My first CFL light setup that worked very well was made very simply using a 3-light bathroom light bar. I used metal flashing to make a reflective hood, painted the inside titanium flat white. I stripped the bathroom bar of all of its frilly stuff and used the same bolts to attach it to the hood. I had to get an electric cord replacement set to wire it.
Initially, I used three 42 watt warm light CFL's. Later, I replaced the middle of the three lights with a 30 watt daylight CFL for more blue light spectrum.
The lights were placed from 2-4 inches above the plants.
This setup worked great for vegging, not so good for flowering.
For flowering, I used two 4-light bathroom bars in the setup, with eight 42 watt warm light CFL's. This setup produced the nice tight buds i was hoping for. These lights were placed 3-6 inches above the plants.
I will have to borrow my Daughter's digital camera and post pictures of the light setup. All of the material was available at the local Home Despot.
Keep in mind that this setup will not work that well for tall plants as the light will not reach the bottom leaves very well. Works good for SOG.
