best lighting set-up? vegging t5 and MH? +rep

hello, i am current designing my 2-room set-up for 6 plants(no sog or scog)

when i started i wanted to do all my vegging under T5's. but read a lot of info saying they cannot penetrate the canopy once the plant gets bigger. It looks to me like t5's are best for mother plants and starting clones and small plants.

i have also read metal halides are best for strong, fast, vigorous vegetative growth.

so heres my question...

Once my clones have rooted, can have them vegetativly growing for 1-2 weeks under the t5's(4x4). [p.s. 1-3 mother plants will also be in this room]

then....

throw them into my second room under my covertable(mh/hps) metal halide for 2-4 weeks for strong vigorous vegetative growth.

...and then switch the light and finally flower HPS

would be the best possible lighting schedule? time and money is no factor, just looking to grow the best bud i can.

+rep for helpful knowledge

Use the t5 for the first 2-3 weeks(making nodes grow closer together) and put them under the mh for the remaining time of veg and use the hps to flower. during veg keep lights on 24/7 during flower 12/12. pretty simple. You got the right idea. good luck.

i agree with the capecodkid.. i have a t5 now too.. i have a four bulb two footer..i am growing 5 plants under it.. i let them go for about four or five weeks just under the t5.. great results.. love the t5.. then for the last two weeks i turned on the hps along with the t5.. i had three of the veg bulbs in the t5 and one of the bloom bulbs.. just for the broader spectrum..
now i just flipped the plants to flower yesterday. 12/12.... i put in all four bloom bulbs in the t5 and am also using the hps.. it sounds basically like what you want to do, except that i am also using the t5 for flowering.. so far, it working great, but its only been two days, lol..
sounds like you got everything figured out to me..
good luck with the grow

thanks +rep for both of you.

yea im just wondering if switching from t5 directly to mh during vegging period would have any negative effect on the plants. like would it shock them or something

i doubt it though, they should thrive once they see all that extra light from the metal halide.

I agree with capecodkid except vegging under 24 hour, light its better to veg with 20 hours of light and 4 of dark.
read UB's tips. https://www.rollitup.org/advanced-marijuana-cultivation/267989-uncle-bens-gardening-tweeks-pointers.html

I agree 100% that T-5's will give much tighter internodal (SP) spacing, but I'm not so sure about the light penetration issue.
Check my pics, those are (Chimera's) GrapefruitXBlueberry under a T-5/8 bulb setup.
I get much more out of this set up than an equivalent 400/MH.

I veg now with four t5s,they are a little slower but they are easier on my power bill.I just allow for a little extra veg time.My 4 footers are due for new bulbs now,17 bucks a piece4ft and the 2 footers are allmost 15 tax and all,My mothers are under t5s and then I just start stepping them up in size from clone to 2ft ready to flower plants.It takes me 2 two footers and 2 4ft, plus some shop flueros for my cloner....peace

capecodkid said:

Use the t5 for the first 2-3 weeks(making nodes grow closer together) and put them under the mh for the remaining time of veg and use the hps to flower.

Click to expand...

I agree, the plants want to strive more and more as they age. the MHs have much better light penetration than the t-5s.

smellychronic said:

I agree, the plants want to strive more and more as they age. the MHs have much better light penetration than the t-5s.

Click to expand...

Can't really say about T-5's but:
I have used T-8's 4 x 4 footers with 4 bulbs each, and have achieved great results from seedling to ready to flower. The biggest problem I found was the plants growing TOO well and having to trim them back quite abit. This in itself wasn't a problem as clones were always on hand this way, and the T-8's saved me a ton on my electric bill.

What most people don't take into account is the color rating of the T-5/T-8 bulbs they're using...theyre not all the same. I have found that the 4100k-6000k color ranges work best for vegging. Have plenty of pictures to prove it as well. The T-8's are a smaller form factor allowing me to fit a ft fixture with 4 bulbs each, per veg shelf.