how much water and light for seedlings?

This is me and my roommates first grow. We are wondering how much water our seedlings need and how to tell if its enough or too much? Our soil consists of a soiless organic potting soil 70% coco 20% perlite 10%. We have been using distilled water and a 600 watt mh bulb in a 4x4 sexy grow tent! Our main question is how much to water them and how to tell if we over-watered or under-watered, and our 2nd main question is how close should we have the 600 watt which is at 50% power right now. were starting the seedlings in 16 oz party cups. The strain is aurora indica if it matters...

Thanks

Water till there is a little run off. I assume you have holes in the bottom of the cups. Let them dry out well. You will know when the soil starts to pull away from the sides.

When you repot, use more perlite.

I use CFLs so I can't help with the lights.

GrowinDad said:

Water till there is a little run off. I assume you have holes in the bottom of the cups. Let them dry out well. You will know when the soil starts to pull away from the sides.

When you repot, use more perlite.

I use CFLs so I can't help with the lights.

Click to expand...

What he said, I would add that you need to let the soil dry out between waterings.
A plant will not produce a good root ball if its to wet.
And the plant will be stunted and very slow growing without a good root system.
I also never recommend party cups they just don't drain very well even with tons of holes punched in the bottom.
I start all mine in 1gal grow bags or pots.

As for the light personally I would not have it running at half power.
I veg under 1000w MH and keep my light as close as I can without burning the plant.

Well we just planted them today, so there is no plant, just the seed in the dirt. How close should we have the 600 watt from the top of the soil? and we should have the light at full power your saying?

right now we have the light 20 inches from the soil. and again they haven't even sprouted yet. also any cheap tips on raising the humidity? its at 22% right now

You can try and raise the humidity by filling paper cups with water then placing them in the tent.Use as many as will fit.

they dont need light until they sprout. THey need moisture and warmth. Right now they are germinating. They should be about 1/4" deep in the soil and kept moist but not waterlogged.

Keep that 600w a few feet away once they pop. Wait until they get a few sets of leaves before you start hammering them with light.

As for watering, do it when the pot feels light. Dont wait until the pot is totally dry.

how many inches should we keep our 600 watt mh bulb from the top of the soil in order to get them to sprout? we dont want to burn them or have it too far away causing them to grow too tall. what is the ideal amount of inches? and like budfever said we should keep the 600 watt at full strength even this early before they have sprouted?

MYOB said:

they dont need light until they sprout. THey need moisture and warmth. Right now they are germinating. They should be about 1/4" deep in the soil and kept moist but not waterlogged.

Keep that 600w a few feet away once they pop. Wait until they get a few sets of leaves before you start hammering them with light.

As for watering, do it when the pot feels light. Dont wait until the pot is totally dry.

Click to expand...

ok cool so no light until they sprout... i know these are basic questions we couldnt figure out how to search questions on this website and we have invested a good amount of $ on this and we want the best growth we can achieve. thanks for everyones help so far!! any other tips or pointers would be much appreciated!

Get a humidifier if you need one. Available at any wal mart.