large scale T-5 grow

for the most part all i see on here is closet grow with CFL's well i was wondering why no one goes big i mean i know T-5's are expensive but still.... my new room design is a 5x5 grow tent with 3 6 bulb 4ft T-5 with a single T-5 4ft bulb in each corner of the room.. ill be using an 8 bucket hydro system... what can i expect? has anyone does something like this before? pros/cons? anything helps!!

Hey ya sallsilver,

I'm interested in seeing your grow with the amount of T5's you have. I want to see how it compares to the hps grows.

I've been using 2 of the 2-ft. 4 bulb T5's in a 2 ft. by 2.5 ft. closet from start to finish. I'm mostly satisfied with the results so far, but still debating about switching to an hps if I can adequately vent the closet.

I get nice dense buds on the top and outer branches while the inner and lower branches stay wispy.

I do believe that it takes a little longer to reach full mature under the T5's.

Good luck and I'll check in.

Knally said:

Hey ya sallsilver,

I'm interested in seeing your grow with the amount of T5's you have. I want to see how it compares to the hps grows.

I've been using 2 of the 2-ft. 4 bulb T5's in a 2 ft. by 2.5 ft. closet from start to finish. I'm mostly satisfied with the results so far, but still debating about switching to an hps if I can adequately vent the closet.

I get nice dense buds on the top and outer branches while the inner and lower branches stay wispy.

I do believe that it takes a little longer to reach full mature under the T5's.

Good luck and I'll check in.

Click to expand...

i do like the HPS lamps because of their yield but the heat just kills me, i love knowing that you can come by and FLIR me all day and nothing shows up.. so i figure just stack it with T-5's and match the lumen of one 1000 watt HPS (140,000 lumens) my system will have about 130,000 lumens when im all said and done... along with the best fertilizers and yield booster also my plants have 3.125 sq/ft to grow out with 7 ft to grow up

also i think im going to supercrop and kinda top my plants to keep most of my bud sites up at the light

With the number of bulbs you are going to use it will be a kickass crop is my prediction.

Knally said:

With the number of bulbs you are going to use it will be a kickass crop is my prediction.

Click to expand...

in total i think im going to have 3 6bulb 4ft T-5 hanging from the top so 18 there then either 4 on the sides or 8 4ft T-5 bulbs... so in total 22-26 bulbs with 110,000- 130,000 lumens

sallsilver said:

for the most part all i see on here is closet grow with CFL's well i was wondering why no one goes big i mean i know T-5's are expensive but still.... my new room design is a 5x5 grow tent with 3 6 bulb 4ft T-5 with a single T-5 4ft bulb in each corner of the room.. ill be using an 8 bucket hydro system... what can i expect? has anyone does something like this before? pros/cons? anything helps!!

Click to expand...

The reason that people don't use Floros for big grows is lack of penetration. You can only expect decent results from flowers that are within maybe 6" from the bulb with a T5.

Hey guys...

Just chiming in with my 2 cents....

I use aircooled HPS for flowering and 400 watts of T-5 for the moms...

T-5s put out a fair amount of heat... and if you are in an enclosed space without OPTIMUM ventilation, the heat will build up....

It is not as easy to cool a T-5 as it is an HID... just slap the single bulb in a cooltube and you're good to go...

But with the T-5, you can't just fit it in a tube... so the next best thing is to have a fan blowing between the lights and the tops of the plants....

On a different note...

T-5s do not have the intensity to give you dense nugs at the bottom, as they are mostly in the shade....

So I would recommend not having bottom branches...

Single Cola Lollipops will make better use of the light as they shade themselves way less than bushes...

Here is an example of what I think would work well for you... (this was flowered with HPS, but I am just illustrating the lack of fluffy, wispy, bottom nugs....

Cheers....

GypsyBush said:

Hey guys...

Just chiming in with my 2 cents....

I use aircooled HPS for flowering and 400 watts of T-5 for the moms...

T-5s put out a fair amount of heat... and if you are in an enclosed space without OPTIMUM ventilation, the heat will build up....

It is not as easy to cool a T-5 as it is an HID... just slap the single bulb in a cooltube and you're good to go...

But with the T-5, you can't just fit it in a tube... so the next best thing is to have a fan blowing between the lights and the tops of the plants....

On a different note...

T-5s do not have the intensity to give you dense nugs at the bottom, as they are mostly in the shade....

So I would recommend not having bottom branches...

Single Cola Lollipops will make better use of the light as they shade themselves way less than bushes...

Here is an example of what I think would work well for you... (this was flowered with HPS, but I am just illustrating the lack of fluffy, wispy, bottom nugs....

Cheers....

Click to expand...

No offense, but its better to do a SOG or SCROG using a bank of T5's.. A full even canopy is much better than alot of lollipopped single main colas. But thats just my opinion based on what ive read on the web.

GypsyBush said:

Hey guys...

Just chiming in with my 2 cents....

I use aircooled HPS for flowering and 400 watts of T-5 for the moms...

T-5s put out a fair amount of heat... and if you are in an enclosed space without OPTIMUM ventilation, the heat will build up....

It is not as easy to cool a T-5 as it is an HID... just slap the single bulb in a cooltube and you're good to go...

But with the T-5, you can't just fit it in a tube... so the next best thing is to have a fan blowing between the lights and the tops of the plants....

On a different note...

T-5s do not have the intensity to give you dense nugs at the bottom, as they are mostly in the shade....

So I would recommend not having bottom branches...

Single Cola Lollipops will make better use of the light as they shade themselves way less than bushes...

Here is an example of what I think would work well for you... (this was flowered with HPS, but I am just illustrating the lack of fluffy, wispy, bottom nugs....

Cheers....

Click to expand...

Man, You LOVE that picture!

Seriously, though, this hits it dead on. I'll try to rep you, Gypsy Bush, but I think I gotcha recently...

Ok i have to disagree about the heat issue... i currently use a T5 and its warm to the touch!! the enviros get so hot they Do burn..lol But check my thread and u will see my T5.. Yield should be pretty good mate too if you train your plants so u have multiple tops rather than 1 big one!!!

Check your T5s after running for several hours. They will scorch a plant or burn you. You can't run any light in an enclosed space with out heat buildup. Heat is a natural byproduct of light. You can't have one without the other.

Mate i touch them after 12 hours and they still only warm dude with breeze from my fan... like i said they warm not hot!!! the enviros get alot hotter!!

And if you have small amount of air in/.out heat should be no issue at all.. mine runs at a constant 72/75 day... 69 night

I get an average of 2 z's per plant using T5's. The T5's will penetrate about 10 - 12 inches rather than 6.

Heat was the reason why I switched from HID to the T5's. I burned or scorched my 1st 5 grows with the 400 HPS even in a cooled hood. My closet never gets above 78 even when I veg for 24 hours with the T5's.

Here are a few pics of my girls flowering under T5's.

Knally said:

I get an average of 2 z's per plant using T5's. The T5's will penetrate about 10 - 12 inches rather than 6.

Heat was the reason why I switched from HID to the T5's. I burned or scorched my 1st 5 grows with the 400 HPS even in a cooled hood. My closet never gets above 78 even when I veg for 24 hours with the T5's.

Here are a few pics of my girls flowering under T5's.

Click to expand...

oh heat isnt an issue i plan on having adequate amount of air exchange as well as a fan

I just bought a 6 lamp 4' t5 and this biatch gets hot.

oldschool420 said:

No offense, but its better to do a SOG or SCROG using a bank of T5's.. A full even canopy is much better than alot of lollipopped single main colas. But thats just my opinion based on what ive read on the web.

Click to expand...

None taken...

But...SOG is what I do, so how do you mean SOG would be better than SOG..???

A scrog would also be affective, but I will have to disagree with your web based opinion and go with my real life experience opinion...

AeroKing said:

Man, You LOVE that picture!

Seriously, though, this hits it dead on. I'll try to rep you, Gypsy Bush, but I think I gotcha recently...

Click to expand...

I do love it... it is one of my best example photos...

urbanfunk said:

Ok i have to disagree about the heat issue... i currently use a T5 and its warm to the touch!!

Click to expand...

Well, what can I say...

You must have one of those COOL T-5s... good for you...

urbanfunk said:

the enviros get so hot they Do burn..lol

Click to expand...

Yeah.. some get hotter than others, but less hot does not mean it is not hot...

urbanfunk said:

But check my thread and u will see my T5..

Click to expand...

Dude, I know what I am talking about, and I have no need to go anywhere to see T-5s, I have 600 watts of it in my room...

urbanfunk said:

Yield should be pretty good mate too if you train your plants so u have multiple tops rather than 1 big one!!!

Click to expand...

So now you are telling me I will get more bud if I train my plants???

Where are you getting this info?

Your yield may be better per plant, but I have an army of those fuckers... I really doubt your yield is better than mine...

AeroKing said:

Check your T5s after running for several hours. They will scorch a plant or burn you. You can't run any light in an enclosed space with out heat buildup. Heat is a natural byproduct of light. You can't have one without the other.

Click to expand...

It's useless, people that know everything, they.. well, know everything...

urbanfunk said:

Mate i touch them after 12 hours and they still only warm dude with breeze from my fan... like i said they warm not hot!!! the enviros get alot hotter!!

And if you have small amount of air in/.out heat should be no issue at all.. mine runs at a constant 72/75 day... 69 night

Click to expand...

Mine will take the skin off my hand.. burn my plants to crisp, and build heat in the room until it is well over 100F of the fans are off...

and it does not take a small amount of air... sorry...

Knally said:

I get an average of 2 z's per plant using T5's.

Click to expand...

How many plants per square foot?

What size T-5?

Grams per watt?

Knally said:

The T5's will penetrate about 10 - 12 inches rather than 6.

Click to expand...

Which is why I say short lollipops or the SCROG (which is A LOT OF WORK)

Knally said:

Heat was the reason why I switched from HID to the T5's.

Click to expand...

They do put out considerably less heat than HIDs, but they put out heat too...

Knally said:

I burned or scorched my 1st 5 grows with the 400 HPS even in a cooled hood.

Click to expand...

What size fan did you have for the 400 watt light?

Was the fan dedicated to the light?

Knally said:

My closet never gets above 78 even when I veg for 24 hours with the T5's.

Click to expand...

I can thermostatically control my set up starting at a low of 65F.. and I run 3x 600 HPS... I usually keep it at 75F in there...

If you have the proper ventilation you can run big lights in small spaces...

My first tent is 36"x20"x54" and I used to run a 600 HPS in there... 600 watts in 5 square feet... again no heat issues because of proper ventilation system...

Knally said:

Here are a few pics of my girls flowering under T5's.

Click to expand...

Nice looking buds...

sallsilver said:

oh heat isnt an issue i plan on having adequate amount of air exchange as well as a fan

Click to expand...

As long as you have the right ventilation, you can use big lights... lots of people do... but it is not cheap...

oldschool420 said:

I just bought a 6 lamp 4' t5 and this biatch gets hot.

Click to expand...

Oh... so it does get hot after all... lol...

Without PROPER ventilation, even the smallest amount of heat will BUILD UP...

Ventilation is the key...

i love this thread. guys keep in touch cause i'm pulling the big dirty with t5hos. i'm going to do a vertical ebb and flow like heaths but with 1000 watts t5ho. i've already got a grow with 540 watts going great and the proceeds will build the vertical. Man i wish more people were willing to go big with these. i'm having the easiest grow ever with them. heres the pics. 5 min old. 10 lowryder 2s. 23 days old from seed today. they are under 24 hour lighting and just started budding about 3 days ago. how much better could a hid do it!! i think these are the biggest healthiest 23 day old lr2s i've ever seen!! and never seen a hid. what do you guys think? honest opinion. i'm happy and proud guys!!

oh yah. there is no heat and yes you can touch the bulbs after any length of use. with any fan the bulbs can touch the plants. all homemade and 200 dollars canadian brand new with bulbs for 540 watts. i still have 4 flowering fixtures to snap in.

the clear res is for demo purposes. i know.

1982grower said:

oh yah. there is no heat

Click to expand...

oldschool420 said:

I just bought a 6 lamp 4' t5 and this biatch gets hot.

Click to expand...

I guess HOT is a matter of opinion...