I do not like posting here, but I decided to make an account to answer your question as I have had pretty good experience with fluorescent lighting.

My first grow was a 2'X4' ScrOG using 12 T12 bulbs. I managed to get between 5 and 6 ounces of marijuana on my first grow using them. It was an ebb & flow system using bagseed and General Hydroponics three-part nutrient solution. I started with 4 plants, two of them turned out to be male, leaving me with two females to fill the screen with.

My costs after taxes for the 6 fixtures and 12 bulbs was just $78. Don't worry about buying the best fluorescent tubes that you can; they degrade too fast to make it worth your money. I used Philips 40W bulbs; 8 3000k and 4 6500k. Don't get the 4500k, use a mix of the two extremes instead.

Something else I was doing with my lights was using small lengths of chain and attaching one side of the fluorescent reflector to the actual chain holding it up. This caused the light to tilt at a particular angle and was excellent side lighting for non-ScrOG growing.

I enjoyed that first setup so much that I build an identical one in the same room and am using them both to grow some non-cannabis plants. I actually plan on ScrOGing some cherry tomatoes in the next couple of months.

The most important thing when growing with fluorescent tubes is to get the plants as close as possible to the actual bulbs. I actually let my growing tips grow between the two bulbs in the fixtures. My lights were raised just high enough that they weren't bending the buds; they were most definately touching some of them though.

Fluorescent tube fixtures put out quite a bit of heat--Don't neglect the heat management if you choose to use more than 2-4. Laying a propagation dome on top of those hot fixtures works great for seed starting and cuttings (sometimes they even get too hot and humid).

I think I have done enough rambling. If you have any questions, let me know. I will try to check up on this thread over the next few days and answer any questions that you have to the best of my ability.

~Scarlet (Chose 'Cavedog' because Scarlet was taken and I didn't want to pick a better name than 'Cavedog'. Maybe you will see me post again under another username as Scarlet sometime if I ever decide that I don't mind posting on this board after all.)

P.S. Be sure to check out this low-priced alternative to the larger HPS systems. $77.95 MSRP 150W HPS Complete System

P.P.S. Stinkyattic, thanks for all of the reliable information over the years!