Lighting Question. Please I Really Need Some Help!

I'm brand new to hydroponics, will one 1000w lighting system light cover this whole hydro system:

http://bigdaddyshydro.com/store/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=65_79&products_id=223

From what I read it sounds like you'll be running 24- 5 gallon buckets. That will spread out quite a bit. I'm finding 3-1000w over 18 plants is a pretty good saturation, you may be stretching things a little with only 1-1000w.

Ok well how many plants should you use with the 1000w lighting system ???

if you are running a 1000w light u could get away with 10 buckets keep them close until they get big then spread them out a little.u might want to let them grow out a bit. my moms are 3-4 feet under a 600w light. it can be done just takes time

Light is measured in distance for plant growth like this:
400w: 4ft x 4ft or a 16 sqft grow space
600w: 6ft x 6ft or a 36 sqft grow space
1000w: 7ft x 7ft or a 49 sqft grow space

So lay your buckets out and measure how much room they take up, and then you use the guidelines above to figure out how much lighting you need to purchase.

You want a minimum of about 3,000 lumens per sf for proper lighting. The sun puts out about 10,000 lumens per sf, you want to stay somewhere under this limit as too much light can burn a plant. Take what your lamp put out in lumens, then see how much area your light will cover and then determine how many plants will fit in that space.

My 1,000w hps lamps put out about 140,000 lumens when new. I then divide 140,000 by 3,000 and find that this lamp will cover an area of about 47 sf at the minimum of 3,000 lumens per sf. I would call this the maximum area I'd consider lighting with only one lamp.

My grow space is 50 sf and I use 3- 1,000w hps lamps. That's 420,000 lumens in 50 sf or 8,400 lumens per sf, that's a bunch of light. I've had some light bleaching due to my rather high lumen/sf ratio. But this also produces intense buds with very tight growth. I pulled 4 1/2 lbs from 9 plants this last grow.

I'd recommend you go with at least 5,000 lumens per sf.