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Hey guys and gals, I haven't been here in a while but I have a few questions regarding lights.....
1. I have a fluorescent grow light in a chamber with plants 1 month old about 2-3 inches away from the light. Not including heat, can a plant ever be "too" close to a light? The distance between leaves is extremely nill so I'm curious if this will affect bud output.
2. When is a good time to make the switch from fluorescent to HPS?
Thanks in advance all!
By distance of leaves I mean the distance between each node (stem). Is it a problem if the nodes are >1" for instance?
My bad, <1"
switch too HPS or CFL 2700k @ flower time ;)
To answer your questions, no a plant can never have too much light unless it causes heat burns or even UV burns if the UV light is strong enough, which in most artificial lighting situations it isn't (save maybe sulphur plasma lamps). Short distance between internodes may be caused simply by the strain you are propagating. Indicas tend to have shorter internodal lengths because they are naturally shorter than most sativas. I wouldn't worry about it. Switch to your HPS when you decide it is time to start flowering. 1 month should be long enough but if you want a larger crop let them veg a bit longer. What wattage HPS are you using? Also what wattage fluorescent are you using? Also are they CFL or T12, T8, T5? When you start to flower I would suggest, only if possible of course, to start flowering soley with the HPS light you have to enduce vigorous flowering. I would say for about the first 2-3 weeks, then supplement the rest of the flowering cycle with the CFL/T12 or whatever you have to veg, given that it has the correct spectrum for veg which is about 5500-7500k or 620-650nm if you want to get specific.
When you switch from CFLs to HPS, do it gradually...start the lights twice as far from the plants as you want them in the end, and lower the lights over a couple of days. HPS light is a lot stronger than the CFLs, and you'll get some shock or even burn if you aren't careful.
Unfortunately it's a simple run of the mill flourescent Wal-Mart "grow light". It comes with the light and small "ballast" (if you can even call it that) for immediate setup. It outputs at 75w and I only have one (I'm going to buy another soon). The plants are about a month in and they are less than one inch away from the light. I'm trying to keep them as short as possible due to it being a closet grow.
But let me get this straight....I'm under the impression the taller the plant, the more bud it can potentially produce. So I feel as though having a 6" 1 month-old 2" away from the light would cut down on eventual bud production because it won't have enough space to make big buds between the nodes. Is this legitimate or am I just being a big worry wart? This is only my third grow.....Thanks everyone!:jointsmile:
Also, to answer one of the above questions....It's a T8. Decent? Shitty?