professor:
the fluoro i use is from ezhydro (find them on ebay). it is a dual light (half blue half red). i'm blue until flowering. as soon as i switch to 12/12, i flip the light over for the red spectrum. while my grow may not be as big as others, i get a big enough yield for me. and, my buds are big. i don't use any side lights but i do have mylar walls (i spray cardboard with spray on glue (home depot) and attach the mylar). i do keep the plants within an inch of the lights. this means that i have to keep a pretty close watch on growth (which i do anyway). but even of the plants touch the lights temporarily, the plants won't burn (i try not to let this occur and certainly wouldn't recommend testing to see waht happens).
i guess everyone can argue with me, but i've used the 125w dual fluoro from start to finish for two grows. it is not some tiny little fluorescent you get from the hardware store. here's a link to exactly what i have: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...382548877&rd=1

read the reviews. it works.