T8s work very well for certain applications. I have mainly used them small plants and germination. They may not work as well for larger plants, however.
I recently bought some corms for spring planting. I will grow them under this light until temperatures are warm enough outside. The bulbs are cheap NO (normal output) bulbs driven by a VHO (very high output) ballast. The ballast pushes 110 watts per bulb (220W total). I have a 4000K and a 6500K bulb. I have used this method in the past with great success.
