4 Dead plants :( advise??

ok so my 3 easyryder plants all died, then following this my next seed died, they were all about a week old and looked fine then all of a sudden just wilted and floppped down to the ground, they were all under a 400w HPS perhaps this light was too strong? or maybe the soil wasnt the perfect mix (compost/soil/perlite) i was giving them all about a shot glass full of water a day, could this small amount be too much?? didnt have any ventilation system or fan but they werent in a small area, rather a large room with an open window whicch i thought would provide adequate airflow. . .
Planning to get some more seeds and start again any advise on where im going wrong would be much appreciated !!

what did your thermometer say the temp was at the top of the plants. and what was the distance? if they just boom died i would guess they fried from the light or soil. you could use just cfls for the first few weeks. itll save on power

on another note years ago when i first started experimenting growing i would have the same issue...plants just died. I eventually figured out my mom was spraying them with weed killer to try and deter me. haha crazy bitch

aha dread im sure that isnt the case!! havent had a themometer in there to monitor them to be honest, used a mix of multi purpose compost, perlite and top soil, all i could find !!

pics would help determine what your problem is. Watering a shot glass a day is not what your supposed to be doing. you need to water completely and then let the soil dry out well and repeat. A better soil could help but it should just flash kill your plants like that. Your light isn't too strong. You just may need to move it further at the start and gradually bring it closer until you hit temps or its a good distance away which is 12 inches without cool tube about 8 with a cool tube. get pics up and people may be able to help you.

so completely soak the soil then wait untill it is completely dry to water again? would this be the likely reason for my plants dying then?? my first grow thought it'd be a walk in the park guess it no all as simple as it seems, guess next time around i need to pay more attention to detail!