I have a 200 watt flouro light that i bought from a hydroponics shop. I have a few seedlings that are maybe 2 inches tall now, but I don't see the purpose of putting the light so close to the baby plants like everyone on this forum advocates. The light gives off a decent amount of heat, especially very close, so I keep the thing about 15-18 inches above the plants. When I had them very close to the light, they began to wilt and start shrivelling at the leaf tips. Am I missing something? Why on earth would you put your plants closer than 5-7 inches to the light? I'll put some pics up soon, I have a 150 watt HPS light that I will begin using a few days before i switch to 12/12.
you keep the light as close as you can so your plants dont streatch and have all stem if you use a fan heat will not be a prob. i have my floro about a inch away and just run my fan no streatching just geting giant leaves and within 6 days from my seeds sprouting i have 2 sets of leaves close = good
With one high power cfl, for even light distribution it is best to go with a distance of 10-20" according to manafacturer's guidelines. The closer the bulb the less distribution of light, so unless you are only growing one plant, keeping it very close is not an efficient way of lighting IMO, and they do get rather hot even with a fan blowing.
two things, 1. don't believe the manual 2. when you put your hand just above your plant, it should be warm but not hot. If its hot for you its too hot for your plant. Remeber your trying to keep your temp between 70-80 degrees or 25 celcius.