T5 bulbs and sockets?

vtguitar88

Well-Known Member
Hello all,

I'm looking into T5 fluorescent bulbs, as they seem like an efficient way to veg plants in a small area without too much heat. I use HPS for flowering, but am looking into lighting for a small starter/veg cabinet. Is it possible to buy a bunch of T5 bulbs, get some matching sockets, and just hang them up? I can't seem to find any fixtures that would go with the bulb I want to get, so I thought maybe I could just buy some T5 sockets, wire them up, make my own reflector, and save a bunch of money. Anyone tried anything like this with tube fluorescents? Here's the links to the bulbs and the sockets, I guess the first question would be, do these even match? Thanks for any ideas!

Bulbs: http://www.cfluniversenew.com/servlet/the-405/39W-T5-FLUORESCENT-TUBE/Detail

Sockets: http://www.1000bulbs.com/T5Miniature-Bi-Pin/

EDIT: I'm not sure how this would fit in, but here's a ballast that fits this bulb. Would I need this and the sockets? I may be in over my head with this, I'm not an electrician!

Ballast: http://www.lightbulbsdirect.com/Merchant2/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Product_Code=B239PUNV-D&Category_Code=
 

p13m4n

Member
You might be biting off more than you can chew. How would you even go about making your own reflector? Aluminum foil? Try looking for fixtures that weren't meant for plants, namely high bay fixtures. They don't have the outrageous mark up that fixtures at hydro stores do. There are also single light fixtures, along with accessories like reflectors and kits for coupling them together. You might even be better off with just CFLs.
 

vtguitar88

Well-Known Member
yeah i'm more experienced with CFL's so I guess I'll stick to that. I looked at high bay fixtures but they're still pretty pricey and I couldn't find any in the three foot size I need. Maybe some day I'll be able to build my own lights from scratch but not yet...
 
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