I've got a pretty decent grow box going using cfls, and it fits my immediate purposes, but I'm building a new vegging cubicle and I'm really wondering if cfls are worth it.

Right now I have 11 - 26watt and 1- 125 cfl. Cost of the 26 watt cfls, with the socket and lampcord, were about $7.50, $82.50 total, and $75 for the 125 watt lamp and reflector. So that's $157.50 for the lamps I have, and I'd need at least twice as many lamps for the new vegging area, or a cost of about $315.

I can buy two 250w MH lights in cool tubes for around $145 each, or a total cost of $290.

With the cfls I would be burning around 800 watts to produce approximately 51,000 lumens.

With the two metal halides I would burn 500 watts to produce 44,000 lumens.

The vegging area will be approximately 28" deep x 6' long x 42" high.

Could I mount two - 250 watt m/h's in a permanent location at the top of the veg cubicle? Assuming a 5" tall clone, the lights would be about 22" above the clones when they started vegging. Is this so high it would cause them to stretch?

If I let the plants grow to within 8" - 10" from the lights (cool tubes), is this enough clearance?
PharmaCan Reviewed by PharmaCan on . Metal Halide vs cfls - some questions I've got a pretty decent grow box going using cfls, and it fits my immediate purposes, but I'm building a new vegging cubicle and I'm really wondering if cfls are worth it. Right now I have 11 - 26watt and 1- 125 cfl. Cost of the 26 watt cfls, with the socket and lampcord, were about $7.50, $82.50 total, and $75 for the 125 watt lamp and reflector. So that's $157.50 for the lamps I have, and I'd need at least twice as many lamps for the new vegging area, or a cost of about $315. I can buy Rating: 5