Lights on 24hr a day for first 3 weeks?

I'm starting some autos and I've heard I should leave the lights on 24 hr a day for the first 3 weeks. Is this a good idea or should I just stick with a 18/6 schedule from seed to harvest. Speaking of 18/6, is a 20/4 schedule better with autos? Also, when growing I've heard the general rule is for every foot of plant you want a gallon of soil. With that said, when choosing potting containers, arent' ones that have more depth better than ones with more width because the tap root likes to go deep? Thanks for any responses.

i would go 24 hours first 2 weeks then move it down to 20/4 thats what i have going but for autos once u see buds shouldnt u go 12/12 or no
??

I always went 24/0 til flowering. I am trying out 20/4 with good success so far. I go from starter jiffy pots to 1 gal for 4 weeks or so the to 3 gal at flowering

For autos, most people do 20/4 from the beginning.
They really should have a night.
I personally feel that a 21/3 schedule might be better, but who knows.

Blizake54, with autos you don't need to switch to 12/12 because they'll automatically flower. So you should stick with a 18/6 or 20/4 schedule the whole entire time. Otherwise, if you switch to a 12/12 you'll only reduce your yield. Typically with autos, males will show themselves in 2 weeks and females in 3 weeks. Afterwards they'll go into flowering. So based on this, I'm vegging the first 3 weeks with 5000k (6500k is ideal but I couldn't find any) lights then I'm switching to 2700k for the remainder. On the matter of lights, I'm having a difficult time trying to figure out a good way to hang them. Currently, I have 7 lights hung individually with rope but it is a pain because I have to untie each one and raise them as necessary. I'm thinking about tying all of them to a board then simply having a rope on each end. This way I'll only have to untie and retie 2 knots instead of seven. Perhaps, If I got a small chain and some hooks on the side of the wall it would be easier because I'd only have to unhook them and raise them. My grow box is 26 inches wide and 34 inches long. So, I can only fit 10 autoflowering plants in it. This is another reason why I chose autos and CFL lights, limited space and heat concerns. How do you guys have your lights hung?

Hahaha if you saw my setup you'd hate it.
I know what it's like moving CFL's around.

I basically use tiny office lamps. With CFL's inside.

But my baby should have like 6-7 weeks left only, after that I get to COMPLETELY rearrange my setup.
I'm so excited for that.
Honestly I'm more excited to restart my setup than to smoke the 4 months of effort.

C.Indica, about being more excited to restart your setup, I used to be a big smoker when I was younger but I don't really do it anymore except for on rare occasions. I'm mainly growing just for the fun of it. I guess I like to watch stuff grow and there's nothing better than watching a weed plant grow. Perhaps, I'm trying to relive my childhood. I'm in my thirties now but when I was fourteen I started four seedlings that only got about three inches tall before my dad found them in my windowsill and threw them out. Needless to say, I was denied the opportunity to watch them develop. Who knows? Maybe after I'm done I'll smoke the whole batch.

Sounds grand.
If you really want to do this, start an outdoor garden for edibles.
Grow legal plants, like veggies and fruits.
It's just as fun if not better.

I never did the windowsill thing, but that's a funny story.
Enjoy most of all!

And you could always give it all away to a friend in pain.
Or even better, learn how to cook with it.
You don't HAVE to make food that gets people high.

But cannabis has some bitchin' flavors that most stoners don't even know about.
Different plant parts have different flavors.

I'm sure there's other cooks on here that know what I'm talking about.