monkey paw

I am a first time grower, and learning a ton from the forums on this site. I am preparing for my first grow, and have all kinds of gear on order but am not quite sure how to us it yet.

So, my question is about how far to keep lights from my plants at different stages of growth?

My setup is as follows:

1000w HPS ballast with (1)Hortilux HPS bulb and (1) Sunmaster MH conversion bulb
Kool-Box Air Cooled Shade w/glass
Mylar covered walls on a 4x4 closet

I plan to grow 8-10 plants at a time, but not continuously, thus the conversion bulb seemd like the best plan for dual usage of the light.

anyone?

krafty420

Sounds like a nice setup. You should be able to get pretty close with that air cooled hood. You will want to keep the light as close as you can at all times w/o burning the plants. Use the back of your hand to test the heat coming from the light. Whatever distance feels comfortable on the back of your hand should do well for your plants. Good luck!

-peace

monkey paw

Thanks for the reply Krafty...

Based on my gear, do I need flouros at all, or can I simply use the MH during the seedling stage (1st week or 2) at a high distance from the sprouts. I have 8ft of ceiling to work with?

krafty420

Flouros would be ok for side lighting, but the MH will be perfect for vegging, since you have mylar and 1000 watter, you prolly wont need any side lighting. I have 2 65W Fluorex I use for side lighting with my 400W HPS/MH, but I already had those before I got my 400 watter. I wouldnt spend any additional money on them, if you have some stick them in there, if not dont worry about it.

-peace