Is it possible to have your light too close to your plants?? i always thought the closer the better???
but i have just started my first grow and had my 600W HPS 20inches above my seedlings, they only have 2 sets of true leaves about the size of a fingernail and dont seem to be growing over the last week?? they are also getting paler and paler almost yellow!!!
could this be from having the light so close??? i have moved it to 40inches away now so hopefully this should help???

if it is light damage will they recover????
cheers guys!

Sounds like a light problem mate but without a pic Im guessing here..

You can use a 600hps for seedlings..however it must be at a safe distance say 3ft and you must have plenty of air circulation!

The heat from a 600hps is alot.as im sure your aware, the damage could be from having it at 20" away.

Any chance you could get a small light like an enviro to start them under? These you can get real close,if not keep that 600 well away from your little ones.

Post a pic

p&q

Cheers P&C
Yeah having a look around i think it maybe the light being too close! nightmare, i have moved it to 40inches now.

Is there anything i can do to help them green up again?? will they recover?
Cheers all!

Sounds to me like you had light to close, 40 inches is heaps but make sure you have a fan blowing over your plants (not too strong)
Obviously gets quite hot under a 600 watt , my rule of thumb is to put your hand about 20-30 inches from light and feel if it`s to hot for hand to be there? Then if not plant should enjoy it`s new home..
Plants should recover..
PS: Maybe keep light at 40 inchs for a week or so until plants start to shoot new growth..

Depends on the damage already done buddy,are they fried completley? If so id start again tbh.

Just keep an eye on them and fingers crossed they should be fine..

p&q

no i dont they are completely fried just look very pale, seem alive! hahaha
but they are not going brown or crispy so hopefully will recover??? shame as i wanted them to be a quick crop!

any other tips on getting them to green up again?

Could try cutting plastic bottle (2 litre coke?) in half and putting plants under it, making temporary green/glass house ? Give them a spray a few time a day..
Good luck mate..

More info bud like your medium, pot size, watering schedule, plants age,feeds,ect!

Fill your profile in & like I say stick a picture up a thousand words & that

Keep an eye on fresh growth over the next few days.

p&q

I've had bad light burn before the plants survived but they took months to recover and grow up again. It looks like bleaching in my experience it's never whole leaves more patchs on them.

The bleached stain is yellow and will never recover it's only fresh growth, if the leaves are yellowing as a whole it could be N def, we need more info.

I've got a 1000w at 14" with 0 light burn, temps will play a huge factor I never got light burn until I lost control of temps.

I would go with 2 litre coke bottle prop's and leave the light were it is, get a fan in between the canopy and the light as well.

A 250 watt HPS would pay for itself in electricity savings over a few grows.
Should be good for the first 4 weeks of every grow.
I have mine 9 inches from the plants from seedling to harvest.

Apart from that, you'll only need a couple of 20 watt CFLs.

Make sure you have good air movement.

Click to view attachment

I had a 400w HPS about 1.5ft away from my seedlings and it completely stunted them massively. I thought by covering the propagator with some newspaper it would keep the light down... no chance.

I put them under a blue CFL and slowly they pulled through, set me back 2 weeks.

Won't be doing that again.

That would be your problem - check out my photo above - they shouldn't be in a propagator at all - and the newspaper and lamp distance starved them of light.
(cuttings, yes, seeds no.)