how far away??

[flaboy88]

so i have a 1000w Mh aggro sun bulb.. i got my babies jus under cfl's rite now.. im tryin to find a way to put my light up and was wondering how far away should i put it?? i kno if i put my hand under it, if its hot on my hand its hot for them but is there like a certain distance that would b good?

 

[DonJones]

Flaboy88,

Start at about 10" to 12" and adjust from there using the hand method.

 

[pcduck]

Lower your light till you fill heat on the back of your hand then place your light at that distance. This distance varies according to the wattage of the bulb and if your reflector is air cooled or not.

 

[Matthew7]

Be careful! Start way out at a safe distance and move the lamp an inch or so till' you reach "The Wonder Spot" or optimum distance. Now I'm using a distance of 28" for MH (400watt, with no air cooling except room fan and exhaust vent) and slowly lowering toward my seedlings, checking every hour to ensure I'm not burning them or stressing them. Some seedlings can't take too much too soon -and believe me, you don't want to find out the hard way. It's just what seemed to work for me ( after almost stressing my twelve day old seedlings off to Ganja heaven -and the light wasn't burning my hand, and the room temp was never above 76 degrees ...but still, it almost killed my babies!!!)
Plants can just be pretty fragile at seedling stage, but with cautious, slow adjustment they should be fine. Just what worked for me in the same situation is all. Hope that helps, Matt