the cheapest, reasonably effective setup would be a two-tube T8 work light (or two) for $8 at home depot, equipped with 6500K bulbs - two for $6 at home depot.

You find 6500K bulbs at HD at all, much less for a measly $3 per? Wish my HD had those...

Yep. Many times the Philips Alto 6500K bulbs are on sale for $3-5 per pair of bulbs. Other times it's closer to $5-10 per pair. Same thing goes for standard cool white, and warm white bulbs from Philips.

Sam

i had to look at the shelves closely... the 2-pack (no label) sells for $6. the 5000K bulbs are $6 each.

My HD has the cheap ALTO 2-bulb packs too, but they aren't 6500K...

Philips Alto Daylight Deluxe is 6500K. Not sure what color bulbs the "cheap" ones were.

Sam

so would the 6500 be better than using the 4100? james

In theory, 6500k is closest to "sunlight". It's is a rather blue light and might not be as pleasing to the eye, but it lights objects up very well, and I have no complaints about how well plants grow.

4100k lights seem to do just about as well, but I prefer 6500K.

Sam

look carefully at the shelves. the 6500K twin-pack doesn't have any fancy packaging, but they do say 6500K.

I was there again today and did, but all I could find in T8 2-packs was ALTO Cool White Plus, which are 4100K. (These are the plain plastic wrapped lamps with a couple of cardboard endpieces.)

But anyway, isn't 5000K the color of noon sun with the sun directly overhead, not 6500K? The 6500K lamps are used a lot for reef tanks since water absorbs relatively more blue light than other colors (so you need greater output in the blues to reach further under water) but this is the first I'm hearing that 6500K is "ideal" for flowering land plants.