FIRST POST HERE!!!! 3rd grow trying to get serious. PLEASE HELP

Hello everyone, this is my first post here so take it easy on me, I have a lot of questions...

I just found this forum yesterday, I have been reading everything I can and I LOVE IT!!!! I have grown twice in the past with pretty good success for the money. I used: reg bag seeds, seedling soil and 4' walmart plant lights.(pics below)

I am thinking of doing the Sea of Green Theory... where you grow a lot of small plants and cycle or flower very very early to get mostly all top buds and quick yeild. Has anyone here done this? Any info about this would be great.

I want to increase my yeild and get a nice set up goin. I am debating on switching to a hydro system but I know nothing of the nutrients and or additives. Any advice on products would be appreciated. I can't decide between the flood and drain system or the single bucket set-ups. Anyone know the Pros/cons between the two?

Also I would like to get some new lights! I am thinking HPS, is HPS ok for both phases or would t5 for VEG and HPS for flowering be better? Are there any agreed upon best lights out there?

Im looking for a dependable seed bank, I saw Nirvana but are there any in the states? How is Nirvana?

Any good threads out there I shouldn't miss?

Thanks,
D

PS I am germinating about 200 diff seeds RIGHT NOW!!! (100 rapid rooters, 50 paper towel, 50 plate and bowl)

1. Depends on the plant. You need to grow your strain(s) and see what size they produce the most at or ask others who have experience with the strain. For most plants there is a minimum height for good yield and if you try to flower them too small, they will produce very poorly. Still others have a minimum harvest size they will reach no matter what you do. You also need to consider that indoor lights only support healthy plant growth so far away from the bulb and growing plants bigger than that distance is usually a waste of time.

2. While Hydro is often interesting to new growers, it is less forgiving and will typically have higher startup costs. Imho everyone should learn to grow naturally before more advanced techniques.

3. Keep in mind that having a separate light for veg lets you veg and flower at the same time, harvesting twice as often. The HPS should be much better than the fluorescents, even in veg, but floros and the HPS together would be better than either alone. Metal Halides have been the bulb of choice for veg in the past but with enhanced spectrum bulbs, you can get a great veg spectrum with either MH or HPS.

4. There are reputable seed banks and then there are reputable seed distributors or retailers. Our current favorite distributor is WorldWideSeeds. There are many great seedbanks. We like a few of Sensi Seeds' varieties but Paradise, THSeeds and Greenhouse have also done some great work. There is a Seedbank section in the Rollitup forums where different breeders and suppliers are discussed. There aren't any legal ones in the states. Most of the better retailers ship from the UK.