I never really thought I was giving them too much water, just too frequently so they didn’t dry out enough or get enough run off.
T8’s appear perfectly good to me they certainly aren’t the tall weak leggy plants I kept reading about when I researched lighting, I used them because they were the cheapest option. I’m going to have to flower under them too, but with at least 25% more tubes, a change to mostly 2700K it should produce enough to be worth it.
I think I’ll make a T8 appreciation thread when I’ve made my new fixture, they are cheap and the heat is easily managed even with old magnetic ballasts.