24/0 vs. 18/6 for veg

zigzag24

zigzag24

Active Member
Newbie here. Going to be using a hydro drip system for veg, and wondering if there are any disadvantages to running 24/0 rather than 18/6? I will be using HO cfl's for vegging.

will be starting w fem seeds, but cloning after that. thanks for any help
 
P

PVFISHBUM

Active Member
I veg 24/0 using T-5's but talked to a veteran grower today that told me he sets his clones under 1000W HPS in his flower room and runs them at 18/6 to veg. Once they reach the size he like based on the strain. he throws the 12/12 trigger. Seems unorthodox to me and a lot of extra energy - but - he swears by the method. BTW - this is a hydro flood & drain with 2 gal pots.


GooD Luck either way.
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
I veg using a 400W MH and in my personal experience, and opinion, as well as through my own personal trials, I have found that of 18/6, 20/4 and 24/0 ... 20/4 has always performed best, providing fast as well as the healthiest canopy and root growth.

Again, this is MY OPINION based on my experiments in my growing environment, all of those veg periods work great, I personally have found in MY EXPERIENCE 20/4 to be the best photoperiod for the vegetative growth stage of the plants life.
This is not a fact, I have yet to see anyone prove, with facts, which of these photoperiods is technically the best.

But that's my opinion, my experience - So feel free to take it or leave it.

Only thing that maybe can be seen as a disadvantage of 24/0 is no dark period, some people argue that no dark period is a good thing, I personally believe that the plants like that 'rest' time to work on root development, and healthy roots = healthy canopy which = healthy buds!

The advantage 24/0 and even 20/4 has over 18/6 is those few extra hours of light for the plant to obsorb. Disadvantage of 24/0 is the powerbill! lol - But that won't be too steep with CFLs anyway.

Hope something in there makes sense and is useful to you haha!
 
jimtufano12

jimtufano12

Well-Known Member
Well there are a lot of opinions when it comes to how long you leave your veg light on. I myself leave it on 24/7 for the first couple weeks after the sprout pops out the soil but after that i turn it to 18/6. There isnt too much of a difference between the two. You'd aslo save a little electricity shutting it off for 6 hours. and Plants sometimes Have growth spurts during the dark cycle. Its good to sometimes water while dark.
 
zigzag24

zigzag24

Active Member
thanks for the input guys. I guess if there is no growth speed difference, I will go 18/6 or even try 20/4.

I will def leave them on 24/7 first week or so like you mentioned jim.
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
thanks for the input guys. I guess if there is no growth speed difference, I will go 18/6 or even try 20/4.

I will def leave them on 24/7 first week or so like you mentioned jim.
Click to expand...
20/4 does seem to be faster than 18/6 - and it makes sense it would be due to the 2 hours of extra light whilst still having a dark period. But I may be biased as it is my preferred vegetative photoperiod and I've settled on it firmly now... If that even makes sense lol
 
jimtufano12

jimtufano12

Well-Known Member
Every one has their own style. You Can Do your veg a lot of different ways. To be honest the 20/4 light schedule may be a little better because you still have some dark and ALOT of light. just make sure you start decreasing it the closer you start getting to flowering. This is another reason why I like to have 6 Hours of dark. Sometimes it tells the plants to show signs of their sex faster. When im a week or two before flower i Change my light cycle to 15/9 and gradually cut it down an hour a day or so until I reach the 12/12 light cycle. The plants seem too like it because it resembles the sun. Nature Knows Best!
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
Every one has their own style. You Can Do your veg a lot of different ways. To be honest the 20/4 light schedule may be a little better because you still have some dark and ALOT of light. just make sure you start decreasing it the closer you start getting to flowering. This is another reason why I like to have 6 Hours of dark. Sometimes it tells the plants to show signs of their sex faster. When im a week or two before flower i Change my light cycle to 15/9 and gradually cut it down an hour a day or so until I reach the 12/12 light cycle. The plants seem too like it because it resembles the sun. Nature Knows Best!
Click to expand...
That's also a fair argument. But an argument none the less lol ... I won't agree nor disagree with what limtufano12 is saying, but I will give you the other side of the argument. Which is... Reducing light cycle isn't necessary, 'replicating' the sun sounds like a good idea, but allows less hours under the light and the plant does not produce the required flowering hormones until it's had a few 12 hour dark periods (it's the dark period that trigger flowerin) ... The argument goes that because the plant does not produce proper full flowering hormones until it gets a 12 hour dark period, there's no point in giving it any less light (which is required for vigorous growth!) until you actually want to go into full flower, which is when you switch to 12/12.
That's the other side of the coin, in layman's terms of course lol.

Now as I said, I'm not going to agree or disagree, I'm just giving some info on the thoughts regarding the 'other' side of this theory.
I personally don't reduce the photoperiod at all prior to flowering, light On for 20/4 veg, then switch to HPS bulb and 12/12 when I want to initiate flowering. Works fine. But I've never tried slowly reducing the photoperiod before flowering so it wouldn't be fair for me to knock the idea without even trying it!

Cheers!
 
beginningbotanist420

beginningbotanist420

Well-Known Member
I like to use 18/6 not for any particular growth reason, but for more practical reasons. Why use 6 extra hours of electricity that you don't have to? In a month, thats 180 wasted hours! Also, the six hours of dark helps keep the grow room cool if you keep the fans on.
 
klmmicro

klmmicro

Well-Known Member
I have seen grows using 24/7 and I cannot see results that would justify the extra dollars heading off to the power company. 18/6 here, the plants are healthy and happy.
 
jimtufano12

jimtufano12

Well-Known Member
GreenphoeniX said:
That's also a fair argument. But an argument none the less lol ... I won't agree nor disagree with what limtufano12 is saying, but I will give you the other side of the argument. Which is... Reducing light cycle isn't necessary, 'replicating' the sun sounds like a good idea, but allows less hours under the light and the plant does not produce the required flowering hormones until it's had a few 12 hour dark periods (it's the dark period that trigger flowerin) ... The argument goes that because the plant does not produce proper full flowering hormones until it gets a 12 hour dark period, there's no point in giving it any less light (which is required for vigorous growth!) until you actually want to go into full flower, which is when you switch to 12/12.
That's the other side of the coin, in layman's terms of course lol.

Now as I said, I'm not going to agree or disagree, I'm just giving some info on the thoughts regarding the 'other' side of this theory.
I personally don't reduce the photoperiod at all prior to flowering, light On for 20/4 veg, then switch to HPS bulb and 12/12 when I want to initiate flowering. Works fine. But I've never tried slowly reducing the photoperiod before flowering so it wouldn't be fair for me to knock the idea without even trying it!

Cheers!
Click to expand...

like I said everyone has their own style when it comes to veging. For some of my grows i left the light on 24/7 and some i didnt and i really didnt see too much of a difference and i thought why waste electricity[That im not paying for] so i went to 18/6 because thats the way to do it by the book. Not that you didnt state good facts about plants not producing flowering hormones until they feel signs of darkness. Thats true. I just think that nature knows best and in nature it gets dark and plants want their environment as much like the outdoors as possible. But to not confuse anybody you can leave your light on 18 hours on off for six or you can leave you light on for 24 hours and off for none, and anything in between it wont make your plant shows any EXTREME signs of difference.

:eyesmoke:
 
madcow

madcow

Well-Known Member
im vegging a kush plant right now on 18/6 and im seeing crazy growth during the dark period,its like it only grows in the dark.its slowed down a bit now,but in the first 2 or 3 weeks it was like it only grew at night! :) its diffrent in every strain.
 
GreenphoeniX

GreenphoeniX

Well-Known Member
like I said everyone has their own style when it comes to veging. For some of my grows i left the light on 24/7 and some i didnt and i really didnt see too much of a difference and i thought why waste electricity[That im not paying for] so i went to 18/6 because thats the way to do it by the book. Not that you didnt state good facts about plants not producing flowering hormones until they feel signs of darkness. Thats true. I just think that nature knows best and in nature it gets dark and plants want their environment as much like the outdoors as possible. But to not confuse anybody you can leave your light on 18 hours on off for six or you can leave you light on for 24 hours and off for none, and anything in between it wont make your plant shows any EXTREME signs of difference.
Click to expand...
Totally agree man ... As I said, I like to use 20/4 ... Not too much more electricity usage/costs, a little more light (which I like to believe helps - Although I have no scientific evidence that it actually does lol), and still have a decent dark period ... I have to agree that I think a dark period is really a good thing!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top