First,I really appreciate you taking the time to respond. Thank you.
Massachusetts.
Seedlings where an issue as we where late to the season. We'll probably be doing those in the spring.
This is his third year of scouting and their have been merit badges that either by work load or just the nature of getting them done its taken over a year to complete. He understands that hes doing something new and if he doesn't do it at least "sort of" right that results "may" vary. He is learning a lot though and he has become very attached to the growing aspect of it Over the winter hes going to try some hydroponic lettuce.
To be very honest I think our new setup is going to be fine for indoor growing.. its been used to grow Tomatoes and Wacky Tobaccy (medically licensed so I was told) previously.
The original light was a mess of a product but the used setup we purchased included 2 of these
Everything has started showing a huge amount of growth since putting into the tent. Marigolds look lovely.. the sunflower has gone from a droopy mess to a really strong stem and growing up.. the Cherokee tomatoes stem is firm and growing taller. The catnip is growing well also. Melvin is growing about 3-4 inches a day and Marvin is also growing like crazy (both have started several leaves along their vines as well. (I believe the "yellowing" mentioned in a previous post is just the light from above because they are really really bright. I'll take them out and get some pictures from normal light conditions
If it's this one: https://www.amazon.com/Sun-System-Light-Fixture-Ultra/dp/B00KM1EXXW it looks like the hood would prevent the bulb from directly contacting the wire shelf. Personally, I would try it out when you have sufficient time to observe and see whether it heats up the wire shelf too much, after like 4-6 hrs of use time.
Edit-to-Add: You didn't mention whether you'll be using a fan/s. Check out the pot/marijuana subs to get better info on hps lamps.
Do some maths and see if this would fit in