my hydro "plan" your thougts please

hey all , im in the process of building "in my mind"a hydro set up and would like some advise i havnt ordered anything yet just researched / priced what i think i need and such ...

firstly lighting
im leaning towards a 400w/250w lumatek digital ballast with the 3 bulb mh sunpulse bulbs kit which i intend to run at 250w at least for the 1st month then step it up to 400w if it is taking too long , this cost roughly 250 dollars australian for the ballast and 120 each bulb - in a kit its about 500 for the lot
also thinking about just the ballast with a couple cheaper bulbs (1 mh 1 hps) but thats going to cost 350-400 so ill probably go with the 3 sunpulse set,undecided
also there is a cooltube set wich i am considering but am not sure about 1 thing does the cooltube have a glass cover or can it fucntion as an exhaust for the whole set up ,if i were to remove the cover would i risk blowing the bulb by passing hudity over it? i have plenty more questions but that is my main worry at the momment and this is where the majority of expense is going to be the rest i will make from plastic tubs aqurium pumps and such but figgure i should invest in a good ballast as power bills are my biggest worry in tems of raising suspicion
thanks for your help look forward to your replys

I'm not a fan of digital ballasts. too much money up front and too long for payback. for what? Whadya need three bulbs for? One will work just fine if you're talkin a two fitty or four hunna.
Just saved you a wad a cash.
You can thank me now

cheers doser , not so much the power costs im looking for but keeping the bill low so i can avoid the electical company reporting me to the cops , also i want a dimmerable ballask so i can upgrade if need be , i see your point with the bulbs but have read that they dont get as hot as hps bulbs which sounds appealing , is there any truth to this ?

To be honest almost everything I know about ballasts comes from Al B Fuct but I respect his opinion and what he had to say about it made sense at the time I read it although I couldn't tell you more than I have already except after much research I bought a magnetic ballast. I have yet to turn it on as I switched to outdoor grow. Definitely not an expert I just have strong opinions. I do the research though, so it's not just off the wall shit I hear. I got an air cooled 1,000 so I'm not concerned about heat so I won't speak to that because I haven't given it any thought. Everybodies grow is different and you certainly must do what you feel is best according to your own needs. I think your reasoning is legitamate for the most part exept that the fancier you go the more you invite trouble. I believe in the "keep it swimple stupid" method and I like tried and true no bullshit no voodoo. Al and I agree on that also. I came to that conclusion long ago. i think one of the only major mistakes you could make is going to LED for your main lighting. You haven't said you're thinkin about that but I feel strongly aginst them and I was quite taken with them at first. Real glad I didn't waste a bundle there. You sound like a solid plan. good luck and green hits to ya.