well it was this hood for a 15w t8 tube but the ballast didnt work....i was like let me have it i might be able to use it somehow. originally i was thinking of putting 2 or 3 single t5 ho inside there and daisy chain them, but the thing isn't long enough to fit even a 2' and i didnt want to go buy those for this project....so i grabbed up the cfls i used for my last grow and decided to put them to use. i came across this thing on the grow faq about taking apart cfl bulbs and just wiring them instead of the whole screw in deal. like i said, i was high and bored so i took what i had laying around and made this. materials used were an aquarium light hood, power cord, 4 cfls, tape, and posterboard. i guess not everyone has a light hood for a 17w t8 laying around, so instead one could substitute a long narrow underbed storage container for the hood and still have a diy light. im sorry my light is so terrible, dont try to make one, you might burn up yourself, your plants, your residence, because obviously this was a horrid idea.
good thing it's more hassle than help...if you want good lighting buy a 400w hps from htgsupply.com for about 150 bucks or less shipping included, or buy a ho t5 fixture get a real grow light and quit wasting your time, you're not going to invent something better than what's already available.