take a look *PICS*

this is my first grow, but ive done my research so know what im doing relativly. ive asked a lot of questions, read the grow bible, i talked to the owners of my hydroponics store (complete stoners! lol) so im just asking you guys what you think, what should i do, not be doing, next step. thanks in advanced!

the big ones are in flowering 12/12

big bent one is 3 months 7 days
next big one is 3 months.
little ones are about a month old, a week apart.

looks decent man you should try training them so they become more like a bush and what kind of light are you using......may not be enough and if it is then you dont have enough reflectivity

im using a 400w HPS light.

Hell ya, lookin good mike. Is that as close as u can get the plants to ur light? And how long's the big one's been flowering for?

i just put both in flowering on sunday. so i just started. how close should the light be?

As close as u can without burnin the plants is where u want the light. U use more lumens from the light more effectively this way since u lose lumens the further away u get. U can use the 'hand' technique to see how close is too close, but i prefer to use my thermometer to see just what the temps are at different heights. My light gets hot as shit, so i'm sittin at like 15-20 inches away and temps are 78-80. U can move some fans around too and see which placement will be more effective, or less efeective as well.

.... and shit if u just put em in flowering, get ready, cuz theyre gonna get big in a hurry, at least double the size they are now!

Yeah. Thats why I bent that one cause it would have been over 6ft
I'll move the light asap. Other than that, how is the color and the overall look of them

they all look nice and healthy to me, the smaller ones u can tell are a bit stretched, thats cuz the lights so far, no biggie. Just be sure u don't get the plants TOO close ya know, u'll get a feel for it once u do it enough just like anything else. Did u veg them with the hps as well?

yeah thats all I got an I can't spend anymore money on them right now. And I'm giving the little ones to my buddy. With my old 70w hps light. For future reference (when I move and get my own place) whats best for veg stage and flower

Ever thought of cfl's for vegging? I use em on my seedlings, 4 per plant, and it makes the plants bushy as shit! I'm talkin 6-nodes-per-inch-bushy. Once they get goin, i kick on the hps on top of the cfls, works like a champ.

You have some really good looking plants there and some spindly looking ones with few nodes and leaves that don't look right. Maybe some are runts or maybe you are keeping those lights too far away. I think the lights are too far away, your box is not reflective enough, and you're wasting a lot of light. When you have tall plants and short plants you need to set the short plants on top of something to make them the same height as the tall ones and then drop the light to the minimum distance.

But you're doing really well for a beginner and I'm sure you'll figure it out now.

If you still have problems with some of them stretching then as crazy as it might sound, that last guy is right about a couple little cfl's making a plant bush out. 2 42w cfl's or whatever. If you end up not needing them later no big deal they can be used anywhere in your house to save on electric.

i think your issue may not be your light but the amount of reflective material you have....it looks like in that first picture if that is where their home is that you are losing a lot of useable light...try making like a cardboard surronding for all of it and either put some mylar on there or paint it flat white

Mylars the shit. Whatever u do just please don't use foil.

Mylar is inferior to the right white paints except under the absolute ideal conditions and installation.
Behr ultra pure white flat wall paint is the shit, it doesn't hide bugs, promote mold, wrinkle and get less effective, get dirty as hell in no time at all, and isn't hard to clean and gives a more even distribution of light, is easier to repaint than clean mylar, and repainting seals in any bacteria, mold, fungus, whatever and makes it fresh as new whenever you like.

yeah i knew i needed to do something about the reflection but i didnt know just flat wall paint could do that, thats my job i paint for a living! lol the light is probally too far away, but i cant do anything about it, i dont have space to put something in there to raise them. im gonna lower the light as much as i can. and i cant spend anymore money on this grow lol. this is my first grow, so just experience is what im looking for. cause when i move and get my own place, ill be trying hydrponics and getting different lights and trying things.

thanks everyone for the help

I used to be a painter myself.... and my buddy's uncles are both painters, one's naame is mike lol. I ccan't paint my setup, i got wood paneling throughout most of my house, including the closet im using which i'd like to be able to use again someday do i just pinned up the mylar blankets. Not the best, but it's workin. Luck mike.