Ive read MANY threads and my ? is unanswered

[illnillinois]

I love the "sticky"how to grow da dankness, and the endless other threads, but I didn't read anything about the distance to keep the lights from the plants to prevent excessive reaching.

One guy's thread said he was keeping his lights 2-3 inches away, correct or incorrect?

Thanks

illnillinois Reviewed by illnillinois on 06-01-2008. Ive read MANY threads and my ? is unanswered I love the "sticky"how to grow da dankness, and the endless other threads, but I didn't read anything about the distance to keep the lights from the plants to prevent excessive reaching. One guy's thread said he was keeping his lights 2-3 inches away, correct or incorrect? Thanks Rating: 5

[justanotherbozo]

on what kind of light's you're using.
if you're using HID lights, they throw a LOT of heat so they need to be a good 12 inch's away, especially if the plants are young.
if you're using CFL's like me, then 2 inch's or so is fine, the closer the light source, the less stretching you'll get.
a good rule of thumb is the 'hand' rule, put your hand under the light, when your hand gets close enough so that the heat of the light is uncomfortable to your hand, it will be uncomfortable for the plants as well.

good luck

[midlifecrisis]

Ditto.......just keep in mind space for growth too. Once an uncle's, brother's, son put the lights at an appropriate distance from the plant, then ignored it for a few days....the plant grew right up into the cfl.......

[the image reaper]

IF you are using fluorescent tubes, they need to stay within 1" or so, of the tops, (the other types were already answered) ... :smokin:

[illnillinois]

IF you are using fluorescent tubes, they need to stay within 1" or so, of the tops, (the other types were already answered) ... :smokin:

I am using tubes. not sure what they are.. The setup i have is a 3 tier with two bulbs per tier.
Its a growing rack from michigan growing company.

thanks for the comments!!

[daihashi]

2-3" away is not impossible even with HIDs.

However typically when people say 2-3" away they are referring to CFL's. When I vegged under CFL's I had alot of air movement and an exhaust. With 300 watts in CFLs (which gets surprisingly hot) I kept it about 1" away from the tops and it stayed around 76 degrees. Which no fans on it would get up to 97 degrees.


My HID I have now is a 400 watt hps in a cooltube connected to a 6" 454cfm inline fan. The room is running a 12"x12" passive intake with an air filter on it to prevent particles from coming in from outside the room. The other end of my cool tube is open so the cool tube/inline fan can draw the air out of the room as well.

With that setup my plants can rest right up against the cool tube with no problems, about 75-79 degrees. However I prefer to keep it barely not touching.

So you see 2-3" is not impossible with HID. Your ambient temperature outside your grow area is also very important as to how hot it will get

[illnillinois]

What is the bead looking stuff in the pot of most plants.. the brown bead looking "stuff". Is there no soil?

I know i ask some pretty basic questions,LONG time smoker, first time grower. I am just sick of smoking brick shit and i want to get it right when I get my seeds..

Im so excited, i hope they really take off..
I bought 10 Feminised Cheese seeds. heres a pic..


ALSO anyone that wants to leave TIPS/TRICKS or DONTS, PLEASE i would love EVERYONE comment left..

[daihashi]

What is the bead looking stuff in the pot of most plants.. the brown bead looking "stuff". Is there no soil?

I know i ask some pretty basic questions,LONG time smoker, first time grower. I am just sick of smoking brick shit and i want to get it right when I get my seeds..

Im so excited, i hope they really take off..
I bought 10 Feminised Cheese seeds. heres a pic..


ALSO anyone that wants to leave TIPS/TRICKS or DONTS, PLEASE i would love EVERYONE comment left..

That would be hydrotron. Usually used for hyrdro applications but you can also put a nice layer over the top soil to prevent the soil from drying out and to help your roots utilize the entire soil in the pot. Roots won't grow too close to the top of soil since there is light exposure.

All in all it's a pretty useful material. You can even put a thin layer at the bottom of your pots to help with drainage.