Humidity dome issues?

I recently invested in a indoor grow tent and have started to cultivate some seeds. Recently the seedlings growth has stalled. Obviously I have made some "noob" mistakes. I was hoping a few veteran growers could shed some light (pun intended). Here are the steps I took:

1. Germinated seeds under a paper towel till they popped.
2. Soaked rock wool cubes overnight in ph balanced water, then ph balanced them again before removing them and putting the seeds in root down.
3. Put both cubes in a humidity dome with a little ph balanced water and set them beneath a 150 watt cfl.

Growth was normal, seeds sprouted, leaves appeared, but after a little over 2 weeks only one plant has a single root protruding. I have recently tried removing the dome but the leaves on the plants nearly dried up, rock wool was wet. I have now replaced the dome and placed the dome beneath a 400 watt MH bulb, about 3-4 feet above the dome in hopes to save my seedlings. Any feedback would be greatly appreciated.

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This is just my own personal experience, so I will do my best.

I have not dealt with a dome or rockwool before. From what it seems like, you are going about it the wrong way haha.

The dome is generally used to get clones to sprout from my understanding, but then again I am sure it could work for seedlings but in your case it isn't. So lets try a different approach.

Screw the rockwool, and screw the dome. I can make this alot less headache for you and less work as well.

Germinate seeds inside a paper towel with tap water (ph doesn't matter yet), and put them in a container in a dark place. Just to get them to start germinating.
Once you see a root coming out that is about 1/8 of an inch, plant in FFOF soil mixed with perlite, worm castings, and bat guano. Water generously.

In about 4-7 days you will see a sprout coming through the dirt, from there it is easy.


On the flip side, I would not use CFL's, I would be giving them all the MH possible 1 and 1/2 ft away, they will suck that energy right up and use it. Give it a shot, you won't be disappointed. I think the reason your seedlings are not growing is because they are not getting enough lumens, could be because the light is too far away from them and that is why they are growing taller and not outwards as they are suppose to. They are reaching for light but the lack of leaves to take in sunlight energy is stunting them.

This is why you need to keep the light at a proper distance from the plants at all times, and I am sure the dome doesn't help. Also keep in mind that if light gets to the roots or if you see roots, the plant will start to die, the roots are not able to process sunlight and it stuns the plants growth.

For a reference, look at my first grow log if you need guidance or you have questions, I refer to it religiously.

I'm committed to the hydro process but you are right. I was using the dome incorrectly. I will try again from scratch and see how the results differ. Thanks for the help THContent!!

No problem bud, hope everything works out ok for you :D