i've got a 600w switchable ballast. High intensity Discharge(HID) lights require a ballast to obtain the correct amount of voltage through regular home sockets because they require a mogul base. metal halide(MH) and high pressure sodium(HPS) can be used at separate parts of the plants life. MH has the blue tint/spectrum which is great for veg. HPS has more of an autumn sun set orange tint, which is great for flowering. a switchable ballast is capable of operating both types of light. ballasts generate a moderate amount of heat and should be posted in a secure location away from water, and on a fire proof surface. HIDs have a higher lumen output per watt than the cfl, can cover a larger area, and do not have to be set 1-2 inches away from the plants. although 150w HIDs can be set relatively close to the plant, there will be much more heat that should be vented away from the top of the plant and cooled addequately. 150w can be hung 4-5 inches from the plants and can cover a 2x2 area. a 400w 8-12 inches and covers a 4x4 area, and a 600w can be hung 18-32 inches away from the plant and covers a 6x6. generally 100w of HID for 2x2 area.
cfls come in many different wattages, basically three types of spectrum. Full spectrum(6700k), cool blue(4500k), or warm white(2700k) k is kelvin and is a temp variation such as farenheit and celcius. full spectrum is used during the growth or veg state. warm white is used for flowering. cfls also come in 120v, which is for the standard 1inch light socket, and 240v, which fits a mogul base light socket. the 240v CFLs are self ballasted(built in ballast)
The smaller cfls(9w, 13w, 23w, 26w) are useless unless there are several per plant, but can be gradually increased in number as the plant gets bigger, but requires a lot more wiring. a plant needs 5000 lumens per square ft. for optimal growth, with the least amount of stretching. the small cfls do not provide enough lumens to accommodate. 80 watts of cfl would provide for this necessity. However that would be 80w per cubic feet, generally 80 watts for 1 ft of plant and a square foot around the plant. after the plant is higher than 1 ft, you can gradually add more cfls(as side lights) to adapt to what the plant needs.
i made the mistake of jumping into growing without having the correct knowledge in most of the fields that pertain. i bought a 600w switchable HID ballast when i first start, and only had 1 successful female plant. i would suggest getting a smaller HID(150w) at first or perhaps getting i higher watt(150w-300w) cfl to grow seedlings, so that you do not have as much loss of light and have to pay for it. after they are bigger, move them to a 600w HID when you re-pot them. but keep them in veg, prune them, and clone them when they get bigger to sex them. have a separate room away from all light for a flower room. take a certain amount of clones each week, root them under very little light for a week, then slip them under the original smaller veg light. if you get a 150w HID that covers 2x2 sq ft, you can slide in 1 clone each week for an 8 week flowering strain and at the end of the 8 weeks you will have 1 plant finishing each week, there should be enough room in a 2x2 room to flower 8 clones because the plants that are 1-5 will still have relatively smaller buds and are smaller in size than the fully flowering 7-8 week old plants. if you want more to finish each week you will have to get another bigger light instead of using the original veg light. while keeping your original plants in veg you will need to label them with numbers of alphabets and also label the clones that you take with the same symbol.(google perpetual growing and harvesting) hope this helps good luck
