sea of green hydro question

i grow sea of green hydroponically in the 18 gall roughneck containers. i have misters set up and air stones, each container will hold 8 plants. my last grow i pulled 6 ounces after it was dry and the buds were huge 15 inches tall and wide as someones forearm. now i tried this again same setup same nutes same strain of weed. this time im lucky to get an ounce and half off it. cant figure out why not consistant. should i start vegging the rooted clones for a little while before putting them under the 600 watt hps? i run my 600 watt hps on 12 hrs all time and run sea of green hydroponically with roughneck tubs. any suggestions or help? thanks

when i started sea of green, same thing happened to me. the inconsistent yields where because of the size of plants while switching to 12/12. depending on how much vertical height ur working with, flower your plants a inch or two taller than the last time you flowered them.

if youve kept the nutes and everything else the same, the only other thing i can think of is the effect of the 600hps bulb, if its new, no need to worry.

i've run the exact same setup (8 sites in a rubbermaid roughneck). the difference in yield, all other conditions identical, will be in the transplant, as DrxSus has suggested. Try not to focus too much on how much time you spend vegging, but instead focus on the LENGTH of the roots going into 12/12. the yardstick i use is when the roots of a plant reach 12 inches long, then that plant will usually finish between 16"-24" inches depending on how many root sites there are and strain of the plant. but as a general rule 12" is a good length to ensure robust plants (and 6.5 ounces from a single tub). it doesn't matter how big the plant is above the roots. what determines how big a plant will finish at are the root size/length. also, if the plants undergo stress during transplant, for whatever reason, this may stunt growth and severely affect the finished yield. make sure the transplant is as stress free as possible. treat the roots as you would exposed flesh. try not to tamper with them too much.