New to Rollitup// First Grow

About 7 or 8 weeks ago I saved seeds from some killer ass high-mid bud and out of curiosity decided to germinate them. After some thought and interest I decided to take it to the internet. I found this site, and tried to learn as much as I could for the following 4 days as the seeds germinated. Once I decided I knew enough to start my small-time grow, I headed to Lowes and bought:
(1x) 175w MH
(2x) 42w Warm CFL
(3x) 23w Cool CFL
(4x) Small bags of Miracle Grow w/ added perlite
(2x) Medium bags of Sta-Green 9 month feed soil
(2x) 5 Gallon buckets
(1x) Carbon Filter&Air Purifier system
(2x) Small carbon filter odour slabs
(1x) Box of Miracle grow all purpose fertilizer
(1x) Sta-Green Super Bloom Fertilizer

And so it went and I began putting together my first grow room in my 7ft(L)x2ft(W)x5ft(H) closet. When it was done, I picked two of the better looking seedlings and planted them in my mixed soil(Mir.Grow/Sta-Green) and put the lights on 24/0.
For the next 4 weeks I kept them on 24/0 and decided I was ready for flowering. I was about to switch to 12/12 but I read that going from a 24/0 to 12/12 is a bad idea as it can promote the growth of hermaphrodites. So instead of directly going to 12/12, I switched it to 18/6 and gradually decreased hours of light every 3 days or so for the following 2 weeks until I reached 12/12. It's been 12/12 for nearly two days now and both are showing signs of female(or so I hope) with their very small spikey pear shaped pods... it's probably too early to tell so I'll keep it at that.
My plants are from the same bud but differ greatly in appearance. One is 17in tall and is quite bushy, the other is 23in tall and is somewhat thin with alot of undergrowth(I should add in that I pruned the top of the shorter one once the 5th node appeared).
But other than that I've had no problems besides the ones I will include in my questions below:
1)- One plant is 23in tall in a 5ft tall growing space, I've read that over the course of the flowering period plants may double to triple in size; what can I expect and what should I do if a problem occurs?
2)- A couple of the lower leaves have brown spots or blotches and one group of leaves is light in appearance and brittle with some browning. Any ideas?
3)- I was wondering if cutting off some of the older fan leaves to promote adequate light in the lower undergrowth of the plant is a good idea?
4)- I haven't had much wind blowing on the plants other than what the air purifier puts out and from the ceiling fan from outside the closet(I keep the door open to prevent high temp / humidity and to give the plants fresher air). Would my plants have any problems holding it's yield once the time comes?
5)- Are oscilating fans necessary?

Thanks for your time and I hope to hear alot of responses, it's my first grow and any advice/input/critisizm is welcomed... happy blazin'!

And the pics....

Welcome to the forums. I'll do my best to answer all your questions. First off How far is your lights? they look like they could be a little closer.

1. If your plants start getting too tall just start bending the tops over and tie them down with a string, you wont lose any yield.

2. Yes you definitely want to prune the lower branches, I always trim the lower 1/3, fan leafs, and shoots, when I start flowering. Removing lower, weak growth will just increase new top growth.

3. Go ahead and remove any yellowing, browning, or dead looking fan leafs, the lower ones tend to get yellow and die off anyway. Just dont remove any healthy looking fan leafs, especially on the upper parts.

4/5. Yes you Definitely want some fans in there, the more air flow the better, not only will it make the branches stronger, it will prevent molds, mildews, and fungus' from settling on your plants and reproducing.

Other than that its looking pretty good.

A couple suggestions I would make would be to First get rid of any Miracle grow or miracle grow products, give them to your mom, grandma, whatever.

I would get some Sunshine mix #4 or Promix HP, both are high porosity and have everything you need in it to grow killer weed. They are both very neutral mediums and require a full nutrients system. As far as feedings and nutrients, I would suggest using hydro nutrients, Advance Nutrients probably the best, General Hydroponics are also good.

Oh and for lighting times, I only use 24 for seedlings, maybe clones. 18on/6off is the best for veg growth, then 12/12 for flowering. I havent heard about stressing going from 24/0 to 12/12, but whenever you start flowering plants its a good idea to switch the lights OFF for 36 hours before starting the new 12/12 cycle, this will actually reset your plants biological clock and induce flowering faster with less stress.

Gradually changing the cycle would actually be worse, your plants prefer a nice daily rythm, and they get in a nice cylce, changing gradually as opposed to changing all at once is just gonna drag on the process of getting into the new cycle.

There are a lot of things that people will say "cause hermies" but most of it isnt true. The best way to prevent a hermie is with good, solid genetics, the more pure the genetics strain the less chance of a hermie. Stress has been associated with causing plants to show More hermies if its already in the genetics. So the best thing to do is have good, consistent light cycles, and when the lights are out, make sure your not shocking them by turning on your bedroom light or something by accident, try to keep them in complete darkness.

Hope that helps

Yeah I'll lower the lights today... also gonna head to lowes again and get new nutes and try and see if they have a fixture that I don't have to wire up for a 400w HPS... we'll see..

Only a matter of time now and I hope it all turns out okay... any tips for the flowering phase? I think when these are done im going to grow some femenised Snow White and AK-48 I got off Nirvana...

thanks for the help