is it possible to veg under a T5?

[nowandlater]

I was hoping to veg quickly and effectively under a t5 system and flower under an HID to manage electrical costs. has anyone else tried this? any feedback?

 

[watercooled]

Yup... do it to save electricity. If possible get 6500k spectrum bulbs like these:

 

[altitudefarmer]

T5s RULE for smaller plants; not so great with big girls, as florescent light dissipates quickly the farther you are from the source. Keep your girls within 3-5 inches of them, and they'll do well. Just be careful not to burn 'em...

 

[Caress of Steel]

I'm not 100% sure but, I think I've read t-5's, keep node spacing tight in early/mid veg.
I've never used them tho'

 

[dextr0]

Thats a whole grow using 8 T5s. The 10th post says it all.

 

[Radio_Dread]

yeah can def veg under a T5 but i dont think that you will have as fast growth as you would under a MH. but yeah if your growing smaller plants and want shorter internodes T5's would work great. i always start seeds under my t5

RD

 

[Blaze]

Oh yeah you can totally veg under t5's. Like Radio_Dread I do my seeds under t5's including all my veggie seeds.

 

[justiceman]

It's more then possible. I actually did the same thing. Here are my veg shots under a 4ft 4lamp t5(6500k).
My mediocre clones still did well under the t5 and came back to full health(heres how they started)

http://i1014.invalid.com/albums/af261/fatyfatkins/IMG_1288.jpg

http://i1014.invalid.com/albums/af261/fatyfatkins/IMG_1384.jpg

http://i1014.invalid.com/albums/af261/fatyfatkins/IMG_1477.jpg

http://i1014.invalid.com/albums/af261/fatyfatkins/IMG_1503.jpg

And a couple shots with 9 of them transplanted into a 4x4 tent with a 400w PSMH.

http://i1014.invalid.com/albums/af261/fatyfatkins/IMG_1512.jpg

http://i1014.invalid.com/albums/af261/fatyfatkins/IMG_1536.jpg

http://i1014.invalid.com/albums/af261/fatyfatkins/IMG_1554.jpg

I wouldn't say that the t5 is as fast as an HPS or MH, but it certainly produces steady quality growth. I like it better for small plants because sometimes HID lighting can be too intense for the small root systems to handle as in they won't be able match the amount of nutrients to the amount of photons being synthesized. That way by the time I move them to HID lighting it's less stressful since they are more developed IMHO.

 

[Old HAGgler]

t5's are the shiznito bam schip schnap sack yo.

 

[bens lab]

T5's are good but PL-L is superior imho.

 

[HeadGrow]

Justice those little ladies are looking nice. I'm just about to switch from a 400W MH to a 4' 8 bulb T5. I'm wondering how long you keep them under the T5 before you move to HID's? Do you go the whole length of veg and them move them once you flip?

 

[justiceman]

Justice those little ladies are looking nice. I'm just about to switch from a 400W MH to a 4' 8 bulb T5. I'm wondering how long you keep them under the T5 before you move to HID's? Do you go the whole length of veg and them move them once you flip?

I only vegged them partially(mostly) with the t5's. Since my veg tent is small they weren't filled out enough to provide a dense even canopy in my flower tent so I LST'ed them and vegged them for a couple more weeks under a 6.4k 400w PSMH in order to achieve the canopy I wanted. I like the T5's for seedlings, and smaller veg plants as HID can sometimes be too intense for the young ones.

 

[TaimerPots]

I have always started with t5's, been doing for years . Seedlings get a 2 foot bulb, once the first set of true leaves appear transplant into the bucket in which they'll eventually flower in,
Once transplanted I use a 4'x2' fixture that holds 8 t5 bulbs. Each bulb is rated at 55 watts, total of 440 watts but to be realistic I'd say after a lot of us I'm getting about 340-380 of real usable wattage.
My HID is an adjustable 1000 watt HPS, first two weeks at 50%, 3rd and 4th week 75% and I finish at 100% power the rest of the way until I see what I'm looking for. Here are some pic of flower that was grown from that method