how much light for 1 day old seedlings?

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chockeyfan6

New Member
our seedlings just sprouted today they are not even taller than an inch. the only light we have is a 600 watt mh bulb and we currently have it at 50% power and 3 feet away from the plants. is that a good length? i want to make sure not to burn them or also have them stretching too far for the light...
 
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budfever

Active Member
16 to 24hrs on.

Not sure if that's a good distance cause I have no idea how well you have that 600w MH cooled.
Get it as close as you can without risk of burning the plants.
Hold your hand just over the plants, lower the lights till they are as close as you can get them without feeling the heat on your hand.

Why did you cut the power down?
I veg under a 1000W and never dim the bulb with seedlings.
You don't need to worry about to much light intensity with seedlings, only with clones do you need to be cautious.
 
bigworm6969

bigworm6969

Well-Known Member
I started my seedlings on a 600 watt and about 1 and a half feet away my light is air cooled and i have another fan blowing inbetween my light and plants, but like budfever said do the hand test cant go wrong with that
 
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chockeyfan6

New Member
budfever said:
16 to 24hrs on.

Not sure if that's a good distance cause I have no idea how well you have that 600w MH cooled.
Get it as close as you can without risk of burning the plants.
Hold your hand just over the plants, lower the lights till they are as close as you can get them without feeling the heat on your hand.

Why did you cut the power down?
I veg under a 1000W and never dim the bulb with seedlings.
You don't need to worry about to much light intensity with seedlings, only with clones do you need to be cautious.
Click to expand...
ok cool so ill turn my 600 watt light up to full power. and the temp has been between 80-85F so ill lower the light until its a couple feet away and do the hand test..

thanks guys. we also have to light cycle to 18 hours on and 6 hours off. i heard 20-4 was ideal for seedlings but my roommate and i have been debating multiple things...
 
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budfever

Active Member
If you don't have a small fan blowing on the seedlings I would get one.
You don't need much air movement yet, but it will help aid with the heat and it will strengthen the plants.
80-85f is ok I would personally get it closer to 78-80f but they will be just fine at 85f.

There may be a benefit to running 20/4 insted of 18/6 but I have not seen it in the years I have been growing.
 
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chockeyfan6

New Member
budfever said:
If you don't have a small fan blowing on the seedlings I would get one.
You don't need much air movement yet, but it will help aid with the heat and it will strengthen the plants.
80-85f is ok I would personally get it closer to 78-80f but they will be just fine at 85f.

There may be a benefit to running 20/4 insted of 18/6 but I have not seen it in the years I have been growing.
Click to expand...
yea we have a small fan going, we should leave that running 24 hours? and alright we will leave the lighting at 18/6
 
topfuel29

topfuel29

Well-Known Member
chockeyfan6 said:
our seedlings just sprouted today they are not even taller than an inch. the only light we have is a 600 watt mh bulb and we currently have it at 50% power and 3 feet away from the plants. is that a good length? i want to make sure not to burn them or also have them stretching too far for the light...
Click to expand...
You can give full light to them. like the others have said
3' is to far away from the light they will stretch.
View attachment 2690178
 
greenlikemoney

greenlikemoney

Well-Known Member
This is just my personal opinion and S.O.P.......Put those babys on a 12/12 cycle with flowering light bulbs. In 3 weeks they will show their sex. You can then kill any males and put the females back in 24/0 veg state. The reason I do this is because I don't want to grow a plant for 2 months only to find out its a male. This does not stress the plant out and you can spend the next few months actually growing females rather than praying for females on a daily basis.
 
topfuel29

topfuel29

Well-Known Member
chockeyfan6 said:
ok so we should have the 600 watt mh how far away if 3 feet is too far? and keep the 600 watt at 100%? the temp is good it has been between 75-85F due to the small fan
Click to expand...
about 12"-16" from the light.
Remember if you have a small container it will dry out sooner.
You can put a 1/2" layer of perlite on top the soil, this will keep moisture in your soil longer.
Use the back of your hand, and feel how hot the light is.
You want them close but not to close that they burn u from the heat of the light.
Use your fan to blow air between your light and the seedlings.
Keep a close eye on them, and you'll be ok.
 
PeaceGrow

PeaceGrow

Well-Known Member
yes they will be fine under your metal hs 2 1/12- 3 feed adjust, just prevent stretching, that's usually poor seed/light to far but I personally turn my lights off at night when they are seedlings but that's just me im not saying its better, good luck!!
 
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