Lighting distance

That looks like a relatively low-intensity light, so you can probably just keep it about 2” away from the tallest plant until they’re big enough to go under a bigger light.

 

florescent can be as close as you can get it without the plant touching the blubs and burning it. i veg mine right on top of my plants. they were getting leggy due to the light distance being so far away. you want to move them outside to flower? are they autos? personally as soon as they were big enough to withstand the sun i would start working them outside. doesnt matter what kind of light you have nothing beats the sun. If they are autos the more sun they get the more they can grow preflower. if you can grow outdoors i wouldnt use that t5 for anything but starting seedlings use the warm weather while you can.

 

doubtful 30 watts would suffice a full veg, especially with the light leakage not growing in a tent. you probably have 5 to 10 actual watts reaching each plant. maybe more but youre going to be looking at 2 to 4 ft plants before they start flowering if you grow outdoors and wait too long allowing them to get used to that small amount of light the sun will roast them to a crisp. outdoors they can get 10-14ft tall (photoperiods) lol they consume light at a high level.

 

youll want to measure your grow space and multiply that together. lets say its 3ft by 3ft = 9 square foot of growing space as i stated youll have light leaks so i would get a little bit stronger light than i need but you divide 9 by the actual wattage of light to get your watts per sqft 3x3=9 actual watts 400 divided by 9 = 44 watts a sqft. depending on what light you get a higher end or lower end 30 watts would be the minimum you would want for a higher end light lower end light you would probably want around 40 to 50 watts a square ft. most amazon leds are lower end you have to look at the power draw or actual wattage in the description they will list 1000 watts but only draw 220. max watts per sqft if you can handle the heat is 70.

higher end lights
Horticulture Lighting Group Premium LED Grow Lights for Agriculture
The Horticulture Lighting Specialists offering the best grow lights these have awesome power veg bulbs for the t5
https://www.growersc.com/led

if you use a budget light to grow cannabis expect budget cannabis, just as a heads up

i'll add just vegging you can get away with less but they will use the light if given, to a certain extent.

 

seedling stage last 2 weeks. folding over to create a even canopy is for growing indoors and trying to pull the most yield off a controlled environment and a light that doesnt penetrate like the sun. do what you want but growing outdoors that isnt necessary

 

looks dry could be. the little white dot is more along the line of a burn. an actual black burnt spot or that can indicate light burn. you dont mist while the lights are on correct? that can cause burns and dryness as well. the water droplets act as a magnifying glass with the light.

common rule of thumb if its too hot for your hand it too hot for the plant. by hovering your hand over the top of your plant between the plant and light. hold for 5 or so seconds if it burns your skin itll burn the plant.

 

it doesnt just disappear once damage is done the lights alone wont burn your plant. one the wattage isnt strong enough 2 its florescent i use a agrobrite florescent with eye hortilux power veg bulbs in my 3x3 to veg some plants.

 

thats how close mine are probably about to remove those fan leaves touching the light instead of changing my light distance