Question about light leaks

I see a lot of people talking about what kind of tent to buy and to be careful to choose a tent that isn't notorious for light leaks. To be fair though, light leaks aren't only a grow tent thing. I grew for many years in a closet in my house with a blanket secured around the opening, and I wasn't able to keep all the light out all of the time. So here's the question: in the wild, cannabis plants do not encounter complete darkness so why do growers focus on it so much? Plants in the wild have moonlight and starlight with which to contend. Even with a new moon, there is plenty of light for cannabis plants to absorb. Complete darkness isn't in their DNA. I can understand that by striving for complete darkness, a grower can achieve a certain result; but to say that light leaks are bad for flowering plants, I'm having a hard time understanding that one.

look up how many lumens the full moon gives off and you'll understand why. i'll give you a hint: miniscule

rkymtnman said:

look up how many lumens the full moon gives off and you'll understand why. i'll give you a hint: miniscule

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have you ever been inside a grow tent (zipped up) when the light is off? It produces less light than any cycle of the moon.

jerry-joe said:

have you ever been inside a grow tent (zipped up) when the light is off? It produces less light than any cycle of the moon.

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huh? what is "It" you are talking about. did you look up what i suggested?

Here’s a good read about the light cycles and cannabis plants. All growers should read this.

jerry-joe said:

have you ever been inside a grow tent (zipped up) when the light is off? It produces less light than any cycle of the moon.

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Ummm... a grow tent with the light off does NOT produce any light; it absorbs it.

...and yes, I've been in several grow rooms/tents with lights-off. It's how to ensure there are no light leaks, or penetrations.

spek9 said:

Ummm... a grow tent with the light off does NOT produce any light; it absorbs it.

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phew, i thought it was me there for a second.

Why does everyone have to be a mad scientist and try to change a very easy blueprint to follow when it comes to growing pot? Fucking cracks me up

I definitely had issues w hermies a few cycles into a grow as my tent broke down. Realized one of my tops was getting a steady pin of light hitting it and wound up with a few seeds in that plant as a result. Switched to using that just for veg until I retired it.

Clumpyoyster said:

Why does everyone have to be a mad scientist and try to change a very easy blueprint to follow when it comes to growing pot? Fucking cracks me up

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Unfortunately, many buy into the latest fad. Some moron on Youtube created a video that is "THE BEST CANNABININIBUS GROWERING VIDEO IN THE ENTIRE WORLD", and some people follow it blindly.

In this case though, OPs OP was kind of valid, until they made the remark about a tent producing light. That tells me that they failed to do any due diligence prior to answering their own question, and may only be here to argue something futile.

ilovereggae said:

I definitely had issues w hermies a few cycles into a grow as my tent broke down. Realized one of my tops was getting a steady pin of light hitting it and wound up with a few seeds in that plant as a result. Switched to using that just for veg until I retired it.

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Is getting a few seeds such a bad thing lol. I love it when I find a seed or two lol

well, it's a green LED that's on all night but it's OK b/c green isn't used by the plant b/c the leaves are green.

Clumpyoyster said:

Is getting a few seeds such a bad thing lol. I love it when I find a seed or two lol

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They were worthless white shells. Ive got enough beans that I wouldn't risk growing something that was prone to herm again anyway.

rkymtnman said:

well, it's a green LED that's on all night but it's OK b/c green isn't used by the plant b/c the leaves are green.

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...and leaves are green because they actually reflect the green light spectrum. Literally why growers with large rooms use green lights in order to manage things after lights-off. Not just LED, but full blown lamps. I've seen it. I've been in those rooms at lights off too.

spek9 said:

Unfortunately, many buy into the latest fad. Some moron on Youtube created a video that is "THE BEST CANNABININIBUS GROWERING VIDEO IN THE ENTIRE WORLD", and some people follow it blindly.

In this case though, OPs OP was kind of valid, until they made the remark about a tent producing light. That tells me that they failed to do any due diligence prior to answering their own question, and may only be here to argue something futile.

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Youtube is one of the worst places to get grow advice. Some fool with a bunch of crispy fried plants and some ridiculous grow advice and a dozen bottles of garbage trying to educate people. It's a joke. I've seen numerous new accounts on here where people keep posting links to their youtube vids hoping to get a bunch of followers. I'll never click on their links or subscribe to their channel. The only use I have for youtube is for music.

All the rest is just garbage. Anyone can make an account and post videos. What's sad is the amount of people that think those garbage videos are scientific fact.

rkymtnman said:

huh? what is "It" you are talking about. did you look up what i suggested?

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Yes. and I'm not talking about measuring the exact intensity of light by lumens or par or anything else. The "it" I was referring to is the tent, or more specifically, the shortcomings of the tent that allow light leak, i.e. zippers and such. My point was you could sit next to a cannabis plant outside at night or in a closed tent with the light off and it would be darker in the tent.

spek9 said:

...and leaves are green because they actually reflect the green light spectrum. Literally why growers with large rooms use green lights in order to manage things after lights-off. Not just LED, but full blown lamps. I've seen it. I've been in those rooms at lights off too.

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if i have to go in, i use my green led headlamp. but i try not to go in.

here's some info for you @jerry-joe

jerry-joe said:

Yes. and I'm not talking about measuring the exact intensity of light by lumens or par or anything else. The "it" I was referring to is the tent, or more specifically, the shortcomings of the tent that allow light leak, i.e. zippers and such. My point was you could sit next to a cannabis plant outside at night or in a closed tent with the light off and it would be darker in the tent.

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buy a better tent. my gorilla is light tight.

xtsho said:

Youtube is one of the worst places to get grow advice. Some fool with a bunch of crispy fried plants and some ridiculous grow advice and a dozen bottles of garbage trying to educate people. It's a joke. I've seen numerous new accounts on here where people keep posting links to their youtube vids hoping to get a bunch of followers. I'll never click on their links or subscribe to their channel. The only use I have for youtube is for music.

All the rest is just garbage. Anyone can make an account and post videos. What's sad is the amount of people that think those garbage videos are scientific fact.

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I agree with all of what you've said here. Note though that I wasn't implying that OP came to a conclusion based on a video, I was just claiming that many do, which is unfortunate.

I have a power strip in my tent with a red light. I've never bothered to cover it up. I also sometimes take my plants outside during the dark period to take pictures or move them to another room to pollinate.