1. I believe the light is the ultra mega coil 85 watt actual usage CFL at 5000k. I don't know where one gets it online, as there is a store specializing in lightbulbs here in Austin. There's a specialty store for everything here in Austin. Additionally, I have had good results with the 42 w at 5100k and the 40 w at 3000k. They are less expensive too. 2. I haven't used T8's, but my lights hang no more than 8 inches from the tops of the plants. 3. The 40 and 42 watt can go in any standard 60 watt lamp/light fixture. For the 85 watt I had to get a 125 watt clamp light socket. 4. I don't know. But here's some food for thought... Tubes put out their light over the length of the bulb (2-4 ft) with the brightest light being in the middle. CFL's concentrate all the light into a much smaller area. You get more light per "quadrant", but the "quadrants" are smaller, and thus more numerous. 5. Mine are on for 16 hrs/day now and will eventually be down to 12 when the solstice rolls around. 6. I don't know, but I'd imagine if the plant is prone to it, and it's getting more light, and growths mature faster, then yes. 7. Heat. While CFL's don't create that much heat relative to other bulbs, the bulbs will be hot to the touch and plants will burn if they even brush against them. I burned the pants off a mottled leaf paph under a 40 and 42 w about 4 inches away. Consider an oscillating fan blowing on the lights 24/7 too cool them and for better air circulation. Hope this helps Bob

Well that's Jeff's bulb identified. I suspect the OP is referring to the monster 150W ones? Anyway, a quick lesson on CFLs. Stands for Compact Fluorescent Light. All it means is that the big straight tube is bent up into a more compact shape. The technology is the same, although the tubes are generally thinner, T4 or T5 size. Sometimes they come with a built-in electronic ballast and you can just screw them into a standard bulb holder. This type is often labelled with the wattage of the equivalent incandescent bulb, ignore this information for plant purposes. A compact fluorescent spiral bulb is fine for growing seedlings, it is convenient for lighting a small area such as inside a propagator. But you are correct that the light needs to be spread out somewhat because it is such a compact bulb. I use it about a foot from the seed trays inside a white propagator so the light is very even over all the trays. For providing moderate light intensity over a larger area, straight-tube fluorescents are better since a wider range (of colours and spectrums) is available, they are cheaper (for the same temperature and spectrum), they last longer (roughly twice as long), and they are more efficient (the best T5 and T8 bulbs produce about 50% more light for the same power).

It seems the best light for starting baby plants is sunlight Not necessarily. Plants only need full spectrum light to bloom and set fruit, not for leaf growth. And young seedlings can easily be killed by direct sunlight, especially by UV. You need only look at all the posts about sun scorched plants here. Then there is the air/soil temp factors. Full sun exposure presumes heated air. Excessive heat when growing young seedlings results in leggy plants. Cool soil temps can result in stunted plants and poor root development. So "best"? Not in terms of development or survival rate. Plus if one considers the delay in starting the plants while waiting for the weather to allow it, for the soil to warm sufficiently, the planting/harvesting season would be greatly delayed. If what you describe had ever proven to be the best way to do it then everyone including commercial growers would be direct seeding their tomato plants instead of using transplants. Rather they have learned from decades of experience that it isn't the "best" way for many reasons. Dave

I use those same bulbs with a 13 in clamp light (similar to the one above) with a dual socket adapter in it. I think it helps significantly, but I probably need to get another to cover more area. I keep my black Prince and others prone to etiolation under it, probably about 4 inches from the bulbs. I do rotate other plants under it too. With that said, on sunny days this room also stays pretty bright (photo taken on a cloudy day)also somewhere around here I posted a picture of my black Prince prior to getting it into good light and an after. Went from light green to dark purple. Took several weeks and then it was like it changed over night.