Questions about flowering and other fun stuff

So i have veggied the hopefully young ladies for about 5 weeks i finnally got them in 5 gal pots just have some questions about how much i could stand to trim off the bigger of the two. I have taken the liberty of hacking up one of them as a growing experiment but i just want to know how much i should trim off the other plant... she (fingers crossed) is pretty beefy at the bottom and was wondering if the plant may be better suited if i trimmed it before attemping to flower.

Also since im running natural sunshine CFLs, does anyone have an opinion on my lighting for flowering... in my first grow the plants flowered but i grew mini plants seriously less than a foot with flowers. since im ramping it up a bit this time im wondering if i should add more lighting for better bud production? ive found a nice balance with the heat and dont know if its worth messing with though. also i run at a pretty consistant 40% to 45% humidity more toward the 40% range... from what ive read 40% is ok, just looking for some positive reinforcement.

pis 1 and 2 are from 2 weeks old and pics 3 and 4 are from week 5

thank you in advance

What is your experience level?
2nd time grower

Your Equipment:
.1) Type and wattage of lights.
CFL 181w
.2) Distance from tops?
3 -5 inches
.3) Reflector type?
bare bulb
.4) Is there a consistent fresh air supply?
Yes
.5) Do you have an exhaust fan and a circulation fan?
Yes
.6) What are the bulb wattages, kelvin ratings, and schedule?
24/7

Your medium:
.7) Specific brand and type of soil, and anything you've added to it.
Miracle Grow Micro Max w/ miracle grow peralite.
.8) Size of container.
5 gal
.9) Did you use peat pucks (or similar) to root clones or germinate seedlings?
Peat pucks, seedlings

Your nutrients and water:
10) Source of water?
Poland Springs
10.a)What's it's ph before adjusting?
7
11) Method of checking water ph.
Aqaruim test kit
12) Method of adjusting water ph.
n/a
13) Specific brand and N-P-K ratio for each bottle. List dosages (quantity per gallon) and current feeding schedule.
18-21-18, every third day they are fed
14) How often are you watering between feedings, and how much per watering?
32 onces the day before i feed
15) Any additives or tea's?
n/a
16) Are your ph levels stable, or do they fluctuate?
stable
17) What is your ingoing water's ph? ...your runoff ph?
7, runoff is 7 or 6 its hard to tell on the aquarium kit but it seems pretty stable.
18) Do you foliar feed? If so, with what, how often, and at what time do you spray?
Just water twice a day

Your growroom:
19) Indoors or outdoors?
indoors
20) What size of closet, room or hut?
about 3.5 sq ft
21) What are the temps and humidity levels while lights are on? ...With lights off?
75 - 82... every now and again it will spike to 84 prolly every third day. 40% - 45% Humidity
22) Have you seen signs of insects in the growroom?
no

Your strain:
23) What strain are you growing?
Indica
24) From seeds or clones?
Seeds
25) Is this an autoflower strain?
No

Those fluoro's aren't doing much mounted like that ATM. They would be better off mounted horizontally over the plants for now. Maybe once the plants are as tall as those bulbs, then mount vertically. But if the light is more than 3 in. away it's not doing a lot.

Is that 181w actual or equivalent? Does that include that Aero Garden fixture? I think some regular 23w & 42w CFL's can beat that.

Your plants do look very healthy, but if you want bigger plants with more buds then something has to be done about the lighting. Either add more CFL's or get an HID. Of course, you will need good ventilation also. All depends on what you want to invest and what you want in return. I got 110+ grams from two plants in that same 3.5 sq. ft. space, and should have been at least 10-20% more (2nd link in my sig) :jointsmile:

first off thanks for the response... the 181w is actual... if you notice the extention cord in front of the aero has a couple of 23w that i plug into it... the aero fixture itself is 26w per light... and the vertical flouros are 15w a piece so i was off a bit its 184w actual. i stayed with the aero cause it has a custom reflector really. and trying to stay under a tight budget. i had the aero for a while so i figured it wouldnt hurt to use.

i kinda figured the verts werent doing too much atm. figured them more for the flowering and supplimental side lighting while vegging. i could probably stic 2 more 23w in there but im running out of space... i would love to go HID but it just doesnt seem monitarly feasable atm.

here is what it looks like when all the lights are on.

so how many watts of actual should i be looking for when i go to flower?