I was recently given a T5 Sunleaves 6 lamp light by a friend who's son had used it to grow you know what. I researched here and elsewhere T5 lighting but was unable to find an answer to this question: what distance from the seedlings should this type of light be? It seems to generate a lot of heat and the bulbs are hot to touch. I normally use T8 6500K fluorescent shop lights and the leaves can touch the light and not be burned.

I understand the T5s produce nice, stocky plants, but I'm worried about possible damage to the plants. Also, is there that much difference in growth between the T5s and T8s? Should I just use the T5s for larger plants? I would appreciate some guidance on this. Thanks