Is growing my plants on a 12/12 light cycle from the beginning a good idea?

[Boomer1]

What triggers these plants to flower "Bud" is the shortening of the photo period,
that is how long the day is. It may work, but the typical is start with 18hrs (metal halide)in the vegative stage and and switch to 12 hrs with high pressure sodium to force budding. Depending on strain, you will be done approx. 7-10 weeks later.

If you start at 12hrs, and cut back to 6 or 8, you will simply stunt the plants, in my opinion.

Boomer1