how far should you have your lights above your seedling under soil?

miggy420

New Member
yeah . hello yall . im new . and have too 18 inch florescent light bulbs , one is grow light florecent and the other is just good warm white one. but it does not get too hott, just a little warm , im guessing if anything it gets up to 82*F well im just curious on how far to put the lights above the soil ? the seed has sprouted and doing good , :) cant wait to see her pop up and out and about!

:peace:miggy.
 

DoeEyed

Well-Known Member
yeah . hello yall . im new . and have too 18 inch florescent light bulbs , one is grow light florecent and the other is just good warm white one. but it does not get too hott, just a little warm , im guessing if anything it gets up to 82*F well im just curious on how far to put the lights above the soil ? the seed has sprouted and doing good , :) cant wait to see her pop up and out and about!

:peace:miggy.
You want your light an inch to two inches above the seedling - if she's still under the soil I'd do the same, above the soil. People say you don't need light until it sprouts - and while that's technically true, I've found that my seedlings seem to come up straight through the soil with a light on it, whereas others who don't use one, often complain of the seedling curling, or growing upside down. I believe the light helps the seedling orient itself. :peace:
 

miggy420

New Member
what about like ten inches? , are you sure 2 inches? i know the seed is under the soil like 1 inch... but that seems a little close. but im a newbie . so work with me ;p , thank you for your help , replyyy . cause i have mine like 7 inches above....lol
 

DoeEyed

Well-Known Member
what about like ten inches? , are you sure 2 inches? i know the seed is under the soil like 1 inch... but that seems a little close. but im a newbie . so work with me ;p , thank you for your help , replyyy . cause i have mine like 7 inches above....lol
Hey no problem, I'll help if I can. Yep I'm sure. With your fluorescent tube lighting and your CFL's, the light only has good penetration within those few inches - further back you'll still see the light of course - but they don't have the power to really penetrate the plant. If you keep it that distance away, once your little one sprouts, it will stretch, reaching for the light - you don't want it to do that.
 

miggy420

New Member
awesome bro!! thanks alot , dude , cause i wasnt sure , and i know for a fact that it has sprouted pretty good , like 2 or three inches , so i know its good thats why im asking cause i dont want to mess anything up , i want it to hurry up and pop out of the soil , let nature do its thing i suppose lol. but yeah it was good seed. big tan brown one. :) you must be smart at this . thanks for helping bro, and does it matter what watt? i think this is 35 W , 18 inch cfl. tube. like for fish tanks :)
 

DoeEyed

Well-Known Member
Here, here's a pic of my second grow - you can see how close I have the lights - 4' fluoros. In some cases you can see the plants are right up touching the light. (Do NOT let them touch unless you can comfortably touch the bulb with your bare hand).
 

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DoeEyed

Well-Known Member
That light will work for a couple weeks, but then you'll need more. If your budget is limited - you can try CFL's. You want a minimum of 3000 lumens per square foot for growing, 5000 lumens per square foot recommended. Whatever light you choose - remember you want the 6500K color for vegging, and the 2700K for flowering.
 

miggy420

New Member
wow :) thats awesome . well i will make sure they dont touch the lights , but thats farther later lol . cause she hasnt even got out of soil yet , but i have 4' cfl too , but they in my shop , im just using 18" fishtank cfl , same thing , but they 18 inches. is that okay? if you want i can take a picture and show you
 

miggy420

New Member
okay but i have two 18 inch cfl . wouldnt that be like around like the same of as one t-12? cause i got alot of t-12's . but im just doing this for right now cause it is a seedling.
 

Green Cross

Well-Known Member
wow :) thats awesome . well i will make sure they dont touch the lights , but thats farther later lol . cause she hasnt even got out of soil yet , but i have 4' cfl too , but they in my shop , im just using 18" fishtank cfl , same thing , but they 18 inches. is that okay? if you want i can take a picture and show you
I've had plants grow into 4" floro tubes without burning, so they don't get very hot.

2" like doe said.

Those 18" tubes should provide plenty of light for the first 3 weeks, then you'll need to upgrade
 

DoeEyed

Well-Known Member
one more question , i saw your perlite in one of your pictures . and do you make your own soil?
No, I use Scott's Potting Soil from Home Depot, but I add extra Perlite, because I wasn't happy with the amount that comes in the soil - wanted extra drainage.
 

Twistedfunk

Active Member
most fluoro's can be as close as 2" or even touching the plant. If its a cfl or a T5 give it a few inches. if its a t12 or a similar cool toob then get as close as ya like, personally i try to keep all fluoros 2inches away
 

DoeEyed

Well-Known Member
okay yall , thank you so much :) , i guess ill change the lights in 3 weeks :) , to some t -12's :) it be funnnnnn.
Once your plant/s get going, don't forget to put up pics to share! Most of us around here are picture ho's. lol:mrgreen:
 

Twistedfunk

Active Member
okay but i have two 18 inch cfl . wouldnt that be like around like the same of as one t-12? cause i got alot of t-12's . but im just doing this for right now cause it is a seedling.
An 18" CFL would hardly be considered Compact for a fluorescent light. Are you talking about an 18' fluorescent tube or an 18w cfl? Either way, with any fluoro light, you have to be close to the plant.
 
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