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seeds Bad luck with seedlings? Or am I just doing it wrong?

hndrx1477

hndrx1477

So, a little backstory....I started my peppers (everything from Bell up to Reapers) in early Feb, and while I was on vacation, my fiancee killed them, so I started again a few weeks ago.  They have been germinating alright so far (about 50%, the Butch T and 7-pot brain are just starting to show themselves), but my seedlings are getting floppy and dying like crazy.  I have them under a dome, but all the vents are open, since a good bit of the seeds have not germinated yet.  I've been reading on dampening off fungus, and they don't seem to be showing signs of that...I'll just go to check on them, and one of the plants has almost melted into a little pile...but doesn't seem to be showing outward signs of burn from the lights.
 
First question:  Should I remove the dome?
Second: Should I take the heating mat off?
 
Since some of them have sprouted, I have my grow lights (6400K T5 bulbs) running 8hrs/day.  Right now, the lights are about 4" above the trays.
 
Third Question: How close should the lights be to the plants?
 
Fourth: Am I f**ked?  
 
**They are planted in a seed-started mix with some sand mixed in as well
 
Yes to both, the mat and the dome are just for seeds to germinate I'm pretty sure. Once you have the sprouts the mat can go off and the dome taken off.
 
It may be different here in Australia because it's a whole heap warmer though.
 
Yep. Once they sprout, get them out of the dome. Leave the unsprouted ones covered until they pop. Might want to hit 12 hrs of light/day as well.
 
I'm not sure if you have the seeds in one solid tray, or separate seed pots. What everyone is saying is that any seeds that haven't germinated yet need to stay on the mat and under the dome.
And if they're all in separate pots you can just move the page news that sprout out from under the dome and under lights.
But if not, you'll have to pull up the sprouts and replant them into their own pots.
 
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