Lately have been needing to keep my grow lights on 24/7 to keep temps in the grow room up to ideal levels. Does anyone see any issues with this? I would prefer 18/6, but that's just because it seems more natural and uses less electricity.
my temps are getting into the 64F range and i dont have a heater... is that too low? I would prefer to stay 18/6 but I have actually concidered doing 24/7 or changing my photoperiod so the lights run all night when its cool cause ATM my lights turn off at 3am or so
Same here I just added a small heater though. Usually in the winter I go up in wattage to balance out the heat. But 64 isn't really that low. Growth will slow a little but it's not life threatening.
My girls just went through with some cold stress, they were around 64 - 67 degrees F; slowed them down noticeably compared to 72 - 78 degrees F. Makes a big difference in growth speed, so I would advise you to get a heater or bigger lights.
Better to run a small heater when lights are off IMO. its just that i put it this way to myself, But its like giving someone some crack and making them stay up for days on end. its not gonna kill ya but your not gonna be to happy. I know i like my rest/sleep time. your plants will tell you if they are happy or not.
Soil temp is more important than air temperature. 24/0 is a debatable topic, to some. To me it's not. Plants need to rest, like anything living. Watch plants in light nearing 'nightime' .... their leaves will be droopy. Now come in and check the leaves a few minutes before lights on ... they will (should) be praying. It is called Circadian rhythm, and it's part of our biology, here on Earth. I vary between 18/6 up to 20/4. Usually 19/5, though.
My plants have definitely not looked happy since the 24/7 schedule. I'm testing what temp my room gets to with small heater and lights off. Hopefully it will stay above 60, which should be fine for nighttime temps.
I always like to know my soil temps for my flowering ladies. Vegger's I'm not too concerned with, but for the ladies in action, I pamper them. Air temps are good to know, but I think growers don't place enough thought to their soil temps. My air temps range from 75 day -58 night, during the winter. My soil temps are monitored and heated though ... so the soil temp is more constant and 'ideal' low-70's, until a week or so until harvest. 24/0 won't kill your plants or anything. I just personally don't like to do it. Some care, some don't.
Izzy makes excellent points, however, for what it's worth - out of convenience for years now my vegging plants have been on 24 hours of light. Could they do better? Maybe. They seem to be doing ok... J
I've vegged with 20/4 and liked it. What I did for my setup now was changed the lights to run later through the night. My thermometer says the low was 76 but that doesnt sound right to me. lights turn off at 6am turn on at 12pm I guess yeah that sounds right. We'll see
from all i've read, the only reasons most people keep 18/6 vs 24/7 is to keep their electricity bill down. 24/7 is fine for plants in vegetation according to lots of sources. about the circadian rhythm - also probably very true. if your plants are used to 18/6, simply popping them over to 24/7 could probably be a little traumatic. some people are used to sleeping only 4 hours a night, and some are used to 8. they both live and feel just fine, but when that 8 hour sleeper suddenly has to deal with only 4 hours he feels sluggish and performs poorly. it may take some time for him to get used to the 4 hour sleep schedule, and even though he can theoretically live off 4 hours of sleep, he's just not going to be himself.
Beneficial bacteria and fungi are fed by plant root exudates which occurs while the lights are off only. So yes it maters if you want the plant to feed the soil but your plant will grow..