Lighting Cob height question over seedlings....

[MassMom]

Hello All! I sent this message to the "main man" @BigSm0 but wanted to post here also.

OK. Here goes~

My son got me a new little veg tent. I was using (2) 65w 6500k CFL's above my new "test" babies, but then thought I want my autocob, not cfl's. I turned off the bulbs and put in (1) 55w 3700K AutoCob. The only thing is .... the maximum height I can get the cob above the seedlings in this tent is 23". Do you think this will be OK? I really dont want to use any other lights other than my beloved Cob... but I dont want to fry little ones either!

Huggs to @lunarman, @slowandeasy and everyone who has been so kind helping me through my "mom has lost her gro mojo" period and helping me with my germination cup method. I am going to give it a shot...fingers and toes crossed.

The CFL's are turned off and the autocob is on. I just didnt remove the bulbs yet because they were a pain in moms bullocks to hang!

 

[AutoWonders]

23" from seedlings could be very hard on them. You'll just have to keep monitoring the leaves and color etc. All my plants start at 30" or higher with my Autocobs. Right now I only have one plant that is near 23" from canopy and it's holding up well, but it's a mature plant well into flowering.

 

[MassMom]

Good morning, and thank you.

Sigh, yes that is what I thought. I think I will put my beloved cob back in the big girl tent and just hang my CFL's...or maybe my little 25w HO t5.

 

[HemiSync]

Just do what I did. My breeding/seedling tent us 2x2x3 and I hung the light in the furthest corner and used a bungee cord to point the light away from the ladies, towards the reflective wall. There is a ton (scientific term) of light still bouncing around inside that tent. I have found the seedlings don’t seem to mind and after a couple days they seem to adjust to it and I can point the light straight down, but not directly over them. If they show signs of stress, move them further away or shade them with something from any direct light.

Here are a couple seedlings subjected to my torture of a 55w autocob. Top of the tent is 36”, but light is as close as 28”. Notice the cob is in the corner.

And a bunch of younguns enjoying a sunny day.

As you can see, it can be done. Indirect light is the key.