Quote Originally Posted by jakester
Are you sure about this? It would seem like the higher wattage bulbs would diminish in radiation further out than the lower wattage bulbs.
How close exactly? I would think there would be a good combination of not crowding the light and placement for intensity that would be ideal. I can't see going much closer than 8 or 10" without blocking the light off to the surrounding plants.

I like it, it's just a little complicated. I would rather just hang a couple bulbs in there and like you said, keep them moveable.

I like the modular array idea though, I may just build some of those for the veg chamber.
I am 99.9% confident that you want to keep florescent lights within 12 inches, the closer the better really. As long as its not too hot for your hand, its not too hot for your girls.

As for the cool tubes, doh:stoned:, I kinda forgot about the room size, you're right, you wouldn't want it right up on em if you have all that room. Have you considered a vertical setup? This one looks pretty nice, and I know there is a few more around the forums(search function is your best friend).

And the lighting arrays, I'm pretty sure you should be able to make them for ~30 bucks or less, and I'm pretty sure those big CFL's are at least 30 bucks each, plus you need a high watt socket, plus good quality wiring. But yeah hanging works too.

Hope that helped