New Grower Good Distance from top cola to Light?

[jsny1010]

My setup is "growing" as fast as the plant at this point, I have her in a 6' x 3' x 2' rack (Potted in a 5-Gallon modified bucket) The last 2 weeks she has grown almost 12"

Air on the bottom, she is sitting in the middle, and I can move her closer or further away from the Light, but right now I have a (cheap $75) 600W Led, only growing 1 plant so I think that was enough.

My question, She is 8" from the Light, since she keeps growing up. I have seen LED recommended distance from 12" to 36", I even tested the LUX with a meter, and my IPhone, meter said 15k Lux, my iPhone said around 22k.

Do I need to keep moving her lower? to keep a minimum of 12" (30cm min distance from Mfg.)

Heat is no issue at all, the day / night cycle ranges from 65(f) to 75(f) never lower or higher, and the seeds are Critical Purple AutoFlower Fem.

 

[Avalanche Blanch]

Hey jsny1010,

8" seems very close, you might burn her. I'm a new grower as well.. I use a Mars 300w, during veg I kept it 24", and she is just starting to flower so now keep it around 18"..

This Thread by Magic is really great,

https://www.autoflower.org/threads/magics-basic-led-guide.47975/

 

[KonopCh]

15k LUX is almost nothing for flowering, distance is not important if you have shitty light, you cannot compare distance within different lights.

 

[jsny1010]

Thanks for the replies, I moved her to 22" (not flowering yet)

I was wayy off on the Lux, that was my fault - at 6-8" I was at 77k Lux, after moving she is back down to 30-40k lux.

 

[AutoWonders]

In the beginning of the seedlings life you should start your led at 28"- 30" or there abouts and let it stretch a little. Over a week or two, depending on stretch, you slowly lower the led light to its final height. 8 inches is pretty damn low. Your light must be 3 watt diodes and weakish, in order to have it that low without any debilitation. I don't think I've ever had any of my led lights lower than 16".

 

[Proph]

You also want to know your genetics. Some plants are destined to grow tall regardless of the distance the light is at. Distance of the light has little to do with plant height. Light schedule (12/12 vs. 18/6) has way more effect on stretching than light distance.. There are just waaay too many variables at play. You never mentioned what you're wanting to do though.. Do you want the plant to slow its growth? If so, look into lst/hst techniques.

 

[EvilScotsman]

hey buddy best advice for lighting distance is to check with the manufacturer as theyre all so different. if you hold your hand at level with the canopy and feel its too hot for your hand though, then its too hot for the plants. i just lower mine an inch a day till the tips start burning or the leaves bleach a little. make a note of the distance then keep it an inch or 2 above that. keep an eye on the leaves and youll spot straight away if your getting too close for comfort. the edges curl up and they lose colour.
makes life easier if your lights on a yoyo aswell bud. quick flick of the tape measure and minor adjustment every day takes about 30 seconds. forget your doing it after a while : )