ideal time to start 400w mh??

[jammie]

first a little background. i grow in 5 gal dwc. i start my seeds in a park's bio-dome with a 75w cfl as soon as they sprout. i've been getting a little too much stretch in the 7-10 days before the roots are developed enough to place in the bubbler. i could put them under the 400w mh at any time but am i just burning up electricity by blasting plants with a 2-3mm leaf that much light?? when do you start hid lights? i'm also looking for a good mh lighting chart. i have one for hps but have heard that the ideal distance/lumen is slightly different for mh. thanks all

 

[green_thumb...]

thats all i had was a 400w mh and they did fine but now i have a pair of ginormus Sunlite 45w CFL's to save energy. How far away is your light from the tops of the plant? you should have em anywhere from 3-6 inches away to keep the stretch to a minimum,and i take the lil ones to the hid room when they have their 2nd set of leaves but thats just me peoples have own ways of doing things

 

[jammie]

thanks for stopping by green. yeh the light is exactly 3". i've usually waited til the 3rd set of true leaves to start low dose nukes and put them under 400w mh for veg. maybe this grow i'll try putting them in the net pots a little earlier.

 

[Ganjagrower1]

my self i start out using the 400w i dont even mess with the cfls you will have a lot of stretch. I am not looking for that. i want to keep them as short as possible. but if you havent started with the 400w then you will want to start a little distance away to introduce them to the light. then move the 400w closer as the plants can take the light.

 

[islander420]

Yes. Start the lights farther away so your plant will adjust to the light & heat of the MH. that should stop the strething as well.

 

[jammie]

hey ganja and islander. glad ya could stop by. yeh i think i have to agree that its probably better to get them started under the 400 earlier. i was just trying to get by a little cheapo i guess on the electicity. also my net pots are a little deep so even if they stretch a little it will be ok.