title says it all. I bought an indica plant from an old friend, and am not sure how long the light needs to be on and if i need to use the uv light. He said while its vegetating leave the reptile light on for 16 hours, and before it buds only leave it on for 12 hours at a time.
Well it all depends on what kind of growing you want to do. You should at least put up a uv fixture: one cool white one warm (one blue spec one red spec). Keep it on for at least 18 hours a day to keep the plant in vegetative mode and alive! If you just want one crop then go to 12 and 12 of light but you should really buy a HPS or MH light for flowering. But really dude you should set up a veg area for the plant to act as your mother and then build a small flowering room/box that has a HPS or MH light in it. Cut clones and grow them in the veg room then transfer to flower room when they're ready. This way you get lots of bud and not just a one time flowering. I should have just responded with "Go read a guide on-line" instead of responding to this post... fuck my life.
UV-B such as in the reptile light you are using is best used during flowering as it is proven to increase trichome development (increase potency). People have had great success using UV during the middle 4 hours of flowering period (between the 4 to 8 hour mark) during the 12-hr flowering period. This is to replicate the sun when it is at its highest point. I myself use LED panels with UV diodes incorporated in and have them during the whole growing process. However, my UV diodes are specifically designed to not cause irritation to skin and eyes as your reptile UV-B would create. Turning off your reptile light when entering your grow room is a MUST. What other lights are u using as well?
Hey I'm an amatuer farmer and an amatuer herpetologist... . I guess I missed the uv reptile light comment earlier. Make sure the bulb is a UV b bulb. Some reptile lights emit UV B but others don't. In fact, if you just have a regular reptile light it probably is either UV A or both... from what I remember when I was still buying UV-B lights (not necessary for most snakes but is for lizards) I had to go out of my way to find a good UV-B bulb. Then again its been several years since I've had to worry about buying bulbs as I run a different and more efficient reptile system now. Cheers and good luck.