T5 vs. T8 Fluorescents What Works?

I am using T8 fluorescents 6500K 32w each to veg my baby plants should i have spent more and got the T5 bulbs? can I get good groth of T8s?

I veg under HO T5 s and they are definitely better than T8 s

T5 HO does my vegging very well...never ran T8...but did use T12 which is not even close to T5 unless ya have a bunch of'em....but all will do ya ok through the first few weeks....I move mine to a hps system fater a month...never tried to finish under the T's.....

chettersbud1 said:

I am using T8 fluorescents 6500K 32w each to veg my baby plants should i have spent more and got the T5 bulbs? can I get good groth of T8s?

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yes its not a big deal although it may limit how long u can leave them under there. About 8-12" is all your going to get of T8s so make sure ur moving them by then. Babies actually like a lil lower light since they have a poor root system and they're just getting started.

whats the Kelvin rating supposed to be on the T5s? i saw some at home depot but there was only wattage no Kelvin #s

yah, like everyone else has already said, t5's do a better job cuz they are the high output flouro's, unlike the 8's and 12's, which aren't ho's.. all three will do just fine for seedlings, the limiting factor like someone else has already said will be how long you'll be able to leave them under them becuase of the inverse law... keep them as close to the plants as you can..

chettersbud1 said:

whats the Kelvin rating supposed to be on the T5s? i saw some at home depot but there was only wattage no Kelvin #s

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you can usually get different k's for t5's.. i know i got mine from htg supply, and i got two sets of bulbs with it, one for veg, and one for bloom.. so you should be able to buy different kelvin's for t5's as well..

how many T5 should i use for 6 plants to veg? I am planning on switching to HPS to flower going to use a 600w

chettersbud1 said:

whats the Kelvin rating supposed to be on the T5s? i saw some at home depot but there was only wattage no Kelvin #s

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its the color temperature. 3k aka warm glow is red shifted for flower. 6500k aka daylight is what you want for veg.

chettersbud1 said:

how many T5 should i use for 6 plants to veg? I am planning on switching to HPS to flower going to use a 600w

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I veg 10 plants under a 4ft 8 tube to about 15". So if u wanna do 6 i'd say u need a 4ft 4 lamp or 2ft 8 lamp t5 atleast

well, it all depends if you're talking about say a two foot two bulb, or a four foot 8 or even 12 bulb t5..
i use a two foot four bulb job, and i can veg say about `12 plants under it comfortably for about three or so weeks without any problems at all.. it also depends on what size containers you're planning on using.. i tend to veg in solo cups so that i can fit plenty under the lights..

i run 6x 4' 32watt T5's for 3 mothers and all vegging plants. Thats 3, 2 bulbs fixtures. Walmarts got you for around $20 for bulbs and fixtures.

they are not much cheaper than buying the 600w MH HPS light kit the T5 were kind exspensive to me compared to again the 600w MH HPS kit

Really Wal-Mart?i got my T8s from there did not see the T5s u sure wally world has them?

for roughly $60 you can get 6 bulbs and 3 fixtures. thats 192 watts. and 3100 lumens per bulb.

and those 3 fixtures will fit into a 2x4 space perfectly.

100,000,000,000% positive they got them. the t5 bulbs are usually separate from the t12's and t8's, usually on the opposite wall. At least at my local one they where.

You can overdrive T-8s and T-12s by useing a 4 bulb ballasts to fire only 2 bulbs. Or a 2 bulb to fire one. Ups the output about 1.7 times its original output. Gets a T-8 up to around 4700 lumens. Reduces effective bulb life but is completely safe. And the color temp choices of T-8s is almost endless.

so the T5 at wally for 2 bulbs and ballast is around 20 bucks aalot les than home depot

what do u guys think about theCFLs? any difference to the T5s??

If you LST your plants, then it doesn't matter if your using t5/t8/t12. I am growing under t8's right now. I have 2 32watt ballasts with a 6500k and 3000k bulb in each. I just added a 3rd with the same lights. They are about 2 months old and are around a foot tall. So no matter which of the 3 you choose, your still going to have a plant that takes a couple months of veg time. Also you better look into LST, that way you can get the most out of your lights.