---
title: "new to grow lights! i bought a couple from amazon but not sure how…"
description: "new to grow lights! i bought a couple from amazon but not sure how far or close to my plants they need to be. how long do you keep them on? do you mimic…"
url: "https://getplanta.com/community/fQipaoQNS2SCTJGI4q9l9w/SYK3wo9iuKownL2KKU4wTq"
community: "Equipment & Materials"
author: "kjk614"
published: "2025-04-24T18:12:19.632143Z"
language: "en"
image: "https://images.getplanta.com/v2/cloudinary/global_data/communities/equipmentAndMaterials.jpg"
---

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# new to grow lights! i bought a couple from amazon but not sure how…

_Posted by kjk614 on 2025-04-24_

new to grow lights! i bought a couple  
from amazon but not sure how far or close to my plants they need to be. how long do you keep them on? do you mimic daytime sun or just keep them on at night?

## 3 comments

### Bebra commented on 2025-04-24

Buy yourself a light meter, then you'll know how far to put the plants away from the grow lights. Also, I think there are apps that can mimic light meters, but I never tried them.  
On the light meter, you can use lux or foot candles. I use fc which is easier for me:  
0-500fc - low light  
500-1000fc - medium  
1000+fc - high

How long and how far to keep the lights are dependent on the plant  
I keep my lights for 12-14 hours a day

### Sunny commented on 2025-04-24

The smaller (less intense) single plant lights need to be within a foot or closer to the plant. I run my little lights at least 12 hours a day using the timer starting from 7:30am. I track the daylight hours. Switching day and night can mess up some plants’ flowering schedule if they never see darkness (Christmas cactus). 🪴🍀

#### Bebra replied on 2025-04-24

Oh yeah, definitely. Don't forget to give plants complete darkness as they also need to sleep💤😴

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