All great fixtures need great bulbs, that not only can last a long time, but will be efficient and cost effective, so that your electricity bill is not huge but you still get very good light for your plants. Here I compiled a list of 4 feet long T5 High Output (HO) bulbs that match these criteria and have the color temperature of 6,500 Kelvins.
Triangle Bulbs T5 HO 6,500K Daylight Bulbs (F54T5/865/HO)
One of customers’ favorite daylight or 6,500 Kelvin bulbs is the Triangle Bulbs T5 tube, because it is efficient in terms of electricity consumption and costs.
Each of this kind of bulb that comes in a pack of 6 chews up precisely 54 watts or power each hour, which actually is not that much considering the lumen count the bulbs gives out for these watts. That is around 4,800 lumens which will provide your plants with bright and powerful light without the heat that comes with other similar type of bulbs.
On top of that these bulbs are rated to have 20,000 hours of life expectancy, which means that you will be able to use one and the same bulbs for around 3 whole years, before they need to be replaced again.
The bulbs themselves are 46.6 inches to 0.1 inches to 0.6 inches (118.364 cm x 0.254 cm x 1.524cm) in their dimensions and they weight only 1 pound (0.45kg) so they are compact, lightweight and very durable.
Some of the great things the customers have to say about these bulbs are:
“Seedlings look very happy under these lights, leafing out early” (Patricia Parks)
“These bulbs work wonderfully” (Marian)
“The bulbs were of top grade” (Bill W.)
→CLICK HERE for Pricing and more Specs of Triangle Bulbs HO T5 bulbs
Apollo Horticulture T5 Fluorescent Grow Light Bulbs
Another very popular replacement bulbs that are very good and long-lasting are these ones by company called Apollo Horticulture. They are specially designed to be able to compete with high intensity discharge bulbs, so you can be sure that they are powerful and efficient.
The less watts bulbs consume the smaller the cost for electricity are for you, so considering that these bulbs consume only 54 watts, you are sure to get cost effective lights. But not only that, for those 54 watts consumed they also will produce better light as many other grow lights. The color temperature of this produced light will be 4,850 lumens that will be delivered straight to your plants.
The average life span for these bulbs is over 20,000 hours so even with extensive use they will not burn out for about 3 years. Moreover the light shining from these bulbs will be very beneficial to your plants therefore will promote your plants health, as well as will kick start their seedling or growing process.
The dimensions of the Apollo Horticulture bulbs are 47.3 to 2.3 to 2.3 inches (120.142cm x 5.842cm x 5.842cm) and the weight of one of these bulbs is 2 pounds (0.9kg).
And to further show good quality and features of these bulbs customers have left some great reviews:
“These are great for veg growth! Can't beat the price & easy to setup or replace if needed.” (Gary G.)
“Great light good price, really helpful for garden herbs in my no-sun forested subdivision.” (Walter Roberts)
“Great deal and awesome bulbs” (John Collons)
→CLICK HERE for Pricing and more Specs of Apollo Horticulture T5 bulbs
Hydrofarm T5 Replacement Bulbs (FLT5464)
And lastly one of the most popular hydroponic equipment manufacturers Hydrofarm too produce great replacement bulbs, that are not only efficient, but of good price and easy to buy.
The lumen output for these bulbs is 5,000 lumens per each tube, which means that any plant that is placed under these bulbs will receive powerful light that will really help the plants grow and later produce bigger yields. To achieve this kind of lumen count the bulbs consume 54 watts of electricity which really is not much considering how good your plants will feel under these bulbs.
The rated life hours for this light are around 20,000 of course depending on how good you take care of the bulbs but in many cases the bulbs exceed this 20,000 hour life span. And the heat emission for these bulbs are minimal so you can place them as close to your plants as you want.
The size of these bulbs is 46.5 inches to 2.6 inches to 2 inches (118.11cm x 6.604cm x 5.08cm) and each of the bulbs weighs 2.6 pounds (1.17kg) which might seem a lot but considering their durability it really isn’t.
And the customers are also very pleased with these lights saying things like:
“I would recommend these for grow lights or for any general lighting” (Fire Hazard)
“I have used these bulbs before, they are as advertised and great for my indoor growing needs.” (Linda in NJ)
“Nice bulbs, fair price.” (Daniel Overcash)
7 Comments
Paul W.
Thanks for your articles on the proper lighting systems.
What do you think of the Eiko 06854 or the Lightwise F54T5HO?
The Triangle bulbs seem attractive to me, because the Lightwise
bulbs were burning my carrot tops when I put them within 3″ of
the bulbs.
Ben Thorton
Hi Paul,
Glad my article was useful to you. Thanks for reading!
I think both the Eiko and Lightwise bulbs can work for your plants if used appropriately. As will the Triangle bulbs.
And the cause of the Lightwise bulbs burning your carrot tops might be that they are LED bulbs in T5 bulb packaging, therefore they are different from T5 bulbs and need to be used a bit differently too.
Regards,
Ben
Reza
Thanks for these practical article.
I have a question, I have a terrarium with moss and creepers (mossarium) and I need to know which type of light is perfect? I mean the kelvin and the lumen of the light. I do not want to let them grow fast but keep them healthy and freshly green.
Ben Thorton
Hi Reza,
Glad you found my articles helpful.
To answer your question, I would suggest you looking into 4,100 Kelvin bulbs. If bulbs with the color temperature around 6,500 Kelvins promote growth, bulbs with the color temperature around 3,000 Kelvins promote plant flowering and 10,000 Kelvin bulbs are more suited to aquatic plants, then 4,100 Kelvin bulbs should be just what you are looking for. They will provide natural light to your plants which should keep your moss green and healthy, but won’t promote rapid growth or flowering, as the color of the light is nor too blue or too red.
Hope this helps!
Regards,
Ben
Sarah Johansen
do you have any suggestions for good t5 LED replacement bulbs… for grow or flower?
Ben Thorton
Basically, all bulbs that are mentioned on T5Fixtures are good. It really depends on what you need.
Ken Plumley
Great explanation on Kelvin units.
I also am going to make my own bulb holders to use in my 18×24 greenhouse, and will go with the 4 ft. 6500 k bulbs.
I currently have 4 bulbs but will increase to 8-16 bulbs to keep my houseplants growing well during dreary winter days even though I live in north Florida.
Thanks for the great info.
Today I learned COB, Cree, and Kelvin. I always thought Kelvin was only used in absolute cold temp readings.