Light distance to plant

I had my seedlings under a T-5 lamp about 2 " from the tops of the plant. I am now switching over to 125W cfl, 6400K, full daylight spectrum lamp. The manufacture says " keep the light approximately 6 to 12 inches of the top of the vegetation. The closer the light source is to the garden the higher the intensity, but narrower the coverage". If I put the lamp lower will it burn the tops? I'm concerned that with the lamp being 6 - 12 inches from the plant tops may cause too much stretch. Suggestons?

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Originally Posted by lulu64

I had my seedlings under a T-5 lamp about 2 " from the tops of the plant. I am now switching over to 125W cfl, 6400K, full daylight spectrum lamp. The manufacture says " keep the light approximately 6 to 12 inches of the top of the vegetation. The closer the light source is to the garden the higher the intensity, but narrower the coverage". If I put the lamp lower will it burn the tops? I'm concerned that with the lamp being 6 - 12 inches from the plant tops may cause too much stretch. Suggestons?

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Ive never ran a 125cfl so im not too familiar with them. I can say that I run my 400 watt Hps between 8-10 inches from my plants without any issues(flowering plants not seedlings). Its all about your setup. Best thing i would suggest would be to put them around 6-8 inches away to begin with. If the little ones start stretching move the light closer. A little stretch is alot easier to deal with vs burnt plants. Maybe someone will pipe in that uses them and give you a better answer.

The daylight 125 cfl's are great for veg. From what I've seen, they don't tend to cause the plants to stretch unless they're obviously too far away.. I've got two side by side. You can safely get them to within a couple of inches away without burning. Don't get them too close in case your plants have a bit of a growth spurt. Hope that helps

Thanks guys for your help! I'll keep the lights lower to the plants and keep an eye out. So far, so good!