Hi everybody, this will be my first time growing and I know literally nothing about it (yeah you've heard it all before) Im thinking of growing down in my basement because it is pretty dark and draffty (not sure if that is good) but since it is pretty draffty the air would be well circulated, my house is around 100 years old and I have a basement with a dirt floor, lol, well no one really goes down there and its only really inhabited by spiders, and from floor to cieling it is only like less than 6ft (you have to kind of bend over to get around anywhere).. Anyway, My biggest question is what kind of light should I look for... I really don't want to spend a TON of money ya know, seeing as how I only want to grow maybe 5-6 plants... So far I have an old Westing House 40 watt fluorescent lamp with 2 white lights maybe 4 ft in length which probly can be used during the seedling phase, idk though, they give off no heat.. I have already read through the FAQ but would also like some user input as well.. Any idea's

What do you guys think about a light like this

eBay: HPS & METAL HALIDE Light from Fluorescent Grow Lite mh (item 260103023313 end time Apr-03-07 09:30:00 PDT)

Comments appreciated

For about the same price you can do better:

Complete High Output 2 Lamp T5 with MIXED GROW & BLOOM Bulbs 2 Lamp T5HO with GROW & BLOOM Bulbs 2 LAMP
HIGH OUTPUT
T5 FLUORESCENT
GROW LIGHT SYSTEM
Comes complete with two T5 High Output Fluorescent Bulbs - ONE GROW and ONE BLOOM BULBS included!

About the system:
- Low Profile - only 2.25 inches !
- Two 4’ High Output Bulbs Included (mix of 1 Grow and 1 Bloom bulbs)
- High Output bulbs have extremely high lumen per watt rating - 5,000 lumens per bulb! This system emits an incredible 10,000 lumens!
- T5 bulbs are available in different light spectrums to allow for customization of light spectrum. Please see auction links below for different lamp choices for this fixture.
- Lamps emit very little heat, allowing you to hang the fixture very close the the plant canopy. THIS DRAMATICALLY INCREASES YOUR YIELDS!
- T5 bulbs have an outstanding 24,000 hour life expectancy (one year is 8,760 hours) and unlike sodium or halide bulbs, a T5 loses very little of its’ light output over its’ life.
- Solid State Electronic Ballast emit very low heat and is virtually SILENT.
- Electronic Ballast operates on standard Household Current (120v)
- Innovative Design has ballast placed beside lamps, not above lamps (like competitive fixtures do) allowing them to run cooler and last longer
- Sleek Design and Attractive Finish make this the best looking T5 fixture on the market!
- Top Quality Highly Reflective 95%+ polished Aluminum Reflector for Maximum Light Output unlike competitions unpolished "tin" type reflector.
- Locking Lamp Sockets hold lamps in place properly and will not allow for the lamps to fall out.
- Convenient On/Off Switch
- Lightweight and Easy to Hang
- Cable Hangers inlcuded with every light (no additional charge like competition)
- Best Price for a High Output T-5 Grow Light Fixture ANYWHERE!
T5 fixtures are fast becoming the preferred lighting systems for many plant growers. They are bright enough to grow ALL types of plants. They are very versital and can be used as seed starters/propagation lighting and as a full term light taking your plants from beginning to end. Safe and cool, these lights do not have a hot, single blinding point of light like H.I.D. lights and are safe used in schools or other environments where H.I.D.’s are undesirable.
T5 fixtures can also supplement existing H.I.D. systems providing needed light spectrums that the H.I.D. bulbs lack. Examples are to add "cool" blue spectrum T5 light to gardens using High Pressure Sodium’s orange/red spectrum or add "warm" red spectrum T5 light to supplement Metal Halide’s blue/white spectrum. You may also choose to use T5 lights as side lighting for your plants to help them fill out better underneath their top canopy.
EXCEPTIONAL PERFORMANCE and VALUE
What are T5 Fluorescents and why are they so popular for growing plants?
Fluorescent Lamp technology has become very efficient in converting energy into light output in recent years. We are now seeing a higher watt to light output ratio from the T5 fluorescent than is experienced using High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D.) systems like Metal Halide. Each four foot T5 lamp produces an amazing 5,000 lumens per bulb! This is incredibly bright and represents a huge leap for fluorescent technology. Antiquated T12 fluorescents (your standard "shop-light" fixture) and the popular T8 fluorescents emit around 2,600-3,000 lumens per 4’ bulb. T5 Fluorescent’s light output is even higher than Metal Halide’s intense bright light as Metal Halide bulbs produce around 80 lumens per watt. T12 fluorescents emit around 65 lumens per watt and the T8 fluorescents emit about 81 lumens per watt. Compare that to the T5’s outstanding 92 lumen per watt ratio and you now see why T5’s are truly the next generation in grow lights. Metal Halide and T12 and T8 lamps can lose as much as 50% of their initial light output over the life of the bulb. So without regularly changing your halide/sodium bulbs, your plants could be growing at "half speed". T5 fluorescent bulbs also hold their lumens longer than Metal Halide / High Pressure Sodium and other fluorescent bulbs meaning they stay brighter longer. This means you can be assured your plants are receiving the proper amount of light over the lamps life.
Many independent tests have shown the T5 Fluorescents outproduce higher wattage Metal Halide systems. The reasoning is this. High Intensity Discharge (H.I.D.) bulbs including Metal Halide (MH) and High Pressure Sodium (HPS) emit light from a very small source - a two to four inch arc tube inside the bulb. The light is very intense and needs to be spread across the entire garden from this one small point of light. So, not matter how effecient the reflector, the light still has to travel a distance from the arc tube and across the garden losing light intensity along the way. T5 Fluorescent lamps emit light from along each 4’ section of each of the 4 bulbs. This is a much larger light source spread over a much larger area. This allows the grower to place the T5 fluorescents very close to the plant canopy while still achieving the light spread across the entire garden area. Placing the light closer to the plants equates into very high light intensity. Metal Halide’s small arc tube also gets very hot and if placed too close to plants it will actually burn them. Since T5 fluorescents have such a large area of light source along the bulb they also emit considerably less heat than Metal Halides and thus can be placed very close the the tops of your plants. T5 Fluorescent bulbs also come in a variety light spectrums (eg. "warm/bloom" and "cool/growth" spectrums). This allows each grower to customize their light for the type of plant growth desired. Use all "cool" 6,500 Kelvin Daylight Spectrum bulbs for lush compact vegetative plant growth or "warm" 3,000 Kelvin Red Spectrum bulbs for explosive flowering plant growth - or mix the both "cool" and "warm" bulbs to create a truly balanced light spectrum!

^ Nice, where did you see that

High Tech Garden

eBay: 2 lamp T5 High Output T-5 five grow light MIXED BULBS (item 180037774573 end time Apr-09-07 07:48:29 PDT)

Comes with 2 lights, 1 grow bulb 1 bloom bulb, will this mean I wont have to change lighting for the different phases of growth?

ps. Does this light contain an adequate amount of power to sustain weed growth?