if you don't have any other constraints, i would let the vertical space you have to work with be the determining factor. if you treat your plants right, they will double, maybe triple in height during flowering. i put mine in 12/12 when they reached 18 inches (which took 40 days from when i planted the germinated seeds in soil), and now, in the 6th week of 12/12, they are about 3 feet high. you have to consider the height of your pots, and figure out how far you can adjust your light up, not to mention you need to think about how close you can let the tops of your plants get to the lights due to heat. from what i understand, the more mature the plant gets, above and below the soil, the better chance you have at a decent yield. that's in a conventional soil grow, anyway. good luck!