Best use of light in a narrow grow room

Hi All,

Quick question on how to utilize my lighting. I have a 3X5 space with 8 plants in veg in 5 gallon smart pots (2 rows of 4). I just transplanted them into the 5s from 1gl grow bags. I had them under 1 600w MH light. After transplanting, I had to raise the light from 18'' up to about 24'' to get enough coverage of my 3x5 area. Here lies my questions:

1. Is 1 600W MH light enough to cover the 3X5 area at 24''?
2. I also have another 600W light I could put up. Would this be better or would it be too much light? I would have the lights about 8-12 inches a part and with 2 lights I can lower them down to 18 inches or lower.
3. If I put up the second light, should I use a MH bulb or HPS bulb in order to increase lighting spectrum?

Eventually I plan to build 2 3x3 tables on rollers and have 4 plants in a square under each 600W HPS for flowering.

Thanks for any advice folks!

Well I went ahead and put up the other 600w and used the HPS bulb. Lights are about 20'' away from the plants but my temps are only about 74F (yay for air cooling). I am keeping an eye on the leaves cause I had a few curl up on me and do some upward clawing earlier, even though the temps were fine.. i just think it was too much light too quickly.

If anyone thinks 1200W (600hps, 600mh) are too much for 8 plants in 5gl buckets in a 3x5 area please let me know! (or even if its not worth it i would love to know).

If the temps are good, I've had a hard time giving them too much light. If you fear it's too much, raise your hoods. http://www.growgreenerguru.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/06/HPS_chart1.jpg Strong daylight is 10-12,000

Thanks for the reply bro. I checked them this AM after 6 hours of darkness and they look like they are loving it. About 1'' per growth in some plants.

Oh.. in case anyone cares the Sour Diesel genetics from Cali Connection are growing some great looking plants. They took to FIMM very well and already have about 6 colas only 3 weeks into veg!! The purple Wreck looks like she did not like being fimmed and isn't growing a ton. The Kandy Kush is doing better than purple wreck but still does not compare to the Sour Diesels.