either light schedule is fine some like 18/6 but i use 24hr schedule.realy dosen't matter just yor preferance. as far as lighting goes i would start at about 6 inches from the tops and lower them down daily till you are about an inch from the tops and then keep them in this range.cfl's dont get hot so you can keep them realy close.dont use any nutes until they are about 4 weeks old or untill you have atleast 2 sets of fan leaves.start off light though,maybe 300-400ppm and incraese weekly by 100ppm or so until you reach 900ppm. most plants do well at this strength but you can push it higher,just do it gradually though. i never go over 1200ppm in veg. hope this helps