Seedlings straight under 400w?

el1

Well-Known Member
Sup , i'm wondering how i should go about lighting with my seedlings , can i put them straight under my 400 watter? i dont have any cfls , cept maybe a desk lamp that i can put a cfl in lol. Theres about 4 -6 of them , plenty of height to raise light and so on. Any replies appreciated.
 

sum0

Well-Known Member
Yo man. As long as you make sure to keep your lights a fare distance away from the seedling I see no problem on putting em under straight away.

I have a 400W HPS too and putting them under the intense light straight away will make them grow very fast and destroy the risk of stretching if ure light is possitioned correctly.

What are u using for venting?
 

el1

Well-Known Member
2x 120mm axial fans , with two passive intakes. keeps temp around 27 celcius.
 

mrskitz

Well-Known Member
keep um 2feet above um for about a week and then lower the light bit by bit,by the 3rd week you can have it about 10-12"above um and they should be perfectly fine.
 

sum0

Well-Known Member
Fuck! thats alot better than mine. Put the seedlings under, they will be just fine
 

el1

Well-Known Member
Cheers Mates, didnt want to go shelling out for more crap after what ive just done haha.
 

mrskitz

Well-Known Member
if its a standard hid with out anything to keep it cool if he has it to close to um it.ll dry um out quick and heat stress um!plus they dont need intense light straight away!im talking from experience!
 

mrskitz

Well-Known Member
make sure you lower the light at the right times to stop stretching!its mainly common sense.
 

el1

Well-Known Member
yeah its standard hid. with reflector etc. gonna put some ducting to vent bulb temps seem fine , i can keep it at least3-4 feet above if need be , i just dont have any flueros or anything to start of the vegging. how about just growing them in the sun for a week or two? its pretty bloody hot here at the mo. btw they are travelling thai , PPP and b52.
 

Hank

Well-Known Member
Lemme know how the B52 is........ I've been thinking about going with this strain.

Hank.
 

shamegame

Well-Known Member
Flouros for the first 2 weeks always seem to do better than straight under an HID for me. So much healthier and tighter with flos.
 

mrskitz

Well-Known Member
well like you i used a 400watt from the start and coz i lowered it at the right times it didnt make the plants stretch and they actually grew very bushy and short,not long and lanky!sun lights the best light,thats what are lights are trying to mimic!but if there indoor strains just use ya light from the start!thats just my opinion tho.
 

shamegame

Well-Known Member
you mean tighter as in shorter node right?
Yes. I am sure others might disagree, but I think when you use flos at first, the plants are just cooler + happier and do very well. Then I move them under the 400w at about 3".
 

el1

Well-Known Member
3 inches? oh man i can just put them on my window sill and get 3 inches , i could grow outside but....im pretty sure my neighbours would catch a wiff and steal em haha.
 

Paradox

Well-Known Member
keep um 2feet above um for about a week and then lower the light bit by bit,by the 3rd week you can have it about 10-12"above um and they should be perfectly fine.
i woulnt go by weeks, go by growth, keep them 18" away. some people hang a measured string from their light so when the string starts hitting the level of the top of the plants you know its time to raise it.

i started some seeds under a 400w HPS once, but i had the light really far away, probably like 3ft, just make sure the soil doesnt dry out very quickly.
 
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