Thanks everyone for your input! Yeah, I'm always fearful that it will grow into the lights and burn... sometimes I think that fear keeps me safe LOL... From what I'm reading the damage from burnt tips is outweighed by the benefit of having the lights close. I have this on a midnight to noon schedule- I check it before bed when the lights are up, then come home at lunch to shut it down.

I've had a few other mid-leaf burns that came from some flying lamp mishaps... NEED. MORE. TAPE. .. lol !

Overall, I will say that these plants are amazingly resilient. I mean, I've had several burns and (knock on wood) it keeps on growing. I also think it's interesting how growth slows the closer the lamp gets.. it makes sense why, just interesting to see in practice.

In the BFL book it says you can't maintain a plant on a cfl grow that's taller than 24".. is that a steadfast rule or is that approximate? If I wind up being 26" or 28" is that like some colossal failure?