is the hydrofarm 4' grow light worth buying for 52 bucks? It's on amazon and it's either that or this 4' 4 light model that looks better but it's also 130 bucks and then you need to get the ratchet straps to hang it for another 20$. The 4 bulb one on amazon comes with the t5 lights but I'm not sure if the bulbs are included at home depot who also carries the light fixture. I am on a budget but if the hydrofarm is garbage, I'll cut back somewhere else to get the 130$ model. Nothings too good for my babies.

Just get a cheep shop light might be able to pick one up at walmart for about 15 bucks. then get some t5 bulds from depot.. right now im just using walmart grow bulbs and doing just fine. but i am going to upgrade to a t5 next year i think.

Dave,
Do t5 bulbs fit in a t8 fixture?

I was under the impression that you had to have a certain type ballast for T5 and T8 bulbs. Don't know that for sure though.

I tried T8 bulbs in my old shop light and they would not come on fully. They just fluttered.

You will need at T5 fixture/ballast if you want to run a T5 light.  In my opinion it is worth it to spend a bit more for the T5.  T5s are more efficient than T8s, so the electricity bill will be lower for a given amount of light output.  But they are more expensive, so you have to pay more up front. 

Make sure you get the right spectrum, 6500K (aka daylight, not soft or warm white) is best, unless you go for LEDs that target the specific reds and blues that are useful for photosynthesis.  But that is more expensive still. 

Usually you can buy a shop light, 4 ft for about 12-20 dollars if you find them on sale, then you need a way to hang them, hooks and chain for me (5 bucks or less), an extension cord or electrical cord and male plug (about 5-10 dollars depending on sales or if you have), murettes (1-2 bucks for a box) and bulbs (5-10 bucks each depending on which ones you want to buy, the plant lights do put out better growth though from my experience)

Depending on your prices and my estimations (they could be a bit off) somewhere around 33-57 you can make your own, usually it costs me about 35 cdn to make one with everything included.

6500K tubes have more of the 420nm peak but offer less of the red.  Light at 670 nm promotes chloroplast multiplication.  5000K tubes have a lot of the PAR spectrum but you can mix 5000K with 6500K and 2700K for even better balance.  See this post

Back in my college days I grew a lot of plants in my closet...

I have grown under hydrofarm hoods and shop lights.  I could not see any difference.  In my experience the output-for-value is best from 4 rows of 4' $10 shop lights, with one soft one non, in each hood.  Run of the mill cool cfl bulb is 6200K vs. 6500k from the hydrofarm branded bulbs, both of which produce around the same Lux.  The Lux is more important than the Lumens by the way.

If you want really large indoor harvests that's a difference story completely and you should use a high pressure sodium lamp with internal cooling (because moisture on a hps bulb over 250w is a disaster.)  The output from a compact florescent bulb does not penetrate the canopy much beyond 4 inches, where HPS can penetrate 36 inch canopy easily.  

Here are some pictures of what I mean by 4 rows of shop lights.  This is how my carnivorous bog garden has been set up for years.  They do very well, and they require much more sun than figs.

Hope this helps!

http://s24.beta.photobucket.com/user/Tobiazeus/media/007_zps905e3cab.jpg.html
http://s24.beta.photobucket.com/user/Tobiazeus/media/008_zps415f6894.jpg.html

I grew plants in highschool in the closet but not ones i should talk about. oh the good ol days, where does the time go.

I have two of these I bought last year to start vegetable seedlings under. I like them and currently have some figs under them.