12/12 from seed is pretty efficient although I've never tried it myself. I believe LST and Scrog are the way to go, my friend. Even coverage means even sized buds and when a scrog is done right you have numerous colas of the same size and they still stack down a few inches.
EDIT: Can I see a pic?! I'm thinking of picking up an 8 spot model this week. Was wondering what the coverage is like. I need something that can do a 4'x4' or at least 3' x 3' and I'll supplement CFL if needed.