So I have several 4’ fixtures for led bulbs. My question is will I get decent results using grow bulbs in these compared to buying a dedicated grow light? I like that the others come with timers and all but that’s not a deal breaker for the leds.
I’m just needing advice on the pros and cons of each. Any help is greatly appreciated
Fluorescents could get you through whatever you needed but you would be lacking on bud density. I run them for vegging mothers but switch to quantum boards for explosive growth and flowering. Be careful on any Chinese made blurple lights - wattage is not accurate
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Pros:
Cheap
Low temp
Highly accessibly
Cons:
Weak candlepower
Not very efficient so will cost more to run over time
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@Sirsmokesalot kinda what I was thinking. Ok for veg and starting but not in the long run. And yeah I want explosive bud growth during flower. Sometimes I don’t know why I ask questions I already know the answer to. I’m not usually one to do things half ass, excuse my French.
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Hey no worries there happy to help 
might as well ask on here vs second guessing yourself or wasting money energy
The home improvement store led replacements usually run close to same efficacy as t5’s. Expect about same performance on watt for watt basis.
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You mean the light strip with a cover over the strip lights? Good to know I was wondering that myself cause those are much cheaper and can get bundles for a third of the price
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Ya, sometimes they are actually in tubes and look just like fluorescent bulbs. Otherwise will look like a troffer but just have strips mounted in them.
There are some that are really good. But those aren’t usually stocked in large quantities and sold cheap at home depot either.
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@Sirsmokesalot yeah I was referring to some I saw specialized for growing. They had veg bulbs and bloom bulbs. They were pretty expensive about 120 for bundle of 4. I can’t remember the name, evirogrow or something grow. Lol…
Yeah something like these?
I have 12 of these for mothers (half 6400 half 4000) so that’s 1900$ roughly compared to 8 600w HLG quantum board kits at 750$ per = 6000$… similar wattage per sq ft. For mothers I don’t need the efficiency as badly and the low temps are a plus with so many lights on at the same time.
Those qbs will last forever and never need to be replaced( okay hyperbole but probably around year 9) The T5s are 6-8$ a piece and I’m sure each will only last a year if that so will add up over time
It all comes down for what works best for your setup and how much money you wanna spend but if you’re looking for one light to do it all Id go ahead and try a HPS or quantum board setup. Initial investment but you’ll be happy you did come harvest time 
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Yes you’re right. These t5s are more than 8$ though more like 25each. Some for veg and flower. I have the fixtures so I was thinking I could save a buck but it looks like by the time I’m done I’ll have spent more on the t5s. Thanks for your help @Sirsmokesalot. You’ve talked me into it. So what about like the marz 2000 for 4x4 closet or should I get 2? 2- 1,000’s?
For flower you’d def want 2 2000 since they only pull 310 watts from wall. 30-50w per sq foot is ideal high end led being the 30 and standard efficiency being the 50 (anything above 2.1 or so umol/j would be high end)
@dbrn32 is really the guru but he’s led me down a lot of these paths and pointed me in the right direction. @dbrn32 please let him know if I have steered him wrong but I feel confident in the advice I’ve given ya.
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I agree with cost of bulbs adding up. I’m not sure which Mars light you guys are talking about though. the TS series?
Yeah that’s the one I was looking at. Ts 2000. Works well for you?
I just googled it to get specs I use HLG 260xl’s for stealth grow
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