24 or 18/6??

what is the difference between having the lights on 24 hours on, or 18 on 6 off? please back up what you say with facts not personal opinion, as i am new to growing. Is the darkness really needed? My thought is that the less time that there is darkness the less energy the plant has to use to revers the hormones it releases during darkness, allowing it to use that energy into growing. does the plant need rest from light or is it unnecessary? please someone point me in the right direction! thanks in advance!

i did 24/0 for years thinking it was better but since i went to 18/6 my roots are much bigger and the plants look much happier. they need the rest period.

I grow outdoors but I keep my clones at 18/6 I use to do 24/0 but I began to notice some stress developing on the clones and they did much better at 18/6 there's scientific research in Ed's book that plants grown under 24/0 did better than plants grown under 18/6 but on a personal note I prefer 18/6 also saves money on electricity.

18/6, Plants get stressed out when you flip to 12/12

I don't understand how the whole 24/0 thing came about...

Plants grown for millions of years having a dark and light period. There's your fact.

trevronious said:

I don't understand how the whole 24/0 thing came about...

Plants grown for millions of years having a dark and light period. There's your fact.

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plants also have a changing spectrum of light and intensity as the sun rises and lowers but ya dont see growers using that. i prefer to have information to help me understand why its better, either 24 on or 18/6, please.

Its all about preference and electricity cost.....

trevronious said:

I don't understand how the whole 24/0 thing came about...

Plants grown for millions of years having a dark and light period. There's your fact.

Click to expand...

Plants grow in areas of the world that have 24/0 as well.

You could even go with 20/4. I have noticed a difference between 24/0 and 18/6. Seems like they grow more during the dark cycle, which is realistically them "stretching" for the light. You're going to save a little bit of power if you go with an 18/6.

i did not know that, but it does make sense!

wonder6977 said:

plants also have a changing spectrum of light and intensity as the sun rises and lowers but ya dont see growers using that.

Click to expand...

Never heard of light movers eh?

lights constantly on tends to keep the temps constantly warm which can speed up growth i found

i do not believe the extra light helps, its plain to see after 16 hours the leaves will droop, the plants are "sleeping" so they are not processing the light fully
as the leaves are not stretched out collecting the light .. i think any extra growth is more down to extra heat
mine are 17/7
peace