Customer Reviews
T5 HO LED Horticultural Fixture Reviews
@joegardener
Emmy-winning national gardening television & podcast host Joe Lamp’l. #OrganicGardening, #VegetableGardening, #OnlineGardeningAcademy, HowTo Videos👨🌾 linktr.ee/joegardener
These seedlings I started about 5 weeks ago are now thriving in my garden. I usually supplement those plants with others I pick up at the nursery to fill in gaps. Not this year. Retail inventory of seedlings was horrible, and so was the quality! And my latest happy discovery this seed-starting round is my new grow lamp system. I love trying different lighting systems in hopes of finally settling on a favorite. Over recent years as I was creating my Master Seed-starting online course, I trialed many options from basic fluorescent shop lights, to high-end LED rigs and more sophisticated T5 fluorescent systems. Recently I was invited to try and keep (at no cost to me) a 24W T5 lamp and fixture from Active Grow. I’ve trialed several more basic LED shop light rigs in the past but the results were just average. But not this one. It’s definitely got my attention. These lamps were clearly designed for indoor growing, with high PPF efficiency (the amount of quality light frequency usable by the plants), and higher energy efficiency (none of the heat energy wasted by the fluorescent alternatives). Over 5 weeks of growing time under this system, the plants performed very well – no legginess, nice compact plants, great color, and no light-burn. You can buy just the lamps that plug and play into existing T5 fluorescent fixtures (4 lamps cost about $139), or you can buy the lamps and fixture for around $219 for the 2×4 ft size – perfect for evenly lighting 4 standard trays on a self. The seedlings here were growing under the “Sun White Pro” lamps and I was very happy with the results. I’m really looking forward to seeing how it performs for the next round of warm-season edibles starting in February. A link to this lamp system is in my instagram profile (
@joegardener). (Not an affiliate link). What’s your favorite grow light system? -Joe Gardener 09/22/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ high performance, low cost
This lamp has been phenomenal since turning it on from day 1, I noticed immediate growth improvement. I could not be happier with the performance of these lamps and recommend to anyone. -william 08/21/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great light
The light is great. Perfect for the indoor grow tent I have and puts out a nice, bright, even light. I love it. -erica 08/19/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Grow lights
Easy to install and appear to be doing their job. -Wendy D Fisher 08/18/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Company very nice
Really nice. -pikachuboo 08/17/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Performing LED at excellent value
Amazing light. Almost no heat output – be sure to plan for that! Also, the switch allows you to turn on only 2 or all 4 bulbs. I thought the fixture was broken at first but it turned out to be an added feature – BONUS ! Support was also very responsive when I messaged them with a question. I will buy again. -EP 08/15/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Excellent light spectrum
These fixtures and bulbs are great for growing orchids. I’m seeing excellent growth & blooming! -Amelia16 08/14/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ I believe the light worked really well!
Some of my tomatoes got a little stressed they received so much light. Don’t get the lights too close. For the first few weeks I had been using a weaker setup. -Bill 08/13/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great Light
Quality light. Very happy with purchase. -William McPherson 06/14/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ LED Grow Lights
Purchased two sets of these Active Grow LED Lights, they are very well made. I have had others but all have had cheap electrical cords and off and on switches. These are very solid off and on switches and heavy duty electrical plugs. They run very cool to the touch, hardly feel any warmth after being on for twelve hours. My plants are responding well to these lights. You can measure the growth on a daily basis. I have tomatoes, green peppers, watermelon thus far. They are all growing great. Will be buying more Active Grow LED Lights in the near future. Customer service for this company was excellent in helping me. -Michael S 05/13/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great Product
Impressed with this product. My Bell peppers have done incredibly well under this light. Ordered a second light, have the 2 foot and 4 foot light. Seedlings grew so fast, needed the larger light to allow for them to spread out. The pepper plant leaves are broader than what I’ve grown under fluorescent T5. Another benefit, my plants are not leggy. Stalks are nice and thick. You can pull the light close to the plants after they sprout which was great at first. Eventually moved the light about 18″ above them as they have grown larger and continue to grow. Plants have a nice Bush appearance. Also obtained great results with parsley and am now staring cabbage, tomatoes, basil and believe they will do just as well. This light definitely has given me a jump on the growing season which can be tempermental at times where I live. -Emily G 05/10/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ The Best Grow Lights. (It’s not close)
Wow. These light fixtures are incredibly well made, meticulously packaged, and work exceptionally great. I wish I didn’t waste my money on the hydrofar* t5 florescent lights that use twice as much energy and burn my plants. -Kevin 05/05/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Will buy more
I purchased four of these to grow my annual flowers on a rack system. The lights are absolutely fantastic. Bright white lights have produced spectacular results. The owner of the company is reachable and responsive when you have an issue. I was so pleased I added 4 more smaller lights as my racks were too deep for the units I purchased initially. I purchased a different set up for my vegetables — fluorescent grow lights from another manufacturer—- and am really disappointed, so I will be replacing those lights with these next year. I highly recommend these lights and this manufacturer. -Huey 05/05/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ EXCELLENT PRODUCT
I decided to upgrade after watching a bunch of youtube vids on LED lighting specification / products / solutions for a home set up — Active Grow was the highest recommended via YouTube. Here’s the deal >> set up is like 5 minutes and honestly within 24 hours my plants were super-responding. DO NOT BE FOOLED — led grow lights are not all the same. These folks have it figured out — HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!! -David Burns 05/03/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great Customer Service.
After doing a lot of research I decided to go with the Active Grow T5 High Output LED Grow Light Fixture to start my garden from seeds (Tomatoes, Peppers, Eggplant, Parsley, Basil, etc..). After a few months a pair of the bulbs went dim. I contacted the seller and they immediately sent me two new bulbs and that fixed the problem. Overall, the fixture gives off plenty of light for any seedlings you may want to start for your garden. Highly recommend this fixture. -jonesey 04/17/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great product
Love it -Tarsha Davidson 03/03/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Excellent light
Excellent light, working well. This is a well-built product that looks like it will last for years. -Jeffrey Neal 02/26/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Orchids love it.
My second purchase. Orchids love it. Does not emit heat like t5ho fluorescents so plant humidity stays around longer. -Lilly 02/22/20
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ So good!
As I upgrade my grow lights, I’m going all LEDs. This grow light has so much going for it. First off, it’s long, so I can fit four flats directly under it. Secondly, it’s slim (in terms of height), which is great because every inch counts. It also has a pleasing color temperature, so it’s not an obnoxious typical LED-colored light if you need to be in the room with your grow lights.
There are two switches so you can run it at half power or full power. There’s also an auxiliary outlet on the side, which I didn’t use but it’s nice to know it’s there if I have to daisy chain another light to it in the future.
It runs cool and quiet, unlike some LEDs that have loud, obnoxious fans, so that’s a huge plus. As for performance, it worked great. All of my seedlings grew very well and far better than under fluorescent lights, which can burn foliage because they have to be so close to the plants.
This is an excellent light. I’d love to upgrade my entire system to this light. -Erin 07/07/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Beautiful Light and Very Helpful Customer Service
Active Grow was very valuable in helping me to choose the right light for my orchid growing stand — great customer service. I am very pleased with the appearance of the full spectrum light — my orchids appear very natural. I am looking forward to seeing how the higher light levels improve my growing environment. -Hilary 06/24/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Top notch light, a worthy investment
These lights are well-made, bright, and have a nice illumination spectrum — power consumption is put into useful wavelengths, whereas a fluorescent bulb wastes a lot of energy emitting light that is not useful to plants. These bulbs give off some heat, but not much; plants can grow happily within 1 or 2 inches of the bulbs, which also allows you to maximize the amount of photosynthetic production versus power consumed. My plants love them! I have been running them for almost a month now & am very pleased. I will aim to update later on. -Brendan 06/21/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ The Best Full Spectrum Grow Lights Made!
I HAVE TRIED THEM ALL IF YOUR LOOKING FOR THE BEST THESE ARE THE ONLY ONES! I’m getting 99.5% germination excellent vegetation and amazing flowing. Our yard has never looked better. Staring flowers from seed and bring them to planting size as well as bloom. Starting vegetables from seed for our green houses with these lights has increased our crop 300%! -John Glover 06/15/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Robust light!! – You immediately see the difference in spectrum
I have tried the 2 bulb hood combo, the 4 bulb red bloom, and this sun spectrum. Overall – they are all perfect in there own use and cycle. The sun spectrum is my favorite. We use all of them in a agricultural research environment. We focus on germination and early stage growth…Bottom line… these are superior to all forms of light we have used for germination and vegetative growth.We do a lot of comparisons and a/b testing… I love the consistency of these LEDs. I will post some pictures as soon as I can. I had some issues that were clearly an issue during shipping… after I notified them- they sent me replacement parts – I also noticed after that…on my next order… the packaging was even more robust.. So awesome when a brand goes above and beyond to solve an issue…and then prevent it from future occurrence…awesome awesome. -Phoenix 04/24/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great Orchid light
I love this fixture! I replaced my 2 ft fixture with this 4 ft/4 tube fixture for my expanding orchid collection. I have very happy plants now! This was easy to hang and set up and i’m sure will last me many years. There is the option of lighting 2 or 4 bulbs. This would allow bulbs of different spectrums to be switched out if needed. -Sybil 04/17/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ This light is great!
This LED light came very well packed for shipping. It provides excellent light and my tomato plants are very happy! -Sherry 04/12/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ NICE LIGHT
This is my first grow light purchase, out of the box the light was easy to put together and hang. I read a lot of reviews before I bought this and they all seemed positive. -CWSD 04/12/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great grow light!
This lamp is great! I live in zone 4 so I have a short growing season and these lamps are a game changer. The light tubes and fixture are built well. –Andrew B. 03/25/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Great lights for a hobby greenhouse
These lights work great. Still growing cool weather vegetables in January and supplementing heat with a small milkhouse heater. -Elizabeth Parks 01/07/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Worth it!
I just started growing my own lettuce on Nov 4 2018. I did a bunch of research before buying lights, but still ended up with several types. I have a 2’x 8′ space growing 36 plants. Half have been growing under normal T5 fluorescent lights, and the other half have been using the Active Grow T5 LED lights. The fixtures are the same. The only difference is the lights, and the plants can tell. The plants under the Active Grow LED lights are noticeably larger than those under the fluorescent light. I also find the color to be more vibrant. I liked the performance and cost savings of these bulbs so much, I bought a second set to replace the T5 Fluorescent lights I mentioned above. I just received them a couple of days ago, and they are up and running now. I love the power savings too! I can run two, 4′, 4 bulb, Active Grow T5 LED setups for less than the cost of one 4′, 4 bulb T5 Fluorescent setup. I’m definitely producing lettuce cheaper than I can buy it in the store, and it’s always clean, healthy, and picked fresh daily. -Mitchell Hickok 01/05/19
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Best LED grow light that I have used … the orchids are thriving
All grow lights are not created equal — it is no small feat to successfully replicate the natural sunlight that plants have evolved with for eons. What looks bright and pleasing to humans is not necessarily what is most valuable to plants (for photosynthesis). I’ve found this out through trial and error, and a lot of research, to enhance my orchid growing. At the moment, I count six different LED grow lights in operation for different types of orchids, using LEDs for both supplemental and sole sources of light. I’m taking the time to write a review, which I rarely do, because the Active Grow LEDs are the best full spectrum grow lighting that I’ve found so far for orchid seedlings, and blooming size Paphiopedilums and Phalaenopsis. I particularly note the robust year-round root growth on the Paphs, including multi-floral and higher light species. I run my lights 9-10 hours/day — which has been plenty for flowering the lower light Paphs, and fewer hours than I comparably used T5 HO fluorescents. I’m also trying some higher light species under the ActiveGrow lights as well. The near blooming size Dendrobiums are growing well, with a few flowers emerging on the largest seedlings. I also note that recently deflasked orchid seedlings do not dry out as quickly under these LED lights, compared to the T5 HO fluorescents. This is very beneficial given their shallow root systems, and many of the smaller seedlings are establishing more easily. -A’na Sa’tara of Ancient Energy Orchids (www.aeorchids.com) 01/02/19 -Read more about her experience working with Active Grow LEDs on her website here. 
Blooming size and near blooming size Paphiopedilum growing under Active Grow LED lights
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ The light works well!
I have grown kale, carrots, lettuce, arugula and cilantro so far with great success! -Sue 12/23/18
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ In another league, way to go ACTIVE GROW!!!
Hands down the best T5 ever!!! Micro greens are ready in 2 days under these lights instead of 3, in 3 days I have a 25% increase in weight, and my purple kale tastes even better, the quality is unmatched. -Buyorsell 12/08/18 ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Perfect light for your indoor garden
I am impressed by this light. It was easy to assemble and mount. The led’s lights produce virtually no heat so I can grow my plants anywhere without having to worry about ventilation. It’s compact size does the same job as my bigger lights. My baby plants are doing good so I know the spectrum is what it’s suppose to be. -P Muniz 09/05/18
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ Game Changer
I’ve been using T5 HO lamps for a while now as my primary light source. I thought I had my spectrum close to dialed in with a mix of different lamps. I had my doubts. I decided to switch over to these T5 HO daylight LEDs and was quickly blown away by the response in my garden. Deeper greens, thicker leaves, tighter growth patterns, everything. The PPFD reading is much more even throughout the ENTIRE grow space as compared to my experience with traditional T5 HOs. I can now utilize the edges of my grow space instead of just focusing on the direct center under the lamps. Literally EVERYTHING is so much better then traditional T5s that I’ll never go back again. The spectrum these lamps produce has been a total game-changer. Thank you Active Grow. -04/30/18 Todd
✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ ✮ High-light orchids are blooming!
After having tried unsuccessfully to grow Cattleya orchids in my sunroom, I decided to convert an unused sauna in the basement to an orchid grow room. Did a lot of research on T5 both fluorescent and LED and bought these. They were expensive but I determined that they would be cost effective over 3+ years. I was persuaded by the fact that the have a CRI (Color Rendering Index) of 91. That was a statistic I could understand. These are truly full spectrum. There is a lot more information on the company’s web site. An interesting video that compared these to T5HO. I really swallowed hard before buying these because of the higher price. The video provided information on the quality and quantity of useful (to the plant) lights that these put out. I understand it better now, but the proof of it is what I am seeing in the plants. I now (for the past three months) have these on 16 hours a day in my small room. They do produce some heat but far, far less than T5 fluorescents, which would have been a disaster (I see now) in my enclosed room. With two fans running and lots of humidity (trays, misting, wetting the concrete floor) I can keep the humidity high, the temperature where I want it (by keeping the door more or less open), and the air quality fresh. OK, but — what about the plants? I am now seeing the first buds on one of the Cattleyas, and most of the orchids are pushing new growths and roots. Even in my unskilled hands, the life force that I am seeing in these plants is just –truly awesome. I measured the light and it is about 1800 foot-candles very close to the lamps. Because they are on continuously for 16 hours a day, the plants are getting ample light, the rough equivalent of 3500 foot-candles in a natural environment where light waxes and wanes throughout the day. I can control the amount of light by locating the plants closer or farther from the lamps. I could never have had a setup like this with fluorescents because the heat would have never allowed me to put the plants so close to the lamps as I can with these, and the room would have been too hot. (Opening the door further would let heat out, but would also let humidity out). I have the full spectrum bulbs in all three fixtures but am anticipating trying out some of the red bulbs once we get into bud-producing season in the fall. For the first time I can grow and flower high light orchids like Cattleyas. I am already thinking about how I may be able to install a fourth unit in the grow room. I am running out of space. -Tessa 08/05/18
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