400watts Metal Halide vs 432watts T5 Fluorescent for Veg?

[DonkDBZ]

Cannot Decide between 400watt MH or 4 foot 8 lamp t5 54watt (for my Veg room. Anyone with any exp with both? Currently I use a 1000w MH which is overkill bu the price was right at the time.

My room is gonna be 3x4x6 or 2 1/2 x4x6 with Co2. I like fluorescent since I would not have to have as much ducting and less chance of light leaks to my flowering chamber. Also less power used not having to run a fan to cool a hood. Downside is less lumens and I don't know how good plants veg under the fluorescents?

Cost is roughly the same to go either route. I just wanna know if the Veg with T5's will be as good or close as MH.

 

[NorCalFor20]

call htgsupply.com tell them you want the 400w budget system without a bulb. this is 100$ + shipping, then go to advancedtechlighting.com and order the 400w cmh bulb.

thats your best bet!

its what i do... fluros are weak... imo

cmh has more red than hps and more blue than MH and is exellent for veg i love it... i will never go back to vegging with fluros or mh

welcome to ic mag!

 

[habeeb]

go CMH or MH,

HID will kill floro watt for watt

 

[Clackamas Coot]

DonkDBZ

I have a double-decker veg tent. T-5's are perfect for firming up rooted clones and getting a couple of new leaf structures to appear then under an HID which is above the rack holding the T-5 fixture.

If you have the money for one or the other then take the other's advice, go with the HID light.

We just disagree on which one, LOL!

 

[Old Yeller]

Right now I'm using 2, 4x4 T-5's + a 250W MH in my veg bathroom & the plants love both lights. I'm going to have to vent the MH before summer cause it runs pretty hot compared to fluoros. I can't say enough about how much I like t-5's for everything.
In my Sunhut XL I'm using a 432W 4x8 T-5 alongside a 600W HPS for flowering & it's doing just fine with the 8 different strains I got going.
I just ordered some Philips Colored Pro series T-5 lamps for the tent from Advanced tech lighting,
http://advancedtechlighting.com/philipspricolor.htm
after talking to the main guy there about the difference in T5 bulbs. Kinda pricy but they have a much more usable spectrum compared to regular T5 HO red & blue bulbs.
With just 6' of overhead space, I'd seriously consider the 4x8 T5 for the simplicity of use & the extra head space if you want to veg out bigger plants.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

Pricey! Whoa! $176.00 for a set fluros?

 

[Old Yeller]

Ya, I know, but I like to spoil my girls & with a 2+ year life expectincy running 12/12 full time it should even out in the long run. I finally paid off my car loan so it was just like 1 more payment before tearing up the bank documents...
I'm already planning on switching out all my bathroom t5's to these tubes after i get a chance to see how the plants react to a more usable light spectrum. Sometimes cheap isn't the way to go when you're trying to produce flower masterpieces.

 

[Clackamas Coot]

I have a lot of respect for the lighting products from Phillips - no question about that. I run their newer 'fuller spectrum' HPS bulbs in veg and flower.