I have grown out mothers under 6x23 W CFL's, but my 175 MH works better and IMO the T5's are probably the best way to go. As far as your plants looking hungry even when the SunShine is still moist, you may have low humitity in the room, maybe trying to sit a pale of water in there for a few days and see how they act, or try misting them with a spray bottle for about a week and see how they react.
Well, wify is trying to get me to bed, and a happy home is pretty important to me, so Adieu