fluorescent lights..

k, so im a beginer lets get that out of the way. My questions are as follows

1. what is the best distance from my plants to set up the fluorescent lights?
2. is there any benefit to having the lights encompassing the plants.. or is overhead the best?
3. how much light(fluorescent) should each be getting in veg to keep them at a steady grow rate?

try to keep lights 2 to 3 inches away. your gonna want light overhead but are also gonna want some side light.and the min would be 100 actual watts per plant more is always better tho

1. 2-6 inches
2. yes since flurosents have poor penetration and a short effective area its best to surround your plant with them
3. rule of thumb is 100 actual watts of flurosent lighting per plant minimum

Overhead until plants are about 5-6 inches tall. Then add side lighting. Then add some more.

When your plant grows more than two inches on the side of a bulb, add another.

I started with one bulb, then went to 2. Then 4, then 8.

Now I have 10 bulbs and not going to add anymore.

I keep my girl 2inches from my t12 fixtures and I do my cloning and partial vegging under them in 2and a half ft by 5ft by 7ft closet 3 fixtures 2to 3 plants per fixtures 54w bulbs and I get growth comparable to a mh nice thick main stems its the raising the chain everytime 2days that's a pain

I use T5's top lighting with decent grows, mainly indica dominant for short plants, never used side lighting tho I'm sure it would help.