don't choose the volume of water... you give what it takes to get the job done. if not watering entire pot (5gal with tiny plant etc), then still make sure it gets wet all the way to the bottom or else you train superficial roots due to weird drying payyerns. Always better to use size-appropriate pots, even with autoflowers. Anyone that 'shocks' a plant from potting up should just quite the hobby, lol.
looks like you got a mutant.. .may or may not grow out of it. These things happen more than you might expect. Always good to plant more than you want and kill off the weak ones.
you can start with a suggested PPFD (really should be focused on DLI... PPFD over varying hours results in proportioanlly different amount of light per day.
Your node spacing looks relatively fine... if oyu want it tighter, increase light, or if you want it to stretch a bit more, decrease light... it's a lever you control. The growth pattern is a result of your environment and what you need may vary from the next person. Temp, RH% and atmospheric co2 all impact how much light you can give a plant per day.
by this point they probably want full power, but again.. the plant dictates this and it shouldn't be a top-down decision. Give it more if it stretches. You can take notes of power and distance over initial days and couple weeks to have a more precise plan ... expect possible seasonal changes.