T8 Flourescents

[Oscarman]

Originally Posted by ospylac

Well, they vary depending on the plants light needs from 14" to 2 feet away. I had to use some shade cloth to provide for some species. Using both a red and a blue bulbs 50:50 does really well at getting plants to flower, much better than my cloudy windowsills.

Shade cloth for plants under flourescent bulbs.....that blows my mind! Are T5's also the regular 4' long tubes?

[Ross]

They come in both 24" and 48" versions as well as warm and cool (daylight) versions.

[Ironwood]

Another advantage of T5 lighting is the light output is relatively constant over the life of the bulb (typically 20,000 hrs)

[Ross]

Originally Posted by Ironwood

Another advantage of T5 lighting is the light output is relatively constant over the life of the bulb (typically 20,000 hrs)

I saw that, but why are lumens listed as "initial lumens"?

[Kris]

Because the light level changes over time, T5 are the more stable out of all of the fluorescents I believe. But still what I like about them is their energy produced (to feed the plants) Vrs energy consumed (what you get charged for), as they are rather energy efficient.

[Ross]

Good explanation! I will still probably go this way, but want to cover my bases. Right now I'm thinking 3 or 4 of the 48" bulbs with a mix of daylight and warm (if possible).