Too much for seedlings?

Here is a pic of my setup. 600w hps/mh dimmable ballast. I have 3 diff strains in those cups. Not sure whats in the 1 gallon pots.

I have 2 20w t5 bulbs i can put the seedlings under in another room if thats better? Or is the 600w ok? Should i dim the ballast?

The seedlings are 20" away from the hood and they dont get even close to being hot. I just read that its bad to start them under this? I can put my hand 8" under hood and not get hot even after 1 minute.

No?

dim the ballast, move the little ones to the side, or veg under the t5 for a bit, no matter. watch your plants....they tell you much

If they start to curl, go pale. Or otherwise seem anything other than their peak health. Then you've probably got it too close.

If they're green and perky. They should be fine. Keep an eye on their progress though. Things can get hairy quite fast. Especially when they're young.

For seedlings I would definitely keep them under T5's. You can keep them close, they aren't going to cause any burn or be too intense. Once you have four or five nodes you can move them over to the 600W

Ok guys will do might do 24 hours veg for a week or 2 under the t5 then go to the 600w light

I grow with a 600w HPS also, and when starting I keep it around 36 inches above the seedlings. Once they reach around the 4 to 5 inch mark, you can then lower the light. The general rule of thumb is keep a HPS lighting system between 18 and 25 inches from the top most part of the tallest plant, and then keep raising the light as they grow. You could use the T5's that you have, but will get a lot better results with the HPS.

HPS will also throw out a lot more heat. Not saying they're bad. Just that they're capable room heaters too.