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T5 or T8

NeciFiX

Kung Fu Fighting!
So, I've pretty much finalized my situation with my carnivorous plants [well, the grow rack and all that I will be setting up soon].

Except for the lighting.

I was pretty much set on going with 4x T8 lights, since I thought T5's were extremely expensive.

Until I saw this on eBay: http://cgi.ebay.com/4X-54-Watt-T5-H...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item35a444064b

With shipping, it'd only be $10-$15 more expensive than the T8's. The benefits of T5 vs T8 greatly outweigh $15.

Are these genuinely good bulbs or am I being tricked? There are a few others like them. How much would the fixture cost? A ton? I can't find a T5 fixture on eBay, if anyone could help me [link me] to one that'd be great. Would a regular shop fixture work, or is there specialized kinds? Would they be at Home Depot or Lowe's?

I may change my plans just yet.

Any help on this is appreciated, now I'm wondering if T5's are really worth getting, since the difference in price isn't as enormous as I once thought.

NeciFiX
 
I just recently bought one of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=300359484126&ssPageName=STRK:MEWNX:IT

It came with two 3000k and two 6500k Spectralux.
http://cgi.ebay.com/2ft-Spectralux-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item45ef07e3a1

Though I'm pretty sure it doesn't normally come with them.

Two other brands off the top of my head are Hydrofarm and New Wave in addition to Sun Blaze. All make similar fixtures with similar prices. If you are looking for 4-foot ones, all of these brands make them in 4-foot versions as well. On top of that, 1-bulb, 2-bulb, 4-bulb, and 8-bulb flavors.

Here's a cheap 4' version of one of the bulbs:

http://cgi.ebay.com/4ft-Spectralux-...emQQptZLH_DefaultDomain_0?hash=item335714c664

You can also check out a local hydroponics store. They will probably have everything I mentioned above in stock or available for order. But they will probably be more expensive than e-bay.

Also, I looked at both Home Depot and Lowe's and was unable to find any T5 fixtures. I did, however, find some T5 bulbs but not in the 3000k and 6500k flavors.

You might want to look around for reviews first before going with Spectralux. I have them because a local hydroponics store wanted more for the fixture alone than what I paid on ebay for the fixture and the bulbs. But I'm sure you can get a bulb by itself for cheaper at a hydroponics store than off of ebay as shipping will probably cost you more than the bulb itself.
 
Interesting. Where would I find a fixture then?
 
2' or 4'?

Ebay or a Hydroponics store. There are probably several Hydroponic stores around where you live. There are also quite a few online ones. Check the first link in my previous post. That seller has quite a few.
 
2' or 4'?

Ebay or a Hydroponics store. There are probably several Hydroponic stores around where you live. There are also quite a few online ones. Check the first link in my previous post. That seller has quite a few.

Yes, but, they all are hundreds of dollars. Are there any other not so absurdly and disgustingly priced fixtures, or are they all insanely priced like this?

It doesn't make much sense to me personally for the lights to be marginally decent but the fixture worth 4-5x more than the lights, lol.
 
I did quite a lot of looking around, but did not find any other fixtures that were cheaper. I paid $118 for the fixture+bulbs.

Trust me, my budget was much smaller at first. But I couldn't find anything else so I pretty much had to go with this. Not even T8's or T12's that were 2'.
 
I think I might just stick with T8's then. These lights are almost outrageously priced.
 
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