will my power strip light affect night cycle?
- Thread starter Luger187
- Start date
DankShasta
Active Member
duct tape, and for Steph...better safe than sorry. I read once that a one watt led can lower yields by 30% when in close proximity to the girls. I'd cover it up. I have seen those little power strip lights be fairly bright when in a completely dark room. Why be a dick?
purplehazin
Well-Known Member
Yeah just use a small strip of duct tape or electrical tape. And yeah, it would do some harm to your plants.
Luger187
Well-Known Member
yes the little orange light. its pretty bright, and i can see my plants in the dark cycle because it lights them up a bit
Luger187
Well-Known Member
thanks guys, ill use some electrical tape
blaze1camp
Well-Known Member
everyone has there own beliefs but i myself dont think it would hurt to much...i have had light leaks since day 1 and have not had a problem but i guess its better to be safe then sorry...
Yes, those little indicator lights on your power strips, fans, air pumps, etc will indeed screw up your dark cycle. Often I hear "if it's not brighter than the moon, blah blah blah..." There's not a lot of people that know what night looks like unmolested by city glow. For one, it gets dark in the country. Two, just because we can see the light doesn't mean the plant can. The light we see isn't the light the plant uses. Dark means DARK. Completely dark.
Second thing I've noticed. You can't run a true 12/12 cycle with HID lighting. You ever been in a growroom when the HPS's shut off? Guess what, you can still see. Just as it takes em a second to heat up, so it takes a second to cool down. If you have your HID set for exactly 12/12, in reality, however weak the intensity may be, your girls are getting more light than dark.... a full indoor season of that will kill your crop yield. I would suggest 11:55 light/12:05 dark (example: turn on at 6am, turn off at 5:55PM). You are garaunteed not to give em too much or too little light.
Second thing I've noticed. You can't run a true 12/12 cycle with HID lighting. You ever been in a growroom when the HPS's shut off? Guess what, you can still see. Just as it takes em a second to heat up, so it takes a second to cool down. If you have your HID set for exactly 12/12, in reality, however weak the intensity may be, your girls are getting more light than dark.... a full indoor season of that will kill your crop yield. I would suggest 11:55 light/12:05 dark (example: turn on at 6am, turn off at 5:55PM). You are garaunteed not to give em too much or too little light.
ill second that...
karr
Well-Known Member
i really don't think the turn on time (and off time) for a hps light is going to affect your crop and certainly adding 5 minutes of dark isnt going to rectify any problem. You have to remember that these are plants, not machines. Machines expect certain peramiters to be fulfilled on time and consistently or they fail(or otherwise hindered). Plants never get anything consistent. Everything in nature is changing(one could argue equatorial breeds, but those have developed differently to suit).
You should not think that every strain need exactly 12 hours night and 12 dark. some do. most dont. 12/12 is safest for sure, but some plants will not even flower until something like 11/13. some will flower in 13/11. Every strain is unique.
Some people have been recently experimenting on using UV radiation at night to basically trick the plant into believing the 15 hours of light is actually 12 or less and as such flowering continues.
On a side note, you may see more people switch to a 10 hour dark cycle, then again maybe not;
"a quick skim through the book reveals a world changing thesis for all cannabis growers. Ed states the old 12/12 light system should be replaced. Under the title “Critical Light Period” he states on page 373 that your flowers need only “10 hours of darkness daily, they can be provided 14 rather than 12 hours of light each day so that they receive almost 17% more energy with which to produce sugars used for more and faster growth.”
back on original topic. I would cover it to be safe. i mean why not? most likely it would do very little, but were not about just squeaking by. almost everything we do is about getting the most from what we have. Who knows, it could be enough stress to make the fem have a few herm flowers, just one of which can ruin a whole crop.
You should not think that every strain need exactly 12 hours night and 12 dark. some do. most dont. 12/12 is safest for sure, but some plants will not even flower until something like 11/13. some will flower in 13/11. Every strain is unique.
Some people have been recently experimenting on using UV radiation at night to basically trick the plant into believing the 15 hours of light is actually 12 or less and as such flowering continues.
On a side note, you may see more people switch to a 10 hour dark cycle, then again maybe not;
"a quick skim through the book reveals a world changing thesis for all cannabis growers. Ed states the old 12/12 light system should be replaced. Under the title “Critical Light Period” he states on page 373 that your flowers need only “10 hours of darkness daily, they can be provided 14 rather than 12 hours of light each day so that they receive almost 17% more energy with which to produce sugars used for more and faster growth.”
back on original topic. I would cover it to be safe. i mean why not? most likely it would do very little, but were not about just squeaking by. almost everything we do is about getting the most from what we have. Who knows, it could be enough stress to make the fem have a few herm flowers, just one of which can ruin a whole crop.
