T8 vs T5 HO vs (maybe) LED?

[bower]

Just a couple of days ago I potted up the peppers that have been sitting more or less contented under the 4000K LED in spite of their long wait. I expected them to be quite rootbound, however this was not the case. I've never seen such poor root development. Yes it's not impossible I missed the mark with my potting mix. But also possible they did not get the light spectrum they needed. In my judgement the light is at least partly to blame, and I will be looking for an LED that better approximates the natural spectrum.

[cwavec]

@Greatgardens
Well, if you still want some, better get them now! Of course they are around.
I still have T12 fixtures in my family room with magnetic ballasts no less. They
have been lighting without a flicker for twenty-some years and I expect them
to continue.

But you are not going to get them in the future. In fact, I believe I could not
get them now. Yes, I can go out and buy a few T12s. They will not be the same.

Newer fluorescents don't last the way they did. And we don't even drive
them the way we used to. The old starter cartridges had a reason for their
existence. Also remember the fixtures you can buy now are generally
garbage or too expensive. And the electronic ballasts don't last. Don't even
consider the ones you would get in Lowes or Home Depot. A working life of
5 minutes to half an hour is a long time for those. It's not just cheap
manufacture either. An electronic ballast has inherent problems that will
cause any of them to fail much sooner than a magnetic ballast. They can be
made with more reliable components but the basic weakness is still present.

No, those guys are goners and it's happening now.

Don't expect LEDs to be the same size as 4' fluorescent tubes either. That
whole business of making LED "tubes" the same size is just silliness
anyway. If one or two of them works OK for you, that's fine. I'm glad. But
it is not a lasting trend.

I suggest you look at the Cree products. That is what's coming. You could
mount several of those along a 4' frame and have a very nice setup.
Better light than the fluorescents because it is all used and not misdirected.
Intense too (100W equiv. each, I think) and maybe not as expensive, at
least comparatively, as you may think. If I were to try now to build what
I already have (6 tubes for each shelf), I'm sure they would cost well over
$200 for each unit. And I can't even do that because the parts needed
just cannot be had!

Whatever you do. I wish you good luck and great growing.

[Harry Cabluck]

This may be worth a looksee for those interested in LEDs: https://fluence.science/blog/redefin...ewsletter-2018

[biscuitridge]

Thanks so much Bower, that info is right on!

[bower]

This thread is really useful for anyone looking to choose new lights. Just a quote from the work that Harry C posted:
“Wavelengths are synergistic. The best analogy I can use is a balanced diet,” says Bugbee. He explains that a robust component of various wavelengths both within and outside of PAR allows greater rates of photosynthesis than narrow-band spectra, achieving an effect that’s greater than the sum of the parts. “You have to have all the nutrients for proper growth.”
So I do believe that in future there will be more of the "sunlike" full spectrum products on the market and those ugly pink/purple things will be a thing of the past.

Next thing we'll be talking about is how to avoid damage to your eyes.

[clkeiper]

actually this is exactly what I have been wondering while trying to replace bulbs in my grow light system. I inherited one of those 3 shelf 4' fixture systems a few years ago and the lights and ballasts are dying. so, I bought a couple LED grow lights at Menards and bypassed the ballast on the one fixture. then someone mentioned Walmart has the bulbs so I went and got a few but they are not bypass bulbs. sheesh! the question in my mind though was should I leave a white light and an LED on the same shelf and can I insert one of each bulb in the same fixture since I don't have to bypass the ballast for the LED....each shelf is two light fixture with two bulbs each.

[Greatgardens]

I had a similar experience at Home Depot. They had Philips bulbs that supposedly were "plug and play" But not to be -- returned them and bought bypass bulbs from Amazon. I like them a lot!

[zendog]

I bought a few bypass bulbs on Amazon, but they were inconsistent in terms of working in some of my fixtures and not the others. I went ahead and took out the ballasts and rewired the units and am glad I did. The bulbs look brighter to me, although I have no before and after to compare. But the big thing is that the fixtures are now so much lighter, making it much easier to adjust them up and down.

[decherdt]

http://tomatoville.com/showthread.php?t=50141