last week I lost 2 seedlings to either root rot, or mold, I am thinking the latter because the rockwool I had slight mildew type smell. but the roots dried up and turned brown so IDK, all I know is they died and I've had to start over. so now today I wake up to see 2 new seedling popping up out of the rockwool and I was happy again. I would just like some tips and suggestions to help me get them through this delicate point and into the actual hydroponic system. I've got a digital thermometer and humidity meter in the tray covered by a humidity dome and them temp says 76, with 80% humidity. before with the previous attempt I dont think I sterilized anything, I also didn't wash my hands before handling them, that was probably my mistake. but I'd like other opinions on this, so from what I understand I need to remove the humidity dome after they sprout correct, currently they just cracked the surface and still have the seed casing attached. only water when the rockwool starts to become dry, keep light on 24 hours a day, and don't let the temp get to low to prevent mold. I might run into a problem with keeping the temp at a perfect level because my basement can get kind of cold and they are only under florescents, however I do have a 250 watt MH I could put them under, and keep the light high as to not kill them with to much heat or would that be a mistake. well sorry for the wall of text and any help at all will be greatly appreciated, anything on seedling health would be great
If your basement gets that cool, put them under the MH to keep the temperature up. Place it about 2 feet above them, the cubes will dry out quicker, so keep an eye on them, and dip the cubes in about 5mm of water for a few seconds, rather that top feeding/watering them. You can leave a bowl or jug of water beside them, the lamp will evaporate the water, keeping some humidity in the air.
I forgot you had a dome, you could do either, as long as they are warm and the humidity is high, then the MH will do fine. They don't need to have high intensity light to begin with, after 4 or 5 days lower the light to keep them from stretching.