Full spectrum T5 vs. Red/blue LED

[3rdMaestro]

Originally Posted by Steve83

In response to the original question, here's my opinion.

Depending on your grow area, the warmth from the t5s are going to be the biggest pro or con.

If you don't want the heat, swap out the fluorescent tubes for led conversion tubes. If you do this, you may want to back off on light distance as it may be more intense.

What is the wattage of the red/blue led lamp? They (any led lamp) are not always driven to the advertised wattages.

Im not sure on the wattage. Its in an unlabeled box. I want to say I saw 40w, but could be wrong. Maybe I can check later. As for warmth, thats not a big deal. Ive been growing for years under these tubes and the only time anything got singed was when a spike grew up and touched the bulb.

I've since decided against the light, simply because its a stand with bendy arms, and I kind of wanted a more traditional fixture to hang.
Also, I have no doubt that people grow a great variety of different plants quite successfully. I too have heard that the ratio of red and blue plays a difference. But my one concern was more along the lines of; if I took 2 of the same orchid and grew them for 3 years, one under full spectrum t5s and one under blurple lights of the same light output, at the end of the 3 years, would the 2 plants look pretty similar in growth? Or could you tell that one has been growing distinctly different than the other?