I got was under $8 for both including taxes. So far I have a complete grow box in the correct manner and has only costed me $10(box, materials, seeds, lights, mylar, white plastic, plant food, bloom booster and a few odds and ends). Most of it I already had, I only had to buy the lights and I bought some flower booster from a friend for $2.

edIT: With that space I would recommend 8-10 43w lights. BUT as always, more the merrier


also, how many are you planning on planting?

rebelfied said:

cfl's all the way man..you wont regret it!! Do some searching here on the site, if you havent already. CFL's are supposively better on electric cost and better for the plant, imo.

The two pack I got was under $8 for both including taxes. So far I have a complete grow box in the correct manner and has only costed me $10(box, materials, seeds, lights, mylar, white plastic, plant food, bloom booster and a few odds and ends). Most of it I already had, I only had to buy the lights and I bought some flower booster from a friend for $2.

edIT: With that space I would recommend 8-10 43w lights. BUT as always, more the merrier


also, how many are you planning on planting?

Click to expand...

if i can fit, 8 .
what if i went with 4 bigger watt cfls?

you can...i would do prolly 6-7 if anything bigger than 43 watt..

Look through the CFL Growing board under the indoor grow section, LOTS of information there. You can see what others are doing and get a general idea of what is required..

This is my first year of using cfl's and only have them on one plant...after I harvest this one, I may do another 2 or 3.

Hope any of that helps man!

rebelfied said:

you can...i would do prolly 6-7 if anything bigger than 43 watt..

Look through the CFL Growing board under the indoor grow section, LOTS of information there. You can see what others are doing and get a general idea of what is required..

This is my first year of using cfl's and only have them on one plant...after I harvest this one, I may do another 2 or 3.

Hope any of that helps man!

Click to expand...

thanks an good luck with yours

Thanks man, and same to you!