Ok, so I am planning on doing a combination of lighting but I've recently run into some confusing information. I want to set up my own HPS and MH setup to grow one or two plants, but I'm worried that I won't have enough light. I have one 100W MH and one 100W HPS. Is this enough lighting for two plants or would one be pushing it? Also, I was reading, and would it just be simpler to use 4 23W CFLs for the whole thing and forget the ballasts and heat issues caused by HIDs? Thanks for any help, I gotta get this shit figured out haha.
If you are using both lamps at once then it should be fine for 2 plants, but you will want to rotate the plants so that one is not constantly getting intense MH while the other is constantly getting intense HPS. Definitely better than 4x23w CFLs, that is barely enough for 1 plant. What are the lumens on those 100w HIDs?
Hid lighting is superior, imo. Light is relative to space when growing, NOT how many plants you have. A 1000w light will cover about a 10' x 10' area. Which calculates to 200w will cover a 2' x 2' area. You can pack 6 plants in 6" pots into that area if you are skilled enough in fertilizer regiments(it gets tricky with smaller pots, bigger pots are more forgiving when you mess up).
Buy a 4'x4 tube T5 fixture. Your results will be better, and you will have no heat problems. See the micro grows forum for plenty of proof that everything people say negatively about fluorescents is a lie. Did I mention you can put that T5 fixture 1" away from your plants? Yeah, that helps a lot with lighting I hear. Also a mixed spectrum is better for veg/preflower, but once flowering is fully underway switch to all red spectrum (either 3000K, 2700K, or pure red T5s, or both HPS if you stick with HID). edit: but yes, 4 23W CFL is less than half of what you're using with the HID lights, and will not work as well. Awful comparisons like that are why people think fluorescents don't work. Use the CFLs to light the sides of the plants (whether you're using HID or a T5 on top). edit2: and no matter what you're using, ~200W is a fairly low light level. I highly recommend using side lighting. Perhaps keep your HID and side-light with the T5 fixture and CFLs?