My power has been out this morning. Ironically the power shut off at 9:28 and my light cycle starts at 9:30. I'm in class right now so I was able to get on the net. When the power comes back on should I resume the regular schedule? Is it okay if they only get like 5 hours of light for one day? I heard too much darkness is better than light, is that right? thanks.
I would reset the timer for the light to come back on as scheduled the next day. This shouldnt do anything to your plants.
This is why I run my system on an UPS (got it off Ebay). I didn't want one big enough to run the light, but the circulating pump, foggers, airpump, and fans are plugged into it. No way am I gonna put 2 months into a grow and have it ruined by a power outage (at least for a few hours).
The UPS is a good idea, I was researching them but they dont even make one powerful enough to run an HPS light for more than 2 minutes. If you want one for your accessories (which I recommend), check craigslist. You don't have to pay shiipping for something that weights over 40lbs then
When i got into hydro i talked to the guy at the shop for quite a while about this. i was really worried about a power loss and my air pump shutting off and the plants dying. Anyways the guy told me its really not a big deal. For hydro if your using pumps and stuff and you lose power he said its cool for the first 24 hours and after that youll want to pour out your water and leave the roots in air. This way it prevents overwatering(always better to have a drought then a flood.) He said for light just keep them in the dark. He said they can chill like this for 48 hours without major effect. It will stress them but spotty light or trying to rig up flashlights is actually worse. If your going to be without power for more than 2 days you will need either supplemental outdoor light or some kind of battery powered light to keep them alive. they wont need a lot of light but atleast a couple hours a day. When power is restored they will look sick if it has been longer than 24hours but they should recover quickly(within a day usually). I trust that guy hella and these are his words so id count it as reliable.
I am running an aeroponic system so my shit needs power to be on. I will tolerate a light cycle disruption, but a dried out crop that isn't ready does me no good. Also, I am not around 24/7 and I am probably over cautious, although that UPS has saved me one crop so far, so I don't regret installing it. Cheap peace of mind. here is a link: http://forum.grasscity.com/advanced-growing-techniques/239523-fogponics-advanced-aero-3.html Last page shows my rig. Check it out.
Well I should definitely have power back in a few more hours. If anything they'll just miss today's 12 hour light cycle, the air pumps and everything else will be back on tonight even though I'll be leaving the light off.