i would disagree completely. the downfall is how many bulbs you'll go through and the diy aspect of it all to get there. otherwise cfl is about on par with t5ho and t5 is even more efficient watt per watt. that puts us back to how many bulbs you want to buy at a time since you'll need more t5 bulbs to get the same wattage as a t5ho.
lets not get into refraction and light distribution... they (cfl's) work just fine. if one were to use them oriented as they're manufactured to be and reflected correctly they're both non-issues imo.
if you're measuring your light output by a measurement based on human perception you're missing the point.
pssst... i've got ~30 watts of cfl's over 25 gallons of plants as we speak. i really need to trim that tank. it's been almost 2 weeks and i almost can't see into it at all... without co2 also... :hi:
