SOunds like your watering schedule is fine....

Yes the cacti fert is good...half strength / quarter strength of recommended dosage once a week.

I also use superthrive.

I dont like to cut or trim fan leaves at all.

But sometimes you have no choice....my heat was so bad the leaves became utter umbrellas over the entire plant.

The leaves growing out of the buds, the single bladed ones, were huge too so i even had to trim some of those

But the new flower growth has responded in a postive manner and, the smoke wont be so harsh...

If you only cut the bottom fan leaves or secondary leaves, you still will have your canopy leaves shading the lower buds.

A CFL will help those lower buds keep growing, but most of your harvest will come from the top 1/3 of the plant anyhow.

Cutting those fan leaves is a dangerous game to play with your plants....

Remember those leaves are the 'solar panels' for MJ and you take too many, you lose the power to push those buds out.....

Be very selective and try cutting them in half as opposed to cutting them all.

I had no choices....but was guided by my guru....and yes....the flowers are getting more light and sprouting new flower pods all over the place.

Pinch the stems on the leaves you wanna remove and use a sharp razor on the leaves you want to cut.

Carefully..,.. only a few at a time as well....

Post some pics....if you want.

Good Luck....