T8 18w fluorescent lights

hi all

i have a question on T8 FLUORESCENT LIGHTS & T5 lights ,

i have been thinking buying a hydroponic lightwave T5 4 tube propagation fluorescent grow light cfl .for my new cuttings to speed things up a bit ? but the price is £67.50 plus delivery which is very expensive buy ,at the moment im just using one single fluorescent shitty bulb over my heated propagator i don't know if its a T5 OR T8 i have never took notice lol, i just stick it over my new cuttings & it roots them through in 2 half weeks ,? it seems to be doing the trick but its slow i think .

today i was walking my dog & i came across a builders skip on the road ,inside was 3 small 2ft long T8 fluorescent light fittings with bulbs 18w ,HO yes ,i quickly scooped them out & took them home ,i gave them a clean & re-wired them all up to one plug & they all work fine ,

i was thinking about attaching all 3 light fittings, DIY all on one board & using them over my new cuttings ,surly this is going to be better than the 1 shitty cfl bulb i have been using .? also how would it compare to the T5 i was going to buy ,do you think i have saved myself a few quid ££.

what do you think ,are they going to be good enough for the new cuttings ?

any help appreciated

I dont know if 18w is enough watts but that t8 should work i got mine currently on a t8 growing fine but its higher than 18w

hi ,yes each bulb is 18w ,i have 3 lights at 18w ,its only for my new cuttings ,to place over my heated propagator ,i was just going to place all 3 light fittings on a board side by side like one triple light hood ,the ones on ebay are 24w each bulb full triple unit is priced £72 with delivery .i know the bulbs i have are a little lower in wattage ,but for nowt its worth a try see if it works ,

i can only see if its better than the 1 cfl fluorescent im currently using .
i wonder if i could get higher watt bulbs ?