Maxibright T5 Fluorescent 4ft 4 Tube – 216W Grow Light

Four feet of low-heat light that can sit inches off the canopy

The Maxibright T5 4ft 4 Tube is a 216W fluorescent propagation fixture — four T5 tubes in a highly reflective aluminium housing, spanning a full 123.5cm. T5 fluorescent runs cool enough that the fixture can be hung within a few inches of plant tops without scorching, which is the whole point for seedlings and unrooted cuttings: they need light close and even, and they cannot tolerate the heat an HID puts out at that distance. At 8.54kg and 11cm deep it is a substantial fixture built to be left in place over a bench.

Key Benefits

• 216W across four T5 tubes — enough spread to cover a full 4ft propagation bench rather than a single tray
• Very low heat output — hangs close to plant tops without the scorch risk of an HID at the same distance
• Highly reflective aluminium housing — pushes light down onto the canopy rather than losing it sideways
• Even coverage along the full 123.5cm — no bright centre and dim ends, which is what causes uneven seedling trays
• Low consumption against HID — a fraction of the draw of a metal halide covering the same bench
• Simple and serviceable — tubes are a standard consumable and can be replaced individually

Seedlings Stretch When the Light Is Too Far Away

The commonest propagation failure is light that is either too weak or too high. Seedlings respond by stretching toward it, producing long, thin stems that never properly thicken and plants that fall over as soon as they are potted on. The fix is intensity delivered close to the canopy — and the reason a hot lamp cannot do it is that the heat would cook the growing tips at that distance. A cool-running T5 solves both halves at once, which is why fluorescent has held its place in propagation long after HID gave way elsewhere.

How to Use

• Hang it close: a few inches above the canopy is the working distance — much of the benefit is lost if it is hung like an HID
• Raise it as plants grow, keeping that gap roughly constant
• Run 16–18 hours a day for seedlings and cuttings
• Cover a bench, not a tray: the 4ft span suits a run of trays end to end
• Replace tubes on a schedule — fluorescent output falls off well before the tube fails, so a dim tube is easy to miss
• Keep the reflector clean; dust on aluminium costs output that no setting recovers

Fluorescent or LED?

We stock both, and they are not the same. This fixture is fluorescent. The Maxibright T5 LED equivalent covers the same 4ft footprint at roughly 164W rather than 216W, lasts far longer before output drops, and costs less to run — Maxibright quote around 50% lower energy cost. Fluorescent still makes sense where the up-front price matters more than the running cost, or where you already run T5 tubes and want to keep one consumable across the bench. If you are buying for the long term, look at the LED version first.