View Full Version : MH/HPS + CFL lighting sequence
elduece
05-20-2009, 08:54 PM
I've got some extra lights (6x 6500k 26 watt, 4x 2700k 23 watt cfls plugged into four Y-fixtured clamp lights) accompanying a 250 watt MH/HPS bulbs/Lumatek digital ballast between two timers. I have 6.75 sq ft space potentially giving my "to be" garden 5000+ lumens per sq foot. I plan on raising at the most 8 square pots in a 1.5'd x 4.5'w x 6'h closet.
With all this extra lumens per sq available for the plants, I have an idea or out of curiosity to imitate a natural phased light intensity or whatever you want to name it like for an example: for the morning sunrise during the plant's vegetative cycle, fire up only the 2-2700k and 2-6500k lights on one end of the grow space by an "AM" timer for maybe 1.5 hours into "morning" and by high noon the other PM timer would fire up the remaining lights for 92% into the day -surrounding the grow. By one hour before "sunset" the PM timer(HID + 4-6500k CFL lights) would shut off while the AM timer remains on for an hour before complete sunset. For the flowering cycle I could replace 2 daylight CFLs for 2 more 2700ks for the PM timer along with changing out the MH for an HPS lamp. What do ya'll think? Should this noob shut up and just start the f@8k'n grow?
headshake
05-20-2009, 09:22 PM
i can't see any reason or benefit to do this. but feel free to try it out and let us know what happens.
-shake
Balkey
05-21-2009, 01:28 AM
I think it's an interesting idea but impractical for cfls IMO. If you had multiple different spectrum hid lighting setups and used that instead of cfls, it'd be a more useful experiment. Since cfl lumens drop significantly beyond say an inch away from the bulb, I wouldn't expect any useful information to come from it.
:stoned:
gr8budz4me
05-23-2009, 05:31 AM
I'd just turn them ALL on as bright as they can be from the first minute til the last of your 12/12 day...:cool:
elduece
05-28-2009, 03:38 PM
I wasn't try to be smart fellas and I'll try to make this short. My pursuit was to have a stress free environment for my indoor female plants as humanly possible. I just don't have the space in my apartment for anything else other than seedless buds.
I forgot to mention that I grow an abundance of basil/oregano/tomatoes and other herbs in the outdoor patio and therefore many pots had to be regularly relocated back to the AM sunlight from its' evening niche due limited space/sunlight pattern. However, I do have planted pots that don't need to be moved(except for daily turning rotations) because they already receive the full morning sunrise-evening sunset light cycle coverage.
Between these plants(same feeding-watering/light amount-maybe slightly less for the mobile ones) -namely my genovese/sweet basil btw, the plants that don't have to move lack the slight welt, perspiration and stress appearance during the bright mornings than that of those plants that were suddenly immersed to sun by me say around 0700-0730.
In my years in growing these herbs here, the immobile pots always had thicker stems, crispier leaves, greener, were extraordinarily aromatic and much superior taste than the plants that were moved around regularly. Of course the mobile pots that I grow do recover by noon and are still fine tasty herbs but I keep feeling that they could always be better if they can have a way of 'anticipating' light like the immobile ones -me thinks. I go by feel when I grow herbs, I don't know....... I mean I wouldn't like it if someone started my day with a bright day light during my first minute awake, you and I would be off to a bad start for the day! Maybe I should have mentioned this in my original post. It's just that sometimes I wonder why people say buds properly grown outdoors ALWAYS tastes better than that of indoor grown buds. anyways thanks for reading!:stoned:
headshake
05-28-2009, 03:51 PM
well that does shed some light on the situation. give it a shot and let us know what happens. i wasn't saying it was stupid, i was merely saying that i don't see the benefit. granted, my experience is minimal at best!
as indoor growers we are trying to push the evelope to the max. maybe it will be beneficial, maybe it won't. thre is only one way to find out.
from what i have read moving cannabis plants strenghthens the stems as it simulates wind in nature (a fan in the grow room will do the same). i move mine to the bathtub to water/feed and haven't seen any ill effects. although i don't have a control to compare against.
cannabis also loves all of the light that you can throw at it. if it get's 12 hours of uninteruppted darkenss it will start to flower.
as far as peoples opinions on taste, you can't really take what people say at face value. once again, i have no basis as to if outdoor tastes better than indoor, or organic tastes better than 'dro. there is a lot that goes into it. many enviromental factors.
the one thing outdoors do have going is that we can't replicate the sun indoors, no matter how hard we try.
so with that being said, i expect all kinds of experiments with results to be coming from you! lol.
good growing.
-shake
dbud1369
06-22-2009, 03:17 AM
there are literally as many different ways of growing weed that works given what environment as there are growers... love to see the results of this "imitation of nature".
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