Welcome to the forum. Plants need some darkness. Especially if they are photos. We all need sleep. 18/6 is fine until you flip to flower. I use Fox Farm products and Happy Frog is my main soil with Ocean Forest and Coco Loco mixed in with an additional 20% perlite. Have not had any issues to date from Fox Farm stuff. I will follow along and chime in when I have answers or suggestions.
Congrats on the retirement. A few years yet for me but cannot wait and to ALL of the Vets active or retired, I appreciate your service.