yea listen to scooby
keep the plants small and bushy, a SoG or Scrog or a lot of LSTing is a must with fluorescent light IMO
T5HOs as the Bad boy keep is the best Fluorescent Tube you can get (tho there is a VHO type as well) is way superior to T12 and better then T8 (tho high output T8 can match normal T5s)
T5 have the longest life time and the least light loose over time compared to T12 and T8 and the HO type (high output) will give you 30-50% more Lumens then T8 the VHO (very high output) will give you even more, but also produce some heat and need a fixture with fans build in ..
only real problem with fluorescent light is penetration, even the T5HO type wont produce much useable light after 10 inch`s after 12" my light meter don't show much and only at 2-4" they provide very strong light, IMO enough for flowering, so if your going to flower with T5s you better use a grow method that keep the Bud sites with in 2-6 inch`s of the tubes (I would suggest a scrog)
[video=youtube;6rZ_vqT8f5I]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6rZ_vqT8f5I[/video]
and I would mix up the Tube`s so I run 2/3 6500K and 1/3 2700K in Veg and viseversa in flowering (weed plants use all color of light all grow, just more of the Blue spectrum in Veg and more of the Red/yellow in flowering)