24 hr light okay for starting seedlings???

Hey guys...
I'm starting my first grow from seedlings...most of them high quality ones that I have purcased as well as a few choice ones that I've came across. I germinated them all first in paper towel, with a very high success rate (100% for the purchased seeds...). I'm using different medium to see what I like better for starting...rockwool, soil, peat pucks.... So far the peat pucks suck...but I think i may have over watered them and they werent draining as well as I wanted.
However...they are all now sprouted nicely except for a couple and I have them safely under a 600w hps. My question is should I keep the light on 24 hrs to start them....and if so, when should I switch to 18/6 to begin the veg stage?
As a side note, I plan to get a 600w MH very soon to continue the veg stage....Is it okay to switch from the 600w hps that I'm using now to the MH, or will that stress my babies?
Thanks so much for any feedback.....I know this is a learning experience, but I still want to do all I can to make my first time successful.
Cheers

Well i would stick with the 24/0 for about the 1st 4 days give or take... when the plant sprouts out of the element you planted them in then pick them out and re plant down and then switch to 18/6 when the 1st set of leafs come out. I do it like this all the time and i have a forum on this catogorey with my plant in it at 17 days old.

growxbud said:

Well i would stick with the 24/0 for about the 1st 4 days give or take... when the plant sprouts out of the element you planted them in then pick them out and re plant down and then switch to 18/6 when the 1st set of leafs come out. I do it like this all the time and i have a forum on this catogorey with my plant in it at 17 days old.

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Thanks for the quick reply.
So I should be transplanting them into their growing medium as soon as they sprout up out of the medium they were planted in??? Cuz I've got a bunch of seedlings that have sprouted and I havent transplanted them yet....

yes when the sprout out remove them from what pot there in and plant it in what you want in to to be for when it gets a bit bigger. so all you will have to do is pick the plant out and plant the soil or what ever your using about a half a CM down from the round leafs. and keep doing that about every 1inch it grows till the round leafs stop comming up then they will die off and you can just pick them off after there yellow and dead. check out my plant on the indoor growing its my plant day 17....

growxbud said:

yes when the sprout out remove them from what pot there in and plant it in what you want in to to be for when it gets a bit bigger. so all you will have to do is pick the plant out and plant the soil or what ever your using about a half a CM down from the round leafs. and keep doing that about every 1inch it grows till the round leafs stop comming up then they will die off and you can just pick them off after there yellow and dead. check out my plant on the indoor growing its my plant day 17....

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I saw it....very nice...I hope I can see similar results and end up with some females! Thanks again for the help!

no problem message me i you need help any time

I would say it depends alot on the size of the area you have to grow. If you have a decent size you can leave them vegging in 24 for even months if you wanted. Do a gradual step down in light, like as said with 18-6 and eventually to 12-12 when you want to induce budding. I have heard of people starting on 18-6 and going to 12-12 within a week or two just because they were tight on space. It will grow about twice as big once you induce budding. You want to keep transplanting to a minimum because it can stress the roots. Just some things to think about.

wut all chemicals do u guys use to get the best results for indoor plants?!?