I have one plant and it's currently under a 400 watt MH. I do have several 4' T5 lights hanging around and they are 40 watts each. Would it be wiser to use this during vegie stat or stick with the MH? The plant only sprouted 6 days ago if that makes a difference. Thanks in advance.
i love me some MH for veg.. for some reason most people on this forum prefer incandescent bulbs.. im guessing because either they dont have much space to grow, they cant afford MH, they cant afford electrical, or in the rare occasion they dont know what they are doing. im in no way shape or form saying that i know whats right and people here dont know what they are doing at all, its an opinion. with my experience iv found that MH for veg > anything else if your trying to grow in a certain timeframe with looking for the highest yields with the best flavour/quality. if you maximize your light so that all the plants you are growing are able to use 90+% of the light being distributed, you cant go wrong. i average 1.25-1.60 grams per watt used. currently running 2400W HPS for budding, 400W-1000W for veg, depending on the size of the plants. (the smaller the plants means the closer they can be to eachother, meaning the closer the light can be.. which means i start with 400w, and as they get bigger, i increase the lighting as they get farther apart)
Start at 24 inches and lower the light daily so the seedlings get used to the intensity is how i do it hope this helps
i keep them as close as possible, usually at least a foot and a half away, with a fan blowing just under the light to prevent burning. the better the light, i find, the less the seedlings stretch. iv seen a lot of people start with CFLs and the seedlings stretch so much that they bend and fall over. i like em short and stocky once the plants get 2-3 sets of leaves i get the light as close as possible without burning the plants. roughly 6"-10" away
Cfls are great for exactly what sugar said. Starting seedlings till the start growing leaves as soon as the second set of leaves appear should be ready for the MH. First 15 min under mh watch them. If they aren't ready they will start to drop over pretty quick. If so put em back under cfl for a few more days.
i never use CFLs. straight from sprout, my seedlings are getting their MH lighting, but i dont have to worry too much about the electric bill. if money is tight, id say go nuts with the CFLs! if you really dont care, id start em with the MH. just my preference though.
I would go with the 400w. I have a 4 bulb t5ho setup that I am using for clones and vegging right now and it is simply inadequate for plants over about 8" tall. Hid lighting is fine for seedlings as long as they aren't ridiculously close and the canopy temps are good. Ive started seedlings under 400 - 1000w hids from day one and have not killed one yet.