14/12 Photoperiod and Other Non-24 Hour Options?

[Goldengoose7]

Hi everyone,

In about a week from now I will be starting another bloom cycle. The plants on the flowering stage this time around will be my two Blueberry clones.

I recently purchased a unique and unfortunately, now discontinued 14-34 cycle timer made by PlugNGrow that I am planning to use to control my lighting this round in my dedicated "Bloom Room". My plan at the moment is to run a 14 ON and 12 OFF photoperiod for these plants for about 11 weeks total.

Here is a photo of the PnG Model 011L - 14/34 cycle timer:

I was curious to hear from anyone out there who may be using "Out of the Box" unconventional photoperiods for their bud production beyond the common 12/12 and if so, what DAY/NIGHT intervals they have found work best for them.

I've done A LOT of research on this specific topic over the last few months, and although there isn't as much science on this as one might think, two things have emerged at least in my mind.

1) The flowering plants and their flower buds seem to benefit greatly from the additional hours of light.
2) YOU DO NOT want to deviate too far from the 12 hour DARK side of the flowering cycle.

While I have read of some growers using much shorter DARK periods to speed up production, I don't believe that this is a wise thing to do. Perhaps an hour or two of additional uninterrupted darkness, but DEFINITELY NOT SHORTER THAN 12 HOURS!

Up till now, I have had excellent results using 12/12, but since I am growing under T5s and CFLs, I feel that there is always room for improvement. The few examples/testimonials I have been able to find on the web is that by giving the plants a few more hours of light while in the flowering cycle, but maintaining the time tested 12 hours of darkness, I will give the plants more energy in which to produce more resin and more potent final product.

Some of the comments I have found on the web from other growers who are using the 14/12 period claim to be reaping excellent results without any real downside to speak of except for the slowly moving light and dark periods within a 24 hour day and perhaps a slightly higher electricity bill because of the additional two hours of light per day.

I looked through this and other sections here on 420 and didn't really see any existing threads related to this topic, and those that touched on it briefly were VERY old.

I welcome your thoughts and input!

Thanks in advance!

 

[GrowGSL]

Hey GG, wow I have never saw such a timer, pretty cool. My mind has some thinking to to on that one still lol, you can actually do something like that from these new digital timers but it is really cool to see a mechanical style setup for this..

Anyhow I have played with this idea in the past "trying to squeeze every last drop out of our panels".

Here was about as far as I got before I let others do the growing;

First of all, the ladies don't really need that intense light the first 2 to 2.5 weeks. No matter how you blast them, you can't really make this part of the grow meatier. Even when blasting them at full strength prototyping we would just end up damaging the plant or it would start to grow funny with those real little, thick, glossy leafs. Thats a clears sign of too much light.

Like you, I also heard of 14 bloom "On" periods and figured, well thats 2 more hours of light, it has to be beneficial. As long as you can keep your plants from going back into veg, your gold.

That first 2-3 weeks is also when the plant is going through the major transformation and "training into flower mode".

So I was thinking alright A.plant cant handle as much light at this stage B. plant needs trained into flower mode.

I decided to give 12-12 for the first 2.5 weeks since more light doesn't help this phase much anyhow and that the plant needs trained into flowering so it's gonna need or be a safe call to give it 12/12.

Then from 2.5 weeks, I would step it 15min every 4 days.

I got to 13 hrs and wussed out. but the plant was loving it! So go for it.

Warning, thought organization above may be off, margaritas are in process!

Happy 4th of July 420!!

 

[Goldengoose7]

I got to 13 hrs and wussed out. but the plant was loving it! So go for it.

Warning, thought organization above may be off, margaritas are in process!

Happy 4th of July 420!!

I can relate! We are starting to get into HOLIDAY mode around here too!

Thanks for sharing some of your own experiences with this concept! Sounds like you were starting to see the benefits of the 14/12 cycle before you stopped your experiment!!

No doubt the 011L timer is a curiosity to be sure and makes running a flowering cycle beyond the traditional 24 hours a breeze! When I saw that photo in another thread, I knew that I HAD TO HAVE ONE! How unfortunate for everyone that may want to easily run a 14/12 photoperiod that the manufacturer has chosen to discontinue it!

Yesterday afternoon I spent several hours searching on the web and physically calling merchants all over the country before I was finally able to score what could possibly be the LAST NEW 011L still available for retail sale in the USA! I expect it to be delivered here by the end of next week.

I appreciate your insight into the first 2.5 weeks of the flowering process! That makes sense, and frees me from having to wait until the timer arrives before I can start the plants on the flowering cycle using 12/12 to begin with. I will use my existing Intermatic 620CL timer to get things started with a 12 ON and 12 OFF and then when the new timer arrives, I will begin to increase the ON time for a few days until I arrive at 14 ON.

As for the threat of veg returning if you give the plants 14 hours or light instead of the normal 12 during flowering...

From what I have been able to deduce through all the reading I have done on this subject... There is no threat of that happening with a 14/12 because the 12 hours of uninterrrupted darkness is being maintained. All we are doing is providing the plants with 2 more hours of light in order to give them more energy to use for flower and resin production during that dark cycle. The trigger from veg to flowering is all based on the NIGHT cycle length, not the length of daylight. Once you free your thinking from the contraints of a 24 hour day and a 24 hour timer, it starts to make more and more sense. The way Cannabis utilizes changes in Photoperiod makes it a perfect candidate for this type of manipulation.

This is what I was referring to when I used the term "Outside of the Box". With the 14/12 in play, our days are now 26 hours long instead of 24.

The only difficulty in pulling this off is the issue of a suitable digital timer to handle a light cycle that goes beyond a 24 hour day. That problem had been solved with the 011L, but it is obvious that PlugnPlay didn't do a very good job marketing the advantages of a cycle timer that could create up to a 34 hour day! I assume slow sales were behind them cancelling the production, and now we are back to being stuck with only 24 hour timers again!

I did find another interesting "Outside the Box" photoperiod that can be accomplished using a traditional digital 24 hour 7-day timer. It is referred to as the "21:36/12" originally conceived by a guy named MisterIto.

A timer like the Intermatic DT620CL I currently use can easily handle this concept, but this photoperiod concept uses A LOT of additional electricity and was a little too out there for my way of thinking right now. The 14/12 seemed a little more simple to wrap my head around provided I could score the PnG 011L! However, I was quite prepared to jump into the 21:36/12 with both feet and my 620CL if I had not been able to score the 011L!

For those interested, here is the timer ON/OFF settings for the 21:36/12 photoperiod. All that is required is a 7-Day digital timer like the Intermatic DT620CL. Be sure to follow closely and duplicate precisely both the DAY OF THE WEEK and the AM or PM setting of each ON and OFF time listed below:

=====================

Day 1 - Sunday, 6:00am til Monday, 3:36am
Day 2 - Monday, 3:36pm til Tuesday, 1:12pm
Day 3 - Wednesday, 1:12am til Wednesday, 10:48pm
Day 4 - Thursday, 10:48am til Friday 8:24am
Day 5 - Friday, 8:24pm til Saturday 6:00pm

Author: MisterIto

=====================

Happy 4th to you too and thanks again for the reply!

 

[GrowGSL]

O wow yeah Second time reading ,now I see what you mean, even if going 14 hours light you don't need to subtract it from dark! you can still go 12!

Still i think it can be done with a digital timer but would take some math to make that cycle work in a weeks time exactly.

Now that I have understood that my mind wonders how far can you go? 24/12? 36/12? I will try and do the math to see if I can replicate some scenarios with a weekly digital timer.

 

[Goldengoose7]

O wow yeah Second time reading ,now I see what you mean, even if going 14 hours light you don't need to subtract it from dark! you can still go 12!

Still i think it can be done with a digital timer but would take some math to make that cycle work in a weeks time exactly.

Now that I have understood that my mind wonders how far can you go? 24/12? 36/12? I will try and do the math to see if I can replicate some scenarios with a weekly digital timer.

Awesome!

Exactly! That is the key! Getting it to all come out right within the 7-day limitations of a conventional 24 hour timer.

Even though I will soon have the 011L, I think it would be awesome to have the recipe for pulling off the same 14/12 with a much cheaper off the shelf 7-Day! Especially now that the 011L is history and likely unattainable as a new item for anyone else out there who might want to give this kind of thing a try.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Glad you like this thread! The more I started to think about all this, the more I was convinced that this would make an EXCELLENT topic of discussion with my friends here on 420!

 

[THsea]

I will be tuning in to see your outcome, friend!

hopefully you get the best buds yet! Happy 4th!

 

[Goldengoose7]

I will be tuning in to see your outcome, friend!

hopefully you get the best buds yet! Happy 4th!

Thanks Man!

Figured I may as well update his thread with the same info I posted in my Grow Journal regarding the new timer...

14/34 Light Timer in the House!

I received that special timer that can run light cycles beyond the traditional 24 hours. There are some accuracy issues with this device that has caused me to delay employing it as the Bloom Room's lighting controller just now.

(I have heard back from PlugnGrow and they informed me that this timer was discontinued because of this dial setting/actual hours ON/OFF issue)

I am running it on a test bench with a single bulb and monitoring the on off times to make sure that the dial settings are within 20 minutes of the actual settings. Since there is literally no other timer on the planet that can run beyond the traditional 24 hour cycle, I am willing take a week or two, monitoring this device and determining where on the dial I need to be to get a solid 14/12 ON/OFF.

(For those who may be curious how I am doing this: I have a webcam monitoring the single Christmas Light plugged into the timer, running a time-lapse movie with a 20 second refresh rate via EVOcam. I can then go back and review the movie to locate the exact spot in time where the bulb comes on or goes off, and then log that time)

Eventually, I will have enough cycles to determine whether or not this timer is consistent with its ON/OFF time and where on the dial the knobs need to be set to get a specific value.

In the event that this timer proves to be inconsistent with its ON/OFF cycle times, I have already arranged for a full refund from the factory since I didn't learn of the manufacturing defect until AFTER I purchased the device. A fluctutating ON/OFF period of more than a few minutes would obviously NOT BE GOOD for a Flower Room light timer!

I am remaining cautiously optimistic that the settings descrepancies will only be related to the actual dial markings on the face of the timer and that the actual cycles themselves will be consistent from one ON/OFF cycle to the next.

IF all goes well with my testing, we should be into a 14/12 light cycle in my "Bloom Room" within a week or two.

Stay tuned!

 

[Goldengoose7]

UPDATE:

I regret to report that the iGS 11L 14/34 timer I purchased earlier has turned out to be too unreliable to use. The time-lapse webcam monitor identified A LOT of issues. PlugNGrow was wise to discontinue this product for sale. Some moderate inaccuracy may be fine for something like a 1-30 minute cycle timer, but when you are dealing with 14 hours ON, and 12 hours off, you can't have the timer adding or subtracting up to 70 minutes on either side, and doing it slightly differently every single time.

So... After coming to this conclusion I was left with a burning question... HOW am I going to pull off a 14/12 cycle without this timer?

I contacted the manufacturer, PlugNGrow up in Canada and told them where I was at. To my delight, their Head of Customer Relations contacted me first thing the next morning and worked me a very sweet deal to replace my defective 11L cycle timer with one of their slick new iGS15 Multi-Timers! All they wanted from me was the shipping and handling costs!! This timer sells for $350.00, which is almost 3 times the price I paid for the 11L! They didn't even want the 11L back! They told me to keep it and do with it what I pleased!

Now that is what I call standing behind your products! THANK YOU PlugNGrow!

It shipped out on the 15th from Canada and I expect to receive it sometime this week. Once it gets here, I plan to install it in the Bloom Room and start observing how the plants react to a 14/12 or 14/13 instead of a 12/12! I will of course keep you all informed of what differences I observe by giving the Blueberry Kush an extra two hours of daylight per day, while maintaining a 12 hour dark cycle too! (A 26 or 27 hour day basically)

The iGS15 can run cycles as long as 78 hours ON or OFF and everything in between, so there will be unlimited combinations of light cycles to play with over the coming months and years!

Stay tuned!

 

[Cesaro]

Awesome!

Exactly! That is the key! Getting it to all come out right within the 7-day limitations of a conventional 24 hour timer.

Even though I will soon have the 011L, I think it would be awesome to have the recipe for pulling off the same 14/12 with a much cheaper off the shelf 7-Day! Especially now that the 011L is history and likely unattainable as a new item for anyone else out there who might want to give this kind of thing a try.

Can't wait to see what you come up with!

Glad you like this thread! The more I started to think about all this, the more I was convinced that this would make an EXCELLENT topic of discussion with my friends here on 420!

If you did 14/12 on Monday by Sunday you'd be back to the time you started on, on Monday. So that'd mean you'd have to do around 13 hours, 8 minutes I think, to have it come out right on a weekly schedule. I dunno, I don't wanna write all it down and figure it out exactly, but I think that estimate is pretty close.

You could do 14 hours light but you'd have to cut the darkness to under 12 hours.

I'm interested in seeing how this works, but I would suspect the plants will think something is wrong, they evolved with 24 hour cycles, 26 is a big change I think.

 

[Goldengoose7]

None of that matters when you venture outside of the "24 Hour Box". All the plants are looking for as their signal to flower is a 12 hour dark cycle or longer. When you remove the 24 hour restriction, then the amount of daylight has nothing to do with the maintaining of the flowering process.

The extended day hours gives the plant much more energy than it would naturally have under a 12/12 24 hour day. Those who have tried this cycle claim that the additional daylight hours results is a very noticeable boost in flower and resin production, which in turn results in a much higher yield and higher quality overall. The 12 or 13 hours of darkness keeps the plants firmly in the hold of their natural flowering cycle which is controlled by hormones active only when they get approx 12 hours or more of darkness per day.

The practice is not uncommon in commercial agriculture for certain flower and food crops.

My only concern at this point is the fact that our central air conditioning rarely needs to run at night for the rest of the house, and with a 14/12 or 14/13 cycle, the daylight period will be constantly shifting through each week and month instead of the predictable ON at 6AM and OFF at 6PM kind of thing. Could get pretty hot in the Bloom Room when the day cycle falls during our overnight hours.

We shall see how it all shakes out soon enough!

 

[Cesaro]

Can you source any of this?

I think it'd be interesting, as for the 12 hour thing. My plants outside will definitely be flowering with only 10 hours of darkness.. We are getting around 14 and half hours of daylight, by the end of July first week or two of August it;s all flowering, and the days are around 14 hours.

But I will keep an eye on this, I haven't found much about this, so I'm looking forward to it.

As for agriculture uses, tomatoes in particular produce tomatoes when they reach a certain maturity, you can grow them in winter if you can stop frost. So a long light cycle is probably great for them.

Perhaps an autoflower would be the best candidate if a typical strain fails.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Can you source any of this?

Type "14/12 Light Cycle" into Google and that should get you started. I didn't bookmark everything I read, but there is some stuff out there that references this.

However, not as much about Cannabis and these cycles, but I did read a few forum comments from growers that gave it a big thumbs up after trying it. Thats why I want to check this out for myself!

 

[TorturedSoul]

I'm pressed for time right now and don't have time to give every post the attention that I need to in order to see where you're at (and I've been awake for a couple of days) so please forgive if what I comment on has already been addressed further down in the thread. I'll have to give it a thorough read tonight.

I was curious to hear from anyone out there who may be using "Out of the Box" unconventional photoperiods for their bud production beyond the common 12/12 and if so, what DAY/NIGHT intervals they have found work best for them.

I've done A LOT of research on this specific topic over the last few months, and although there isn't as much science on this as one might think, two things have emerged at least in my mind.

1) The flowering plants and their flower buds seem to benefit greatly from the additional hours of light.
2) YOU DO NOT want to deviate too far from the 12 hour DARK side of the flowering cycle.

While I have read of some growers using much shorter DARK periods to speed up production, I don't believe that this is a wise thing to do. Perhaps an hour or two of additional uninterrupted darkness, but DEFINITELY NOT SHORTER THAN 12 HOURS!

What you probably(?) read was that some growers have been known to lengthen the dark period in order to speed up production. But it's never a "productive" (lol) thing to do; sure, it cuts down on the total flowering time - but it cuts down a LOT on yield. Shortening the dark period will lengthen the flowering period up to a point and then you start seeing much more vegetative-type growth until you reach the point where flowering stops.

Kind of like in nature, a plant is in vegetative cycle, the nights lengthen, plant starts to flower, nights lengthen more, flowering rate increases.

I looked through this and other sections here on 420 and didn't really see any existing threads related to this topic, and those that touched on it briefly were VERY old.

I've seen it mentioned before, but it's been a while. Possibly an old overgrow thread and probably in one of Ed R's columns or books.

Seems like after about 17 on / 12 off the point of diminishing returns was reached. Not absolutely sure on the exact amounts but you're definitely cool with 14 on.

Once upon a time I had clear directions on how to rig up a timer setup to do what you're wanting to do but it was a long time ago and at the time I had an 80s model 8bit computer with a handy plug in controller. You could definitely do it with a computer, either by building a controller yourself or purchasing some X10-type devices and programming the software (which should be easy to find for linux, Windows, and (probably) Mac) to your custom schedule. Easy peasy, lol.

Whether it's worth it to you or not is something you'll have to figure out. You won't be shortening the flowering period but you'll be growing bigger plants/buds.

There's the little matter of not walking in when you thought the lights were still on only to realize that your schedule just wasn't as accurate as your setup's. But that one is dead easy too; just plug another X10 device in outside your GR and plug a desklamp into it and don't enter the GR unless the lamp is on.

NOTE: Make sure that the X10 you purchase it of adequate rating to handle your light's electrical load. If you're running a lot of wattage, you might want to skip the light ones and get a heavy duty appliance module instead. Unless you plan on just using it to trigger a HD relay contactor thimajig (SLEEPY, lol) but they're kind of expensive and it's really not worth it to build your own because the X10 stuff wasn't exactly super-expensive last time I checked.

First of all, the ladies don't really need that intense light the first 2 to 2.5 weeks.

But extending the length of the light period - at whatever intensity you choose to run it - will show results. And if one uses the 40:60 rule to accurately predict the harvest date, it is a good idea to maintain the same type of lighting - if not actually the same level - throughout the flowering cycle.

Like you, I also heard of 14 bloom "On" periods and figured, well thats 2 more hours of light, it has to be beneficial. As long as you can keep your plants from going back into veg, your gold.

Yep, don't pooch the dark period, lol.

Then from 2.5 weeks, I would step it 15min every 4 days.

I realize that it goes against nature's way - and therefore I cannot really explain it - but I've never witnessed any problems with abrupt changes. Unless you're growing a strain that is prone to going hermaphroditic when you look at it cross-eyed, and in that case sooner or later you'll end up exhaling on it or someone will ring the neighbors doorbell rofl and it'll shim on ya anyway. It's not the abrupt change - IMHO - that markedly increases the chance of problems, but rather "confusing" (I know, it's a plant, lol) it by being all over the place, one day one schedule, the next a different one, a few days later forgetting to shut the door, next week tripping over the power cord because you couldn't wait to smoke that haze until after you visited your girls, and so on.

Warning, thought organization above may be off, margaritas are in process!

Sheeeeeeeit, lucky you. I'm goofstupid because I've been awake about 47 hours. I feel like someone pulled my brain out of my left ear with a coathanger, dropped it in the mud, and replaced it without hosing it off first.

Happy 4th of July 420!!

Same to you.

Err... See what I mean <WHOOPS>?

I contacted the manufacturer, PlugNGrow up in Canada and told them where I was at. To my delight, their Head of Customer Relations contacted me first thing the next morning and worked me a very sweet deal to replace my defective 11L cycle timer with one of their slick new iGS15 Multi-Timers! All they wanted from me was the shipping and handling costs!! This timer sells for $350.00, which is almost 3 times the price I paid for the 11L! They didn't even want the 11L back! They told me to keep it and do with it what I pleased!

Cool. Quick, everyone - lets round up some defective timers <GRIN>.

Seriously, though, glad they are taking care of you. That shows that they really care about their customers. Or that they get their stuff from China for a buck-fifty and can afford to send you a box of them, lol - but I'm leaning towards the first one, otherwise they'd have just sent you an exact replacement.

Now that is what I call standing behind your products! THANK YOU PlugNGrow!

<NODS>

I'm getting silly, and I've got to go discs/pads/drums/shoes/wheel cylinders on a buddy's old "I think they washed it when it was new" work truck before I get to nap so I better end this post and let the clutch out.

Glad to know you'll be continuing with your plan. Hope to follow along with your progress (got journal?). I love new technology or even just novel ways to utilize old school stuff. Just don't have the funds these days to, well, you know... Otherwise I'd be doing a scrog under a high-powered LED on a LightRail - but that's a different thread and if I keep dreaming I WILL fall asleep, lol.

Y'all have a great day!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Nice post!

I enjoyed reading all your various comments!

As to your question...

My grow Journal is linked in my sig, but I am planning to file my report on this here, since it is a specific aspect of my growing process and not everything. The flowering cycle is already being documented there since it is still on 12/12, as we await the arrival of the iGS-15 timer.

Cheers!

 

[G-Dog]

Sounds Interesting, I will be watching.

Ironically, the man that made Blueberry (last time I mentioned his name it was edited out by staff) had suggested going outside the box in lighting cycles. Instead of just slamming plants from 24-0 to 12-12 he suggested increments leading that way as in nature, and so on.

Good luck, I am subscribed.

 

[Goldengoose7]

Sounds Interesting, I will be watching.

Ironically, the man that made Blueberry (last time I mentioned his name it was edited out by staff) had suggested going outside the box in lighting cycles. Instead of just slamming plants from 24-0 to 12-12 he suggested increments leading that way as in nature, and so on.

Good luck, I am subscribed.

Cool! Welcome to the project G-Dog! I am expecting the long awaited 72 hour cycle timer's arrival as we speak, and I will post again when it arrives later tonight.

Stay tuned!

 

[Goldengoose7]

iGS-15 Multi-Timer Arrives/Installed!

The iGS-15 has been configured and installed and will begin our first 14 hour daylight cycle beginning Tuesday at 6AM PDT. The dark cycle will remain 12 hours.

I will be posting a few photos of the timer installation tomorrow when the lights are on.

You can follow the progress of the plants being flowered under the 14/12 cycle by visiting my Grow Journal linked below in my signature.

 

[TorturedSoul]

You can follow the progress of the plants being flowered under the 14/12 cycle by visiting my Grow Journal linked below in my signature.

Will do (even though I may not be "vocal," I'll definitely be following it).

Speaking of your .SIG, may I suggest a mention of the other contests - or a "general contest forum" link? (It's totally YOUR decision, lol - and was just a suggestion.)

 

[Goldengoose7]

iGS-15 Flex-Timer Deloyment Photos

I am pleased to report that the iGS-15 is performing wonderfully so far! We even had a power outage earlier this morning that the device reported on, and even logged the duration! The system was still in dark mode at the time, but either way the 15 is programmed to resume its schedule as soon as the power is restored, which it did for me.

As promised, here are the photos of the installation. I took a shot of each settings phase of the device and will explain what each does. Kind of an odd UI, but once you figure it out, it isn't that bad.

Photo of the iGS-15 controller as well as the iGS-25 Wall Power Component which is also included in the package, along with a power adapter for the 25 and a CAT-5 Cable for interfacing the 15 to the 25.

Normal Display Mode • Display Indicates Time to Cycle End (ON/OFF)

Settings Menu Section • Application Type

Settings Menu Section • LightCycle Chosen

Settings Menu Section • Total Cycle Length Set to 26 Hours (Range is 1-72 hours)

Settings Menu Section • Set Length of Day Cycle

Settings Menu Section • Day Cycle Set to 14 Hours

Settings Menu Section • Initial Cycle Start Time (6AM)

System Clock Displayed if Adjustment Knob is touched or turned. Dislay reverts back to cycle count-down in 1 minute.

So there ya have it folks! Now that we are on a 14/12 the day cycle is going to be slowly advancing 2 hours per day with a 12 hour dark cycle inbetween each one. Our lights started the ON cycle today at 6AM, so they will be going off tonight at 8PM. This will be followed by 12 hours of dark with the next ON cycle beginning at 8AM on the 27th and continuing until 10PM that same day. You can see how the day cycle will be moving around an extra two hours per day.

I will be tracking the behavior of the plants being lit by the systems on the iGS-15 and providing timely updates in my Grow Journal.

I will post my final observations on the 14/12 light cycle here at the conclusion of this current flowering cycle around the third week of August.

Stay tuned!

 

[Goldengoose7]

Pleased to report that the new timer worked through our first 14/12 light cycle with flying colors! The daylight period ended at 8PM last night on the dot, followed by a 12 hour countdown of the darkness period. The lights are programmed to come back on in a few minutes at 8AM.

The only potential pitfalls I see with this technique is the potential for over heating of the Bloom Room during the days when the ON cycle coincides with the middle of the night, where we do not have our central AC running for obvious reasons. The central AC is the primary cooling system for this room during the daylght cycles. This small guest bathroom easily hits the mid 80s F within 90 minutes of the lights coming on, even though these are all T5s and 150 watt CFLs and conventional 40 wat CFLs. I guess it all adds up.

While 85 degrees is not that bad, I prefer to keep the plants more in the mid 70s to low 80s range. Just going to have to monitor this over the next few weeks and see if the results of the flower production outweigh the added potential hassles involved.