Hopefully you all are having a wonderful October like I am.

I have been doing some homework on different setups that other growers might have and have decided that it might be time to invest in HD lighting. But I am also thinking about efficiency and economy. Currently I am vegging a few plants under 3-65w FluoreX CFL floodlights (13,650 phototropic lumens) from Home Depot. I originally wanted to use CFLs through the entire grow but now I want to just use them to veg.

For a while I was strongly considering a new 4ft T5 8-bulb setup that they guy at a local hydroponics shop had gotten me interested in. From him I can get this setup for around $350 complete. I was considering this and wanted to get extra bulbs (so I can use all 8 blues for veg and then maybe 6 reds and 2 blues for flower) but it was going to get a lot more expensive at $15/each. Sounds great for vegging, but not so much for flowering. Also this setup runs about 432watts at 40,000 lumens.

I almost bought the T5s but then I was reading that they don't have any significant light penetration to give nice compact buds and more of them. So I got interested in HPS lights. I could buy these 1000w lights from this guy on Craigslist (he has one MH and one HPS both with 4ft parabolic reflectors...both for $200) but I can't afford to pay that electric bill. For my smaller setup and goal of a personal stash I feel I don't need to go any more than 400 watts and also because of heat in summertime. The internet has lots of deals but you have to pay shipping. The HPS has great light penetration and a great spectrum for flowering, but doesn't have the light distribution that the T5 has. I also read somewhere that the CFLs put out a more useable red spectrum than do HD lights. Hmmm...

Here's some options I am thinking:
1) I could buy 2-250w HPS lights and use those for flowering. They would run around 500 watts and put out roughly 60,000 lumens. Better with ballasts attached or detached?
2) I could buy a cheap 400w HPS from someone like InsideSun for under $150 and use that. It would be a cheap ballast and cheap reflector running 400w at 45,000 lumens.
3) Buy a more expensive 400w HPS with an electronic ballast (less energy usage and more efficient - I believe) and an air-cooled hood or cooltube. Roughly $450 OUCH.
4) Buy a ballast wiring kit for under $100 and assemble my own air cooled setup. But the parts aren't warrantied and I have to build it.
5) Buy an electronic ballast with socket and bulb and construct my own air-cooled tube. Most ballasts I've seen don't come with sockets nor are they cheap.
6) T5 setup purchased from Hydro store with all 6500K bulbs and purchase a few 3000k's
7) T5/HPS combination light...not too sure about this one since it has only a 150w HPS bulb in it.

So if you were in my position what would you do? I have about $500 max to dedicate to this and already have the FluoreX's to keep for maybe a veg cabinet or mother cabinet. There are just too many options for indoor and I am used to using the sun...which can't be beat...ever. I just want to be happy with what I get. And maybe help out a few people who are wondering the same things about lights.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.
HighOnPottery Reviewed by HighOnPottery on . Requesting Lighting Recommendations Hopefully you all are having a wonderful October like I am. I have been doing some homework on different setups that other growers might have and have decided that it might be time to invest in HD lighting. But I am also thinking about efficiency and economy. Currently I am vegging a few plants under 3-65w FluoreX CFL floodlights (13,650 phototropic lumens) from Home Depot. I originally wanted to use CFLs through the entire grow but now I want to just use them to veg. For a while I Rating: 5