hey sicc i was thinking about gettin one of those 24inch florecent ballast grow lights for some extra light for the under growth since fan leaves are blocking alot of the light from getting to the lower growth.also was thinking about makeing a clone box with one of those florecent ballasts to. what do u think about all that?
I know you asked sicc, but....
2 foot (24 inch) fluorescent fixtures only put out 2,000 lumens per bulb (max)
It is much cheaper and easier to just use cfls when you are talking about that small of a scale.
4 foot (48 inch) fluorescent fixtures put out 4,000 per bulb, and the bigger you go the more benefit they have over cfls, but at 2 feet, its not worth it.
You shouldn't worry about undergrowth getting light, its getting energy through the rest of the fan leaves that are absorbing all of the light.
It doesn't matter how or where the plant gets light, the fact that it GETS light is what matters.
You can build a really nice cloner for real cheap if you use your AG nets, just make holes big enough for the nets to rest in there, but not so big that they fall through.
2x1.5 gal tub ($3)
15 gal pump ($15)
airstone ($2)
tubing ($5)
Spray paint the outside of one of the tubs, then use the other clear on as a humidity dome.
1x 26W 6500K cfl should be enough light to root clones, you can probably fit 6 clones in that one tub with enough room for them to grow if you give them more light.