Length of light time depends on what you are growing. As a general guideline, you should start with the guidelines suggested by your grow light manufacturer, usually 18” to 24” away from the plant. You’ve got to keep two goals in mind: the amount of light you're giving … Finally, in flower you will want the plants to have a distance of 1-2 feet from the lights. That depends! Here is a simple and affordable grow light system made from easy to find equipment. After the clones or seedlings have 2-4 new leaf sets, you lower the lights 1-2 inches. How far should my lights be from my seedlings? above the plants, but you should increase that gap to 12 in. When in the Seedling stage, you want the light to be around 2.5-3 feet above the tops of your plants. “CMH” grow lights have been around for many years, and used to come in typical HID sizes like 400W, 600W and 1000W. Seedlings need intense light to fuel their initial spurt of growth and healthy leaf formation. HID lights should hang between 2 and 6 feet from the soil's surface, depending on their strength (the stronger the lighting, the higher it should hang). Grow lights for indoor plants allow you to cultivate a wide variety of plants at any climate during any time of year. Grow Q&A: How Far Away Should My Growlights Be From My Pot Plants? A. Keep the lights as close to the seedlings as possible without touching (2 to 3 inches). Both the 315 LEC and 315 CMH grow lights should be kept at least 18″ from the top of your plants, with some models needing to be kept as far as 3 feet away. First, note the position of your window. Do you want to start garden seedlings indoors? Place the seed containers under your grow light fixture. Although T5 lights are famous for emitting very little heat, this doesn’t mean you can put the bulbs an inch above plant canopies, as this distance will still damage the plants. Smaller sized lights like 400w’s can only be around 20″ (~51cm) away from the plants, and medium-sized 600w’s can be around 25″ (64cm) above the plants without losing vitality. Unlike with MH and HPS grow lights, there is no “standard” distance to keep each LED grow light. Learn more about specific grow lights here . So give them plenty of light … In order to grow healthy seedlings and plants indoors, you will need some supplemental light. The answer to this one is simple. When the plants are at least 20 inches tall, with established roots and at least 8-9 leaf sets, you move the lights to within 24-28 inches of the plants. Place the seed containers under your grow light fixture. The light should be hung so it is 2 to 3 inches above the seedlings and adjusted as the plants grow to maintain that distance for the first month. how far should LED grow lights be from plants? Here are 10 things you should avoid doing when using LED and other types of grow lights. These growing lights are specially designed to substitute natural sunlight, stimulating photosynthesis and providing the right color spectrum where the plant can grow and flourish. It states that light diminishes exponentially in energy as the distance is increased from the source. In general, with HID (High Intensity Discharge) lighting—including MH (Metal Halide) and HPS (High-Pressure Sodium)—individual 1000-watt lights should be kept 24 – 30 inches from the canopy; 600-watt lights should be 18 – 24 inches away; and 400-watt lights can be as close as 12 – 18 inches from plant tops.