18/6 and 24 hour on and off?

[Monsurot]

Hey guys, im just curious if it would screw anything up or damage or whatever to my plant if i were to do 18/6 one day and then the next 2 days the 24 hour method and then after that back to 18/6 .....etc. and the reason i ask this is cause i want to do 24/7 but it would still be to much electricity for me to use even tho im using cool white t12 florescents, and want to get the most i can so i figured one day 18/6 and the 2 days 24.....thanx for reading and please get back to me soon fellow stoners^^

Monsurot Reviewed by Monsurot on 11-22-2010. 18/6 and 24 hour on and off? Hey guys, im just curious if it would screw anything up or damage or whatever to my plant if i were to do 18/6 one day and then the next 2 days the 24 hour method and then after that back to 18/6 .....etc. and the reason i ask this is cause i want to do 24/7 but it would still be to much electricity for me to use even tho im using cool white t12 florescents, and want to get the most i can so i figured one day 18/6 and the 2 days 24.....thanx for reading and please get back to me soon fellow Rating: 5

[Monsurot]

So im assuming everyone's reading this and going wtf, well all im asking is would it be bad to go from 24/7 schedge for just 2 days straight and then the 18/6 for one day and the the 24/7 the next 2 and so on and so fourth. PLEASE get back to me soon ive been on this schedge for the last 2 days!

[Slevinkal]

Honestly IDK for sure if its gonna stress em or not...

I would stay well clear of any stress though, dont want hermies now do we?

But I am curious as to why you would do this, what are you trying to achieve?

[Monsurot]

well im trying to achieve not paying much on my energy bill, butt still trying to make my plants grow faster, so i figured 24 hours for 2 days, then 18/6 for 1......etc Ive been on this schedule for 2 days now. I just need to know if this might be a bad idea, and if im causing my plants to go screwy.

[Slevinkal]

I wouldn't do it.

One of the things I've noticed in reading A LOT of cannabis grow books is that they mainly all say to put the lights on a timer. I assume that means it would behoove one to get the plants on a strict light schedule and keep it that way, no wishy-washy'ness.

I've never heard other wise but I think swapping the lights back and forth is gonna throw off some sort of balance.

Even some expert growers will change their lights from 18/6 to 12/12 by changing the time only one half hour less daily. So basically they go 18/6, 17.5/6.5, 17/7, and so on until they reach 12/12 in the hopes of it being an easier transition for the plant. This too would lead one to believe that keeping the light sched strict is best too.

Or, do what I did. For the first few weeks I had my plants on 20/4. That cut down on the light bill just a bit but keeping you at 20 hours of growing goodness a day

[canniwhatsis]

+1,... don't alternate your light schedule.


I'm starting to think that my Grandaddy Purp strain is sensitive to the sharp cut off from dark to light and light to dark.

Outdoors, the sunlight gradually fades in to full, the gradually fades out, takes about 1.5-2 hours, and the light cycle changes ever so slightly every day, taking me into 12-12,.... My INDOOR GDP hermed ever f'n time I tried it,.... Out door,... Nothin, Clean as a whistle.


Why? My guess is that my indoor lights are warmed up in about 3 minuets, and off in about 3 seconds, and the shift from 18-6 to 12-12 was only interrupted by 36 hours of utter blackness.

Works great for most strains, but that one's a picky bitch.

Good luck and welcome to it!

[Slevinkal]

Outdoors, the sunlight gradually fades in to full, the gradually fades out, takes about 1.5-2 hours, and the light cycle changes ever so slightly every day, taking me into 12-12,....

I dont remember where, but some cat in a forum said he supplements his HID light. A low watt CFL up high in the center of the area would come on 30 min before then go off when the HID came on. The light would come back on when the HID went off and stay on for 30 min longer. He flowered at 12/12 still though, so only 11 hours of HID a day.

I though about this option but said fukgettaboutit, dont want more wires and more timers...

[canniwhatsis]

That's the UVB Experiment thread.

It makes my head hurt every time I read it.

[Monsurot]

Thanx for the replies guys,.......I think im going to just keep it on 18/6 and hope for the best. Heres alil pic of the baby under all this light confusion i gave it the last 3 days. it seems to be ok. (prays to odin for female)

[Slevinkal]

Jackin around with the lights wont hurt them now near as much as it would during flower, you should be fine if you stick to a schedule :thumbsup: