question about lighting times

Discussion in 'First Time Marijuana Growers' started by tobymac420, Sep 18, 2012.

  1. Hey guys so I'm 4 weeks in veg on my grow and switched my lights to 18/6. I was wondering If they benefit more from this or 24. I ask because they seem to grow more under 18/6 but could also be because they are getting older. Thanks for any input.
     
  2. From what i gather, there is no proven benefit of doing 18/6 as opposed to 24. Some people swear by it, but i think its all user preference. One definite positive of a 18/6 light schedule, is you will save a few bucks while your lights are turned off! I will be doing 18/6 for that reason.

    Im sure others will chime in.
     
  3. I've heard there are studies showing 24hr having larger root masses, haven't seen anything solid tho
     
  4. As any living organism can tell you; a rest period (6 hrs), vs (0 hrs) for time unendingly-- it is impractical to select (0) over (6). (0) unendingly will only raise your bills and eventually equal out to 18/6 producing better, "I should'a gone 18/6".
     
  5. I mean, besides the fact that cannabis doesn't require that refractory period... sure

    If you want to lump every living organism in together, go for it... just remember what mommy said about assumptions.
     
  6. This debate has been going on for years and won't be settled here. There are proponents of both light cycles who can tell you why their choice is better and the other isn't. Suffice it to say that both work well, the debate really is over which might work a little better.

    Sometimes temp control is a practical reason to run 18/6 -- if your grow space is subject to ambient temps then you might want to go lights off during the heat of the day, not in some belief that it is a better light cycle for growing but to not be adding additional heat when your grow space is getting pretty warm already.
     

  7. I am lumping all organisms together. living organisms are a group, just like alkaline metals or all things purple. I'm a microbiologist major, I know what I'm talking about. ATP synthesis' will run stressed during unneeded light periods. 24/0 will give you a small % of a bigger root mass and very small vegetative growth advance vs 18/6, but 18/6 is a healthier choice.
     
  8. OK that's what I wanted to hear I have deffiantly noticed better growth during 16/8 over 24/0. I also notice better temp control and I want to save money. It seems silly to me to keep lights on 24 hours as that's not natural if you go outside their is a dark and light period. I thought the point of a light system was to almost mock sunlight. Just wanted to hear others opinion
     
  9. I tried both ways,
    I went with 6 plants under a 24/0 under a T5 light, So I didnt' have heat issues. It took about 4 weeks of veg. I took 6 Clones of the same Strain and Tried them under 18/6 light schedule, Same T5 light. I had Humidity spikes once the lights would go off(live in a High Humidity area). And it took about two weeks longer to get to the same size as the ones on 24. Is that because of the 6 hours down everyday that the other ones were still growing? Still came out to the same Electricity if not a little more using the 18/6.
     
  10. That seems weird that's probably because most power company's come out every 3 months and take meter reading. The other months they estimate off their reading.
     

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