Simple lighting question.

Do all HID lights have to be connected to a ballast?
I*ve decided on to go with MH lighting but want to know if if I need a
ballast for only one or two lights?

Yes they do need a ballast. and there are different ones for different bulbs so make sure you have what you need.

Balls. Ha. I was hoping I wouldn*t hear that.
My mind is set on my MHs but I*m just curious. What would be
the next step down without having a ballast? Flo's?

You can get a small 400 watt hps system with ballast light hood and a mh conversion bulb for around 175.00 shipped. then you can have mh for veg and hps for flower(hps=big buds)

Yield isn*t an issue with me which is why I leaned away from the HPS system. I read opinions about the MH system providing a higher quality bud, which is more my style. Quality over quanitity. However, aren*t there universal ballast that allow to use both MH and HPS bulbs?

Yes But I think you should reconsider. MH will give you loose kinda scraggly buds. HPS gives you big tight buds very dense. Just my thoughts. The switchable system does not cost much more. You get the same thing with the hps setup and mh conversion bulb. Usually you only veg with the mh.

if your just starting out use some cfls to veg and a small HPS like a 250w to flower with. you can get great bud with that, if your new to growing just on not killing them first and quality will follow