eyes88

Hi Folks,

...as we are getting ready to leave on vacation for six days i'm trying to make sure the grow can handle the absence. I’ve soaked the plants so they should be OK from a moisture stand point, but what I’m wonder about is how much to raise the lights.

I have four young plants (Bubblicious) under a bank of T5’s. Currently the lights are 1 inch above the tops of the plants.

The plants are currently in great shape, thick stems and close nodes, so i think they can handle a little stretching. I’d like to avoid them growing into the lights...but not have them stretch too much.

They have just started to grow quickly, so what do you think, 5 inches?

Here’s what they looked like when photographed yesterday…



Thanks in advance for your advice…

Peace,
- eyes88

SkierGuy23

6 days? 5" will be just fine with soil. I would go 3 and risk it but that is just me. Remember, they will grow slower because the lights will be, initially, farther away than they should be/usually are.


Great looking plant you have there. :thatgreenthumbsmiley:

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hey eyes88 .... go with 4" imho

and enjoy the holiday!!

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MrHydro

6 days is a long time!

It depends what you're worried about, if the plant grows into T5's it's not likely to catch fire but the tips will turn brown and die if they touch bulbs for too long. You'll have to top them if that's the case. Although it's very unlikely a fire would occur from this, there is still a small chance.. and I'd say a fire is probably the worst case scenario.

With that said, I'd move your lights no less than 6 inches and no more than 10 inches up.

If you have potential for height restrictions during flowering, then you may need to risk leaving the light closer.

Best recommendation is move the light higher, top it when you get home to help with the stretch issues.

I would also be concerned with things drying out during that growth period, raised lights may help reduce evaporation.

6 days is a long time unattended, you have to make a compromise. When I travel I always bite the bullet and raise the light much higher than necessary in order to ensure a significant margin of safety. Choose wisely. =)

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stelow

Mr Hydro is right about 6 days being a long time to leave those babies alone and his advice is pretty much right on too.

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redman71

Hey dude I have had to leave for that long before. I did this past Christmas as a matter of fact. Here's what I do, and it always works for me..... I water my plants the day you leave. Get a nice big deep rectangle Rubbermaid tub that you can set your plants in. Hell get a few if need be. Then fill the tubs with about an 1" of pH'd water. Then place the plants in, and set up under the lights. The plants will suck up all the water over the week, and you dont have to worry about them drying out. The light I would always go SAFE, especially since you will be away. Any light distance sacrifices you are making will be for a short time only anyways. Just my

p.s. here is a link to the tubs I use. They are actually called Under Bed Gift Wrap Storage - 15.9 Gal Tubs, by Rubbermaid. They work great to use when watering/flushing as well! Find them at Target,Wal-Mart, Lowes, Home Depot, etc...

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eyes88

Thanks for all the advice.

...if i had read MrHydro, Stelow and Redman's posts before i left i probably would have raised the lights a bit more. I gave them about 5 inches of head room and they would have to double in height to reach the lights.

...there is a fan blowing on the plants so the heat doesn't buildup, and the cab stays at about 73-74F.

...so i hope everything will be OK.


...the advice about Rubbermaid tubs is a good one, and i'm currently using that setup now. i have about 1 inch of perlite in the tub so that the plants aren't sitting directly in water. The plants aren't sitting in water, but the perlite is damp.so i think they'll be fine from a moisture standpoint, so hopefully the lights aren't too close.

...i'll let you know how it all turns out when i'm back home next week.

Thanks again...

peace,
- eyes88