Questions on lighting and seedlings

Im soon going to be purchasing 2 600w grow boxes, one for veg one for flower, and i was told 600w lights might be too harsh on smaller seedlings...the same person told me i should use cfls in the begining of veg...if this
is true how many watts would i need for a 5x5 space? and what kind of cfl cause ik there is 2 different types one to mimic hps and one to mimic mh? and when should i change to the 600?

Not true . You can use full blast 600w HID light right from the start . Light it self can not harm young plants , but heat can . As long as temperature under reflector ( at the canopy level ) between 65f-82f your young plants will be totally fine . I am speaking from my own experience . Another thing that floats around here is that you do not feed your plants 'till they 10-14 days old this is total BS as well . You can have 300ppm nutrient solution right from the start , as long as water that you use for your nutrient solution has originally low ppm and your solution ph is in range ( try to stay as close as you can to 5.8 ) your plant will be fine . For soil grow same rules , just ph level is different( not sure what is it , I have never grow in soil) .

What is the cheapest lighting for one plant? That won't affect yield?

Different light will produce different amounts . The most efficient is 600w HID -lumen per watt .

The kind of light is not as important as the distance from it. You often see recommendations for distances for CFL, HID, LED, etc. but those are more often than not for established plants with good development. For seedlings, I suggest a little farther away than the usual recommendations. I am still new, but this is straight from my experience already.

For instance, I use 55w PLL lighting for my veg box. Recommendations for distance on those is similar to CFL, since it is a type of compact fuoro. So 1-2" is often recommended as long as there is no heat issues. However, I found that young seedlings could not handle that intensity and I solarized three of my seedlings and they are basically toast. I have since backed off to 4-5", not seeing any stretch, and growth on my newer seedlings is much better. I will move them closer when they get more foliage and a better established root system.

That will all work I am sure but isn't that over kill for veg? You could get a much smaller tent for veg and a 250mh and still get the 600w and the bigger tent. Or just get a switchable ballast and one tent...

I use a balanced spectrum of cfl for vegging. You want 6500k or "daylight" bulbs for veg and 2700k "softwhite" bulbs for flower. But like I said you should mix them up for balance.

That will all work I am sure but isn't that over kill for veg? You could get a much smaller tent for veg and a 250mh and still get the 600w and the bigger tent. Or just get a switchable ballast and one tent...

I use a balanced spectrum of cfl for vegging. You want 6500k or "daylight" bulbs for veg and 2700k "softwhite" bulbs for flower. But like I said you should mix them up for balance.

i didnt mention my flower box is a 1.5 feet bigger both ways...would u still suggest that i go lower then 600 in the veg box? someone told me a 400mh would be fine for a 5x5

so u guys are saying a 600w mh would be fine for my 5x5 veg box all the way through?

Not true . You can use full blast 600w HID light right from the start . Light it self can not harm young plants , but heat can . As long as temperature under reflector ( at the canopy level ) between 65f-82f your young plants will be totally fine . I am speaking from my own experience . Another thing that floats around here is that you do not feed your plants 'till they 10-14 days old this is total BS as well . You can have 300ppm nutrient solution right from the start , as long as water that you use for your nutrient solution has originally low ppm and your solution ph is in range ( try to stay as close as you can to 5.8 ) your plant will be fine . For soil grow same rules , just ph level is different( not sure what is it , I have never grow in soil) .

you seem to know a good amount about nutes...i have a question for you, i am going to be using general hydroponics maxigro and maxi bloom, and im wondering what else i could use...im def going to be using molasses for a carb boost during flower but what else do u suggest i feed my plants? i am growing in soil btw

Yeah I would because you could veg way more plants then needed with a 600w you'd save a lot on energy as well

If it is your first grow use Thechnaflora starter kit as your nutrients . I guarantee that you not gonna have any problems as long as you keep following the schedule and keep PH and PPM of your nutrient solution .

yes it is and the nutes i listed come with the grow box so is there any things i can add to my stuff for better yeild, potency etc. o ya it gotta be organic:)