T5 - Not all i thought it was

[Mouse]

I spoke to an authority on lighting last night, and i have been duped by the add.

Well not so much so, apparently you could get these bulbs to compete with the intensity of MH's with the correct refectors. Because the diameter is so small a reflector could emmulate a single point source. But theres no way people would pay for the reflectors because the cost would be more than the MH's. There is only one company going head long into the T5 market, and thats because they offer no alternative. And their refector is just a massive concave. These bulbs are going to be common place, but in limited applications, planted FW, softys & LPS and they WILL keep SPS, but not exactly send them rocketing for the surface. Oh well, thought i might have found something new there. Thanks for the interest guys, it certainly pricked my ears.

 

[Anonymous]

...apparently you could get these bulbs to compete with the intensity of MH's with the correct refectors.

hi.
Mouse, that is potentially another loaded statement like the ad. I bet the assumption is that the MH does not a reflector, and the wattage is not exactly the same.

A minor issue is that being a tube, it is very difficult to get the bulb to behave like a point source with any kind of reflector. Unless you put a grid on the setup that eliminates any non-parallel light.

 

[Carpentersreef]

Flourecent tube? No glitter lines. If its one thing that floats my boat about MH more than anything its glitter lines. These may be a cool way to suppliment them tho.

I agree!

I love the look of glitter lines from my MH's, and my white LED's with a blue lens gives me glitter lines at night, too. (Aqualine moonlight).

Mitch

 

[ColdZero1]

How many leds do you use? I'm building my hood for my 75 and wanted to put in moon lighting. I'm using an old AT powersupply from a computer to power the fans, and to throw in a little board with some leds soldered on would be a really easy way to add moon lighting. I could just leave it on all the time, and when the halides come on it would be drowned out by those. It wouldn't have the phases of the moon tho, I dunno yet.

 

[Carpentersreef]

I'm using 1 unit over my 204G, and I haven't opened it up in a while, but I seem to remember that it uses 2 LED's.

Mitch

 

[ravenmore]

I think it's a cool idea - pun intended. My MH is driving my electricity bill through the roof. I don't think its from their direct electrical draw as it is from the amount of heat they throw into my apartment. This causes my ac to run non-stop and, during the really hot months here in Texas, even running full time my apartment gets no cooler than 80 degrees during the day.

I love the look of my MH, but when they're costing me an extra $200/month in electricity - I like other options.

-Mike

 

[JeremyR]

Well, if you have an LPS or softy tank the t-5's would be fine, as are vho and PC. But if you have animals that require MH, I can't see this as a real alternative. You will be running 300+ watts if you do a hood with 6 of them, and I would still not consider that to be a clam or SPS light. It's all about what you want to grow IME. So many of the PC's out there right now are garbage bulbs with extremely poor quality control and lifespan, so these would be a welcome alternative if the price was right.