Vegging: 600 Watt mh OR some CFLs

I have a 4x4 space (tent) and was wondering what I should do about lighting. I have a 600 watt w/mh bulb but am probably going to be starting the seedlings with a couple CFL's.

My question is..if im sprouting 5 seedlings how much light IN CFL'S is required because I am not putting that hot ass mh in there yet?

Next question: When can I use the mh? After two weeks or 3/4th set of leaves?

Be brutally honest too

bumpidy bump bump

A few thousand lumens per square foot 2-3 cfls of just about any size is enough for seedlings within a justified area. When you decide to ramp it up to your big light just start it high and lower it til you get a good ammount of growth without heat stress (or bleaching if you are using a cool tube).

I would keep them under as much light as possible at anytime.

So basically if you are using the MH now you will be wasting a lot of elec and light because you will have to have a larger buffer zone between the plant and the light. Through using CFLs you can keep the light more contained and concentrated where you need it, ie the plants.

In fact a 600 watt would take a while to become worth it vs cfls with the ammount of plants you have.

a 600 can cover a 3x3-to a 4x4 canopy pretty easily with intense growth.

So I would implement the 600 once your canopy has got to large to sustain well with the ammount of cfls you are interested in investing in. From there you can just set it a little higher and work your way down as to ease your plant into the new situation.

I have thrown my plants from cfl to a few hours of direct sunlight a day without to much stress but that is pretty plant specific, some just refuse to stress.