COBs and seedlings

[bluter]

anyone have experience with seedlings / clones and COB lighting ?

i have a citizen based cob light rig with a mix of 3000 and 3500 k lighting. it was built as an all purpose and has proven it's use in both veg and flower. i haven't figgered how to use it for clones and seedlings however, and did notice damage occurring when experimenting with plants in that growth stage.

my go to lighting for clones / seedlings was previously 4ft t5 fixtures. this was also the light mothers were kept under. circumstances changed recently and the space i have now won't fit a 4 ft fixture, leaving just the cob. i also need to sort a veg / seedling area so am stuck with just the one space for the meantime.

for the moment i am contemplating picking up a 2ft t5 amazon special for clones / seedlings. 2 footers are not near as efficient, and i am not sure they would work so well.

so really two questions:

one two-part question

1) has anyone successfully started clones / seedlings under 3000 or 3500 k cobs and what was the "recipe" for doing so ? ie height and intensity amounts .. or..

simple single question

2) should i just suck it up and pull the trigger on a 2ft fixture and give 'er ?

in a situation where i have no choice but to fire up a grow again for meds and am trying to get set up proper

 

[Mayne]

if you have a lux meter, or Iphone, just key to 10,000 lux for seedlings and clones till 2nd node builds, then go to 15,000 till 3rd is built, then 20,000+ after that. Shouldnt have any problems with the cobs, I use Luminus cobs, 200watts, and seedlings are about 30inches away

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Dim down and back away

Clones can be rooted under almost no light.
Seedlings need more light than rooting clones, or else they will stretch for the light and become long, thin and unable to stand on their own

 

[bluter]

if you have a lux meter, or Iphone, just key to 10,000 lux for seedlings and clones till 2nd node builds, then go to 15,000 till 3rd is built, then 20,000+ after that. Shouldnt have any problems with the cobs, I use Luminus cobs, 200watts, and seedlings are about 30inches away

now i'm trolling amazon for a light meter lol. always wanted one as well as a kill-a-watt. the number of times i'd actually use them doesn't exactly justify the expense tho.. sigh

thanks for those numbers. gives a clearer idea of what to shoot for

Dim down and back away

when testing i tried a few distances and intensities. for some reason i just didn't hit that sweet spot for the clone / seedling stage. after a few attempts i just kinda chalked it up to the light type being damaging to young plants. wasn't positive it was cobs in general, kinda thought it might be specific to the citizen cobs i'm using.

Clones can be rooted under almost no light.
Seedlings need more light than rooting clones, or else they will stretch for the light and become long, thin and unable to stand on their own

i have a burple light built in to the rig which worked for starting clones / seedlings. it'll get them started but it won't take them that far without something better. the rig has to be close to make the burples effective, making the cobs dangerous. when it's backed off the burples wind up too far away.


the fail point is where the plant is just getting established and is right at the very early veg stage. about 2 nodes or so.
at first i thought it was something else, nutes etc, but swap out the light and everything settles in and takes off.

thanks for the replies. prolly gonna give it another shot with just the cob rig. might order the amazon t5 as backup anyway. tired of killing stuff getting dialed in.

 

[Mayne]

if you can afford a PAR meter, all the better. They range from $130 hydrometer and Nukeheads PAR meter for $200. nukeheads is more comparable to the $600 high end models i guess. The Zon

 

[PurpleGunRack]

Mixing high and low intensity light sources limits your effective use of both exponentially, divide and conquer
Start out with the rig as far away as possible and lower it gradually is the best advice I can give, it works for all the COB growers I know so it should work for you

if you can afford a PAR meter, all the better. They range from $130 hydrometer and Nukeheads PAR meter for $200. nukeheads is more comparable to the $600 high end models i guess. The Zon

I'd advice against those amazon/ebay ones! They're inaccurate and unreliable, the Apogee seems like the cheapest accurate quantum sensor available + they're known to give a super after service on their products.
Seen the SQ-520 USB for $345, but they only ship to US and Canada....

 

[bluter]

Mixing high and low intensity light sources limits your effective use of both exponentially, divide and conquer
Start out with the rig as far away as possible and lower it gradually is the best advice I can give, it works for all the COB growers I know so it should work for you

would be great if i could get through a grow with just the cob rig. i never done a run with only one type of light. would be a good experience.