Light schedule opinions
- Thread starter Greeny420
- Start date
Asking a question like that will only get you more conflicting opinions haha.
Some folks think plants need to rest in darkness, some don't.
Some folks think plants need to rest in darkness, some don't.
skipeye
Well-Known Member
If you are growing photo-period plants, they need 18/6.
18 (or maybe as low as 16) - 24 hours, and anything in between works. Seems to be grower preference. There are times I have something delicate going on in veg and like to have lights on 24 hours to avoid temps dipping at ‘night’. Sometimes I use 24 to speed up growth.
Mostly I run 18/6 though. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that they actually need sleep, but my veg usually grows faster than my flowering room can keep up with anyway, so 18/6 means a slower pace.
Mostly I run 18/6 though. There doesn’t seem to be any evidence that they actually need sleep, but my veg usually grows faster than my flowering room can keep up with anyway, so 18/6 means a slower pace.
It is one of those "many schools of thought" and falls into "whatever works for you or you feel is right" kind of things. I haven't experimented enough for me to say "this is what works or only what works " (nor do I feel that strong on much of anything actually in life 
as a "to each their own" or "if it works for you great and more power to you" ). That said I have been all over the place due to more time of year as out in my shed so more of a temp control, so I have gone 13-14 on in Summer and 17-18 on in Winter in Veg and have not really noticed much difference (albeit I rarely grow the same Strain twice in a row except when my Cloning luck was good and I haven't found that luck again yet). You can find every point of view out there just about on the internet, along with the occasional extreme "variance" from "typical".
I think there was a time when it varied slightly on Strain (what part in the world it was originally from and what the "normal" hours of light was the different times of the year), but there is so many Hybrids of Poly Hybrids of Hybrids of Hybrids of Landrace Strains that it really makes little difference unless you growing a lot of "purer Landrace Strains" then it might to a point (but the seeds were probably made somewhere else and on different light schedule in most cases, as the plants/animals in the world "adapt/mutate for the better" usually a lot better than us humans do so again not much of a factor any more my guess ).
as a "to each their own" or "if it works for you great and more power to you" ). That said I have been all over the place due to more time of year as out in my shed so more of a temp control, so I have gone 13-14 on in Summer and 17-18 on in Winter in Veg and have not really noticed much difference (albeit I rarely grow the same Strain twice in a row except when my Cloning luck was good and I haven't found that luck again yet). You can find every point of view out there just about on the internet, along with the occasional extreme "variance" from "typical".I think there was a time when it varied slightly on Strain (what part in the world it was originally from and what the "normal" hours of light was the different times of the year), but there is so many Hybrids of Poly Hybrids of Hybrids of Hybrids of Landrace Strains
that it really makes little difference unless you growing a lot of "purer Landrace Strains" then it might to a point (but the seeds were probably made somewhere else and on different light schedule in most cases, as the plants/animals in the world "adapt/mutate for the better" usually a lot better than us humans do so again not much of a factor any more my guess ).
Bigjake8
Well-Known Member
It's all the same but if you wanna have fun try the gas lantern
My theory is if you use HID there is no need for over 18 hrs hit them hard let them rest
but florescent I can see running 24 to make up the difference
My theory is if you use HID there is no need for over 18 hrs hit them hard let them rest
but florescent I can see running 24 to make up the difference
Light times are about DLI -daily light integral. It's how much light they absorb over that time.
1000w x 20hrs is the same as 1111watts for 18 hours assuming it's the same light source.
It doesn't break down quite that easily but basically a plant can only use a finite amount of energy in a given period depending on it's surrounding conditions. Cooler plants use less than warm plants, plants with higher environment co2 levels can use more. It's different in every grow which is why there is never an "ideal" answer for everyone.
1000w x 20hrs is the same as 1111watts for 18 hours assuming it's the same light source.
It doesn't break down quite that easily but basically a plant can only use a finite amount of energy in a given period depending on it's surrounding conditions. Cooler plants use less than warm plants, plants with higher environment co2 levels can use more. It's different in every grow which is why there is never an "ideal" answer for everyone.
I started using the gas lantern lighting schedule just over two years ago. Most of the time I forget that I have made the switch. It works and I am satisfied.
My plants that are in the vegetating stage have to grow at a slower rate than some other growers might like. It just is the way it has to be since the bottle neck is the flowering cabinet. I have to wait until one or two plants are finished flowering so that I have room to move one or two vegetating plants over to the flowering cabinet.
