Reduced hour light cycles

ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
20/4 for vegging 12/12 for bloom. I have been told by a friend that he does 11/13 as it brings out more differences between phenos. Haven't tested this myself yet.
 
SonsOfAvery

SonsOfAvery

Well-Known Member
I had read a few articles, (forgive me I can't remember where exactly) that stated root growth excels during dark periods. So that may be a reason to have a schedule like 18/6.
Also, I think for many people it saves money having the lights out for a certain amount of time.

I'm tempted to switch my schedule from 18/6 to 6/2/6/2/6/2. To help deal with humidity spikes.
I've got about two weeks of veg left, is it worth it? Will it have any negative side effects?
I appreciate everyone has their opinions, but I'd prefer facts if possible :-)
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
SonsOfAvery said:
I had read a few articles, (forgive me I can't remember where exactly) that stated root growth excels during dark periods. So that may be a reason to have a schedule like 18/6.
Also, I think for many people it saves money having the lights out for a certain amount of time.

I'm tempted to switch my schedule from 18/6 to 6/2/6/2/6/2. To help deal with humidity spikes.
I've got about two weeks of veg left, is it worth it? Will it have any negative side effects?
I appreciate everyone has their opinions, but I'd prefer facts if possible :-)
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I ran it for quite awhile and I'd recommend the 6/2 schedule to anyone.

Except maybe @rkymtnman lol
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
torontoke said:
A few fellow members have tried it and had success with it.
The thread was about reduced light cycles but alternative light cycles in general is an interesting topic.
I'm fascinated by how different everyone does things
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I'm still planning the cycle we discussed some months ago. When I'm free of my legal entanglements I'll be giving it a shot.
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
My only apprehension with the short cycle is that electronics normally fail when you turn it on or off.
The fewer cycles there are the longer it lasts.

Also, plants don't go into light or dark phase instantly, there is a period of time in which hormones build up telling it that it is dark or light and that it is time to change its transpiration.
I would imagine doing this a few times a day can lose some growing time, even if it is just 10 or 15 minute blocks, they add up. This is an untested theory for me, so it is something I'd watch.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
My only apprehension with the short cycle is that electronics normally fail when you turn it on or off.
The fewer cycles there are the longer it lasts.

Also, plants don't go into light or dark phase instantly, there is a period of time in which hormones build up telling it that it is dark or light and that it is time to change its transpiration.
I would imagine doing this a few times a day can lose some growing time, even if it is just 10 or 15 minute blocks, they add up. This is an untested theory for me, so it is something I'd watch.
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I didn't see any evidence of this.

The theory behind the 6/2 schedule under high intensity lighting is to avoid the midday pause; the plants can only take so much and then they stop growing because they're fighting the effects of excess light. If they get a break, they recover and can grow at full speed. For lower light levels this isn't a problem so in that case 24/0 might be a better option.

I wanted high light intensity so the plants were ready for the light levels in bloom.

I had no problems with the extra cycling, whether I was using LED or HID lighting.
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
ttystikk said:
I didn't see any evidence of this.

The theory behind the 6/2 schedule under high intensity lighting is to avoid the midday pause; the plants can only take so much and then they stop growing because they're fighting the effects of excess light. If they get a break, they recover and can grow at full speed. For lower light levels this isn't a problem so in that case 24/0 might be a better option.

I wanted high light intensity so the plants were ready for the light levels in bloom.

I had no problems with the extra cycling, whether I was using LED or HID lighting.
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This is true, but I am unsure if it is because of the light itself or if there just isn't enough CO2 to help drive photosynthesis.

In planted aquariums some people do a 4-hour cycle as it messes with algae that need a bit more than 4 hours to process photosynthates, forcing them to have to restart over and over until they die.
What is also common is running lower wattage for longer hours, as well as another method which has the light levels ramp up over midday and then decrease towards night time using TC420 controllers.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
ANC said:
This is true, but I am unsure if it is because of the light itself or if there just isn't enough CO2 to help drive photosynthesis.

In planted aquariums some people do a 4-hour cycle as it messes with algae that need a bit more than 4 hours to process photosynthates, forcing them to have to restart over and over until they die.
What is also common is running lower wattage for longer hours, as well as another method which has the light levels ramp up over midday and then decrease towards night time using TC420 controllers.
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I don't recommend supplemental CO2 in veg for an interesting reason; it turns out that the plants grow fewer stomata in conditions of high CO2 levels. This works against the effectiveness of supplementing with it, so I ran my veg in ambient CO2 and use flow through ventilation.

Only in bloom did I run a fully sealed space.
 
ANC

ANC

Well-Known Member
I wonder why terrestrial plants would be different in this regard. You should see how plants grow under water when given CO2.

To me, light is like the gas pedal. The harder you step on it the more fuel it uses. Our fuel for the plants are CO2 and the other elements taken up by the roots like a car needs gasoline and oxygen.
Except this car breaks when you step on the pedal too hard because it can't provide fuel fast enough.

I was not saying you need to add CO (for veg), I was trying to convey that the only way to get by with "too high" light levels was adding CO2. The alternative is simply dialing down the light through distance or adjustment.
 
SonsOfAvery

SonsOfAvery

Well-Known Member
@ttystikk I know this was originally about reduced schedules, so do you have any experience with say a 5/3, meaning total of 15hrs light in 24. This could possibly work for the higher intensity lights.. just a thought.
 
BobCajun

BobCajun

Well-Known Member
On the subject of reduced light hours, I suppose if you increased intensity then it would work out similar to longer hours of lower intensity. So with an 8 hour light period you would need 50% more wattage, ppfd or whatever. Maybe plants can take more intensity if it's for a shorter time. At the same power though, my guess is almost linear decrease in growth with decreasing hours. I don't know of any studies showing which is better for short day plants, longer or shorter days of the same total light. It would be something to try. I guess it would be different from one species to another.
 
ttystikk

ttystikk

Well-Known Member
SonsOfAvery said:
@ttystikk I know this was originally about reduced schedules, so do you have any experience with say a 5/3, meaning total of 15hrs light in 24. This could possibly work for the higher intensity lights.. just a thought.
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I used a timing schedule that would give the plants the most light with the shortest break, in order to maximize DLI and growth.
 
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