Hi All,
This is my first grow. I am growing hydropoincally and have nine plants ranging from 1ft down to about 8-9" in height. I have a 400W HPS air cooled hood that at the moment is about 26" from the top of the tallest plant.
I have 2 questions:
How close should my air cooled light be from the top of the plants now that they are established in the system and are currently on the veg period? Also what distance should my light be from the plants in the flower stage?

My growroom is about 7ft high so at what height should i try to get the plants to before changing to flowering period which will give me the best return. These are mixed seeds from Pukka seeds so i should have some indica and some satvias. Should i pinch out the taller ones to let the smaller plants catch up or what do people suggest?
I was thinking of pinching out each plant as it reaches the 1 foot mark on my measuring stick and then flowering them all when they ALL have reached about 15" in height. Is this right?

Some pics of my grow drobe and plants for you all. Let me know what ya think.

How do i get images loaded???? I tried as attachements and it hasn't worked.

As close as you can get it without burning the plants...Put your hand above the plants for a couple of minutes...If it dont burn you then it wont burn the plants

Its difficult when growing sats and indicas together but yes you will have to top the taller ones cos the sativas will outgrow the indicas easily in most cases

As to how tall when to flower..Well that all depends on what strain it is and how much they stretch but a rough guide is indicas usually double or sometimes treble in size and sativas can stretch up to 10 times their size depending on strain and conditions so no one can really tell you that and be precise

Owd

With 7 feet of height, you could afford to go a bit higher - hence get some more vegging done - indicas especially like a bit more.

Sounds like my Canna Biogen mix - all the indicas were runty.

With hydro you probably don't have the option of putting bricks under the short ones so maybe topping the sativas would work .... it all depends on the layout of your space ...

I'd recommend using the back of your hand as, depending on your job, you may find that the palms of your hands have an abnormally high tolerance to heat. Anyone who has ever been a chef will know exactly what I mean

Pic info

Owd

Here they are hopefully
They were too large before.
[attachmentid=113203][attachmentid=113204]
[attachmentid=113205][attachmentid=113206]

Pics posted now!

high there fetish,
hows tricks my man?
looking good from where im sitting, both owderb and not a number are spot on there mate, use the back of your hand to test radiant heat, being air cooled probably 12" away from canopy should be o.k (this is how far away mine is, although my hood is hooked up to a 6" fan.
just remember your plants will grow very quickly, and so you will need to keep raising the light regularly
looking at your pics i would advise you to flower them now, as the sats will grow tall, yes they will need to be topped or trained to stay a similar height to the indicas.
very healthy looking grow mate
you a using the same klimovator as me too those things are worth their weight in gold in the summer, and winter for that matter, control at your finger tips
your setup is almost identical to mine, except mine is the 8 pod detachapod, and so everything is slightly bigger to cope, i.e bigger fans/filters and 600w lamp.
good choice of system though 3ounces per plant minimum mate
i take it the mixed seed from pukka is feminised? or not?
great to see your pics mate, lovely room, you should be proud
ill be watching this one with great interest,....pulls up chair, ringside seat
peace to you fetish.
good luck my friend
merlin

edited for badspell

Hello Merlin,
Good to hear from you.
That's a releif as you never know with the first attempt!
That's the sort of advice i was after, 12" i will leave the light where it is as i can't bring it down any further without some modifications, and let the plants grow up to it. When they are about 12" away i will start moving the light up with the plants growth.

I have read that you shouldn't top plants after 2 weeks into flowering which i why i was trying to get them all to be rthe same height before i started the flowering process. That will then give me 2 weeks to make any minor trims and any plants that bolt. Also i want to get as much yield as i can so i was going to start flowering them at about 15"-18" so that i end up with plants about 3-4 ft tall 12" away from the ligh at it's highest point.

The klimivator is excellent but as the weather is now cold i only need thefans on tickover and i find that i am constantly adjusting it to keep the temps in the right range. Do you have to do the same or have any tips on it's usage?

Ahh that's excellent news. I was wondering how much yield i could hope for/expect per plant, thanks!

No i went for the standard pack of seeds, so i am waiting untill flowering to see how many males i have. I didn't want to pay pukka's prices for feminised seeds. Glad i didn't looking at the price of seeds on uk420 shop!

Thanks, i am chuffed to bits with my growdrobe. It took a long time to build and finsih but it does seem to be well worth it now.

Thanks Merlin i will keep my fingers crossed that your spells work for my grow as they have for yours!

thanks fetish matye, will send some good vibe spells your way mate
peace
merlin

I have since modded my light vent and have no got the light about 19" away from the top of the tallest plant.

I have pinched out the tops of the tallest 2 plants to let the others catch up.

Thanks for the fan advice it is not working well.

Excellent, i have PK 13/14 so i am looking forward to using that in week 5 of flowering. I can't wait to see what it does to them.

Yep agreed. I have just bought two packs of seed from uk420 shop. Some Mazar femed and some Magic bud femed. I already have a pack of Blueberry #1 normal so i will be growing all 3 strains in my next grow.
Probably 6 Blueberry #1, 3 Magic Bud and 3 Mazar.

Thanks for your advice once again Merlin.