Can I start my seeds under a 400 MH?

[Coldpressed]

The temp in my closet is running from about 78-81 and I have enough room to move them up to 5 feet away if I need to diminish their exposure to it.

Thanks in advance for any input. ;)

[cptweedmanguy]

use florecents if u have them...... but yes u can but u got to keep that light far up, because those babys will fry quicker than shit.

[smoknjoe]

Yea, my seeds started fine under 400w MH. However, purchasing a couple cheap fluorescents is a good idea. Since you have to keep the MH far away, the seedlings tend to stretch for the light.

[locomark]

I would start with some bagseeds before you drop any high dollar seeds and learn you should have done it differently.

[BlueDragonSmoke]

good advise.....its always better to try bagseed on a new set up .... works out the kinks ...the do's and don'ts...... anyway some bagseed kicks ass anyway , it was just cured badly, and handled wrong ....so depending on your set up and how good the bud is you get ....you could be in for a kick ass learning time ....or a scratch and back to the board sorta speak ...lol..good luck

[mand]

Hello Coldpressed :) I always start mine under a 400 watt MH.

You're growing in a closet so heat may be a bit of a concern for you, I tend to have the opposite problem ...... cold :o.

You can move the light up to "five feet", if you have to keep it far away then streching can occur so be ready to offer a little support to the seedlings;)


love mand xxx:)

[notanotherteensmoker]

I started mine 2 to 3 feet under a 400W hps, not directly underneath, but a little off to the side. All 8 of 8 seeds sprouted. Later I switched to a MH conversion bulb with better veg results.

[kingkewl]

Yes...

[Villui]

i just started mine under 400w hps (mh conversion bulb) 2 days ago
and i have it a little above 2.5 ft away from top of the pots ..

i also have a 20inch box fan on medium always blowing on plants and light temp is a little high but its ok about 80-85

hope the sprout soon theyre in peatmoss cups atm

[rodekyll]

Here's a few things to consider as you decide which light to use:

If you're careful, you can start under almost any intensity of light. Ideally, start them under sunlight and suppliment your light period (after the sun goes down) with artificial light. It's a bit of hands-on effort to move them inside at night, but I think they like to go for rides, just like my dog does.

I start mine under full spectrum flouros and move them to MH after they've established themselves -- and after the previous crop is out of the grow room. My reasoning for this is fourfold: economy, environment, kindness, and sequence.

It's more economical to use and replace flouros than MH, even with the cost of purchasing both. If the plant can't use all the light, why use it?

My environment for rooting or cloning is in the bathroom next to the commode. I don't really want a bright, hot light there incubating gosh knows what along with the seeds. I also don't want anyone walking down the hall to notice this bight-azzed light coming from the bathroom. The way people are in my town, they'll think it's an alien invasion. A 24w flouro is a lot easier to explain. . .

I like to be as kind as possible with new starts, either seedlings or cuttings. I use gentle light, watering, fertilizer, etc for this first phase of growth. I can have flouros actually touch a plant without burning it. That's gentle.

Finally, I sequence my plants thru the grow room according to their point in the growth cycle. I take my cuttings for clones (my mainstay of reproduction) while my crop is still in veg. So I don't want them in the same room together when I cut back the light. (Seedlings would be the same). I have to have a separate room for that, and I can't afford to run two big MH lights.

good luck!

[latewood]

good advice all around, I'd say.

If you have 400wMH use it, If not, then buy fluoros...not always cheaper, but most come with 5 year warranty and can be purchased at hopot...

400wMH is great for your veg room (remember your vegged plants don't take up much space, the surprise comes after you switch to the 12/12 photoperiod) I will post a couple pix to show you what I mean.

Just for laughs, here are a couple pix of my 1st serious grow; (back in the Day, of course) Before, I knew that:
1. The longer you veg, the longer it takes for plants to finish.
2. The taller you veg, the taller the plants get, before they will finish, they also spread out all over, crowding each other and it was hard to keep up with hermie's)
3. Use fan to allow keeping light as close as possible to the canopy to decrease stretching.

anyway, this is under or beside a 400w MH and to the left, for flower I added my 250w hps. that is all I had at the time.

Have a good laugh on me, but remember, I am giving you the picture's of what became a jungle nightmare. These points/mistakes I made here, can help you newer growers, to perhaps bypass some beginner mistakes; Like I have shown here. Goodluck, lw