how many cfls do i need for 6 plants in a 4x4x5 room...im only using them for veg i have a hps for flower..idk whats more important watts or lumens...and if cfls are supposed to go by the actual or rated watts....26w=100w incadescent
first, compact florescent produce 60 lumens per actual watt; what is written on the bulb itself. as well, the sun produces 10,080 lumens at the surface of the earth; roughly.
so with those two numbers in mind develop your lighting. you will need anywhere between 168 to 400 actual watts--which is quite a few light bulbs; and large ones--depending on the positioning of each girl; whether they are close together, and how far from the light source.
but to be honest you may be better off just using your high pressure sodium and just drop a few--2 to 4, 42w cfls--in between all the girls allowing maximum light penetration.