Im pretty new at this too. Im about 3 weeks into my first grow and im using cfl. It seems like everyone will recommend HPS but there is a problem that it seems many people like myself cannot get around.. There is no way i can deal with the heat that comes off of these lamps. the only thing i would consider for flowerinf is a 150w hps with remote ballast. The cfl are working great for flowering and ill try em for flowering and then probably make the switch but just remember you said you almost got busted earlier so im assuming you wanna grow in a small space and unless you wanna keep this shit small and quiet HPS poses a problem...at least for me...hope it helps