24 and 18/6 Question

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takeiteasy1

Member
i have a 4x4x6.8 room with mylar. 1000w Mh for veg and 1000w HPS for flowering. im vegging 6 clones right now.

My question is this:

im considering going on a 18/6 schedule. on the 6 does it need to be absolute darkness as if i were flowering?

also, which is more efficient in the veg state? 24 light or 18/6. THANKS

Im looking for the most efficient, most yield producing technique out of the two. meaning which is better for my vegetative plant growth for a more healthy plant?
 
tnelsonfla

tnelsonfla

Active Member
I've always went with the 24 light til flowering and I am happy with the yields. They do grow even with lights off, so if you did lights off 4 hours or 6 make sure you keep that schedule and that adds less stress. Less stress = more yield also. You might also consider adding some CFLs off the sides and down lower to help side growth and get to those areas that might be hid from light coming from above.
 
T

takeiteasy1

Member
tnelsonfla said:
I've always went with the 24 light til flowering and I am happy with the yields. They do grow even with lights off, so if you did lights off 4 hours or 6 make sure you keep that schedule and that adds less stress. Less stress = more yield also. You might also consider adding some CFLs off the sides and down lower to help side growth and get to those areas that might be hid from light coming from above.
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for sure i like that cfl idea. do i have to keep the room in total darkness for the: 6 off?
 
J

jdizzle22

Well-Known Member
takeiteasy1 said:
for sure i like that cfl idea. do i have to keep the room in total darkness for the: 6 off?
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Why not just cut the crap that doesnt get enough light so energy isn't wasted on growth down there? Also saves $$$ and electricity, possibly new hardware, etc Or grow LST/Scrog? You could always bend a plant pretty far over right before or while you switch to 12/12
 
S

stinker

Member
I believe that 24 hours for a plant is too much. Unless it is autoflowering. The plants have to rest. I've used 18/6 even for autoflowering because then I don't have to have three rooms. It also helps when your flushing your plant at the end. Because when you give just plain water the last weeks after sleep what salts are left are used up by the plant. A plant knows when its dark. I never disturb my at all.
 
C

cguzek44

Member
stinker said:
I believe that 24 hours for a plant is too much. Unless it is autoflowering. The plants have to rest. I've used 18/6 even for autoflowering because then I don't have to have three rooms. It also helps when your flushing your plant at the end. Because when you give just plain water the last weeks after sleep what salts are left are used up by the plant. A plant knows when its dark. I never disturb my at all.
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I agree, plants not only grow at night, their roots
also do. Plus I've read that at night the auxins go to the roots and other chemical proceses happen. 20-4 would work, but hou should have some dark.
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
takeiteasy1 said:
for sure i like that cfl idea. do i have to keep the room in total darkness for the: 6 off?
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Not in veg, no worries.

You are wasting $$$$$ with that MH in veg. I've retired my MH and now use T-5 HO's for veg. Less than 1/2 the power and heat and they work great .... for veg.

Still use HID's for flower.

Wet
 
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phusionsa

Active Member
Wetdog said:
Not in veg, no worries.

You are wasting $$$$$ with that MH in veg. I've retired my MH and now use T-5 HO's for veg. Less than 1/2 the power and heat and they work great .... for veg.

Still use HID's for flower.

Wet
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How many T-5's? I'm interested in this..
 
T

takeiteasy1

Member
Wetdog said:
Not in veg, no worries.

You are wasting $$$$$ with that MH in veg. I've retired my MH and now use T-5 HO's for veg. Less than 1/2 the power and heat and they work great .... for veg.

Still use HID's for flower.

Wet
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not that i dont believe you i just love to do research. you mind shown some pics and some info to go to so i can research brotha?
 
T

takeiteasy1

Member
GE 54W 48inch 6500k T5 HO flourescent light would be better than a 1000w MH light for veg growth? i looked it up on the ol' google
 
W

Wetdog

Well-Known Member
phusionsa said:
How many T-5's? I'm interested in this..
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What I have is 2 of HTG's TEK-2 PL-55w lights. 5000 lumens/bulb @55watts. So I get 10,000 lumens and only pull ~110w/fixture. They are 1'x2' in size. Have 6 clones under one and 8 under the other.

HTG now has a TEK-4 that runs four of these bulbs instead of 2. This wasn't available when I bought mine. The PL-L bulb is basically a 4' bulb folded back on itself in a U shape, sorta.

Be best to go to the HTG site and have a look. IIRC they were about $70/fixture when I bought mine, well over a year ago. Bulbs are ~$7.50 each.

IMO, these are about the best value going right now for vegging plants.

If you pick up on one, I'll tell you where to get better replacement bulbs than what HTG offers at the same price ($7.50 each).

Wet
 
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takeiteasy1

Member
cool man. yea i just want on a scale of 1 to 10 like a 7 of potency. and with yield like a 6-7, and i understand that a lot of that has to do with genetics.. and i want energy saving lights, cool temps to operate with, etc. nothing like a commercial grower would go with. 2 harvests are good with me a year if the t5's slow the veg down that much. then ill just use the hps for flowering
 
alotaball

alotaball

Well-Known Member
when running the mh 1000 watter I would go 18/6.. if you go to a t5 setup .. I would stay 24 hrs a day.
 
T

takeiteasy1

Member
alotaball said:
when running the mh 1000 watter I would go 18/6.. if you go to a t5 setup .. I would stay 24 hrs a day.
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aw yea? would that keep the veg state about the same?
also ive heard that the plants need time to rest, dark time. which makes a 24 time bad...whats up with that?
 
alotaball

alotaball

Well-Known Member
Well when I was running my mh 1000 watter before I bought my t5 setup... the plants preferred the 18/6.. after 18 hours they would kinda droop like they needed a rest.. then when the lights came on they were perky and ready for the next day.. but with the t5 setup i noticed no ill effects from 24 straight.. and the nodes were tighter.. I could work on the plants any time of the day.. just worked out better... but I think 24 hrs of 1000 watts of MH is just overkill.. so 18/6 when the plants are getting tons of lumens and need a rest every night.. or 24 hrs straight if its a t5 that doesnt really tire the girls out seems like they stay a little more compact under 24 hrs of t5 .. almost as compact as when I used the 1000 watter for veg.. and thats not bad considering im using 1/4 of the watts with my t5 setup. Sorry im rambling.. im blazed lol
 
T

takeiteasy1

Member
alotaball said:
Well when I was running my mh 1000 watter before I bought my t5 setup... the plants preferred the 18/6.. after 18 hours they would kinda droop like they needed a rest.. then when the lights came on they were perky and ready for the next day.. but with the t5 setup i noticed no ill effects from 24 straight.. and the nodes were tighter.. I could work on the plants any time of the day.. just worked out better... but I think 24 hrs of 1000 watts of MH is just overkill.. so 18/6 when the plants are getting tons of lumens and need a rest every night.. or 24 hrs straight if its a t5 that doesnt really tire the girls out seems like they stay a little more compact under 24 hrs of t5 .. almost as compact as when I used the 1000 watter for veg.. and thats not bad considering im using 1/4 of the watts with my t5 setup. Sorry im rambling.. im blazed lol
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fukit man im not worried lol. yeah im seriously thinking about getting the T5 HO's cuz they are cheaper and almost my main concern is the temps.. the MH is fukn stressn me out its so hot, sometimes reaching 100. so yea those seem like the best deal for me. did you notice any drop in the amount of yield and quality?
 
alotaball

alotaball

Well-Known Member
well no not at all.. but i run a t5 for veg but flower under 2000 watts of eye hortilux hps so i have never flowered under the t5... but for veg.. works great.. hardly any heat.. love it
 
T

takeiteasy1

Member
alotaball said:
well no not at all.. but i run a t5 for veg but flower under 2000 watts of eye hortilux hps so i have never flowered under the t5... but for veg.. works great.. hardly any heat.. love it
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That sounds great. im goin to look more into buying now than just research because im getting nothing but better reviews for the T5 HO's than MH... and i have a 1000 HPS for my 4x4x7.
 
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