400w Mh And Seedlings

[Onetwothree]

hello all! I'm about to get started in my first grow and I'm very excited. I've done a ton of research and this forum in particular has been awesome to read. I have a question though...I'm currently germinating my seeds in Rapid Rooters, and plan to transplant them into solo cups with Fox Farms potting soil once they have sprouted. My question is, when I move the seedlings in the solo cups into my grow tent...I have a 400w MH bulb for the vegetative stage, and the ballast allows me to go down to 50% or 75% strength...if I have the light on 50% for the first two weeks of growth, how far away should I keep the lights? I know once they are 14 days old I can bump the lights up to 100% and keep them 8-12 inches away, but I'm curious about the seedling stage. Thanks!!

Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[oldskol4evr]

take the back side of your hand ,hold of the top of the canopy,when you feel heat and its slightly hot on your hand you got it,if you cant hold your hand there comfortably move the light up until you can hold it there for at least 30 seconds,you have to think this way if its not comfortable to you it sure aint for the plant,your 400 at 50% is great ,it will harden them off,2 weeks might be to long. after a week you should be 75% a week later ,give them the whole hog.i run 2 400 watt hps at 18 in above my canopy and a fan bettween lights and canopy,other thing is whatch your heat

 

[Papa Indica]

Well, if it was me, I'd run that at 50% and about 24" above for the first week, bump it up to 75% and drop to about 18" for week two, then go 100%. I don't think I'd go any closer than 12".

 

[oldskol4evr]

ive done that also works great,the reason i suggested what i did is i want keepers not weaklens,if they cant hang with my method out they go,after ive harden them off my 2 lights stay 18in above them with fan in bettween till i pull the stalk from the dirt,but i also beat the shit out mine to tuffing them up,does the same thing as pinching them,im just not breaking my back to train them,knock the piss out of them and you get the same knuckle as pinching

 

[oldskol4evr]

we got to use what we got,me i use t5 for what your talking about,but if even grown getto with reg ole light bulbs,you got what you got,so you have to adapt and overcome,the biggest thing is heat,whatever your lights the plant will grow,the futher away the more stretch ,the closer you reduce stretch but have to watch heat,it all comes with time friend,you have already won the battle just by growing your own,time come excellance

 

[Onetwothree]

Thanks guys. Yea I'm really psyched to start this first grow...and probably just like with most things, I'll learn with time and practice, but I want to get as educated as possible and do it up right. I really appreciate the advice!

 

[oldskol4evr]

ill help you anytime you ask friend,i love growing this plant and every one of them are paticular in some way,the art is figuring it out,good luck and you have started in the world of mending your own body with this plant,prefect it and enjoy

 

[ArcticOrange]

Read your plants. That's honestly the best answer I can give you. If they are getting too tall and spindly and heat isn't an issue lower the lights. If growth is nice and tight leave them where they're at. If you want the light close throw some clear plastic containers over the seedlings keep it nice and humid. Temps no higher than 80 and you're good. (And Temps should not be above 72 ideally after the first few weeks OR if you remove the domes.)

 

[ArcticOrange]

Also good to note. I save enough electricity (@.22/kwh) vegging under t5s for the first 3 weeks that I can buy new t5s each round if I want. Internodal spacing is SO much tighter under the t5 too because I can keep it an inch above the plants.

Oh and last thing if heat becomes an issue look into products with potassium silicate (pro-Tekt by dyna gro is one such product) this will allow your plants to withstand higher temps, increase stem strength and increase pest resistance

 

[S3CC]

Are you turning down the power to save $$$ while the seedlings are smaller? Personally, I just put my seedlings under my 400w mh right after they sprout. They have no problem with the light level. When you take into consideration that if they were germinated outside they get allot more. If it is about saving electricity I would go with Artic's idea of the T5's because then you also get the benefit of less heat. I start mine under the mh out of simplicity and I feel that although T5's are good they still aren't going to be the equivalent of mh but that is a different subject for a different time. The other reason is I do other things to keep my electricity bill down so I can get away with the mh from the start. With a 400w light though you want to stay 18" away and not 8"-12" unless you are air cooling your light.
I remember my first grow. So many hopes, so many expectations. That's why patience can be hard to come by for a new grower.

 

[Papa Indica]

Well, if it was me, I'd run that at 50% and about 24" above for the first week, bump it up to 75% and drop to about 18" for week two, then go 100%. I don't think I'd go any closer than 12".

Obviously an experienced grower will learn to do things their own way, to me, this is a good starting point, you will learn as you go what your plants want and what you can get away with with them. I do agree with using t5's, I was using a MH to veg but switched because of heat and electrical costs.
I've always heard no closer than 16" for a 600, and no closer than 12" for a 400. Although I have had them closer to my 600 but, that's in flower too. In veg they're a bit more sensitive and don't need as much light, especially in seedling stage.

 

[Onetwothree]

I am keeping the wattage lower as I heard/read this was wise to do when they are seedlings. Right now they are a week old and I have them under the 400w at 75%. I do have an air cooled hood, so I was going to keep it 12" away once they are two weeks old. For now I'm being cautious...and definitely babying them haha.

Next time I will probably start out at 100% wattage and see what happens. I do think they got a bit "leggy" and would like to avoid that next time.

Im not concerned about electricity cost...yet. I haven't gotten my first electric bill hahaha. That might be a nice smack in the face. But I'm remaining optimistic.

 

[Papa Indica]

Next time I will probably start out at 100% wattage and see what happens. I do think they got a bit "leggy" and would like to avoid that next time.

Even with my t5 very close when they come up they still tend to do that a little bit for me. When I plant a seed in a cup I will leave the soil level down a little bit so after they do that initial stretch I fill in around it with soil and get the cup filled up, (mostly). After that I don't have any real stretching until they hit pre-flower under the HPS.
That's me, I'm not one of these super aggressive "professionals" either though, I just want to grow some killer weed for myself. Definitely going on a pheno hunt though. Recently bought a Turbo Klone, so I know I can get any cuts I take, that's one thing that's gonna help along the way. Good luck to you with your grow, I hope everything goes well for you.

 

[Onetwothree]

Even with my t5 very close when they come up they still tend to do that a little bit for me. When I plant a seed in a cup I will leave the soil level down a little bit so after they do that initial stretch I fill in around it with soil and get the cup filled up, (mostly). After that I don't have any real stretching until they hit pre-flower under the HPS.
That's me, I'm not one of these super aggressive "professionals" either though, I just want to grow some killer weed for myself. Definitely going on a pheno hunt though. Recently bought a Turbo Klone, so I know I can get any cuts I take, that's one thing that's gonna help along the way. Good luck to you with your grow, I hope everything goes well for you.

Ah! Great idea with the cup. I ended up replanting them yesterday to cover up the extra inches.

 

[ArcticOrange]

That's the correct way to transplant onetwothree. Bury those leggy stems and they'll become root soon enough.

 

[Papa Indica]

That's the correct way to transplant onetwothree. Bury those leggy stems and they'll become root soon enough.

Yes they do.