how many hours a day?

I

Illuminati78

Active Member
I am getting the feeling that at the time of flowering, I should go with a twelve and twelve light span. currently Im using a twenty-three hours on, one hour off span for three 20 day olds. At what point should I start manipulating my schedule? Im also using a thousand watt m/h, and plan to switch to my HPS at about 75 days; is this an accurate time span?


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BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
Illuminati78 said:
I am getting the feeling that at the time of flowering, I should go with a twelve and twelve light span. currently Im using a twenty-three hours on, one hour off span for three 20 day olds. At what point should I start manipulating my schedule? Im also using a thousand watt m/h, and plan to switch to my HPS at about 75 days; is this an accurate time span?
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Why the 23/0? That one hour off seems silly to me. Go 24/0 or 18/6. The one hour off isn't going to do anything for the plant and nothing noticeable to your electric bill.

As for when to go 12/12 to start flowering, right about the time the pre-flowers start. That is a sign of a mature plant. You can do 12/12 from seed, but a healthy veg stage makes for a good plant.
75 days seems about right. The plant should be rather healthy.
 
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Illuminati78

Active Member
thanks for the clarification. My only answer as a newbie can only be that its what I was told was the time to use in vegetative. 18/6 sounds like something I might want to try in a few days. That's strictly an electric bill benefit? Or is there any difference the plant will have to?
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
as BigBudBalls mentioned vegging with 24/0, 20/4 or 18/6 are the "normal" choices - though you find growers who have very intricate light cycle ideas.

12/12 is by far the most recommended light schedule for flowering.
 
vandula

vandula

New Member
what are preflowers? i keep hearing about them what do they look like? when do u see them, ie. how many days into 12/12?
 
sens1

sens1

Well-Known Member
Flower whenever you think your plants are ready (big enough)! Go to 12/12hrs and start flowering, typically this would be at around 4-6 weeks, but it really depends, there is not set age/height - it's up to you. Your plants (depending on strain) will probably double or more in size by harvest, so take that into account if growing in small space.
 
BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
email468 said:
as BigBudBalls mentioned vegging with 24/0, 20/4 or 18/6 are the "normal" choices - though you find growers who have very intricate light cycle ideas.

12/12 is by far the most recommended light schedule for flowering.
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I really forgot where I read it, and forgot the particulars (so forgive me) But its was a trick during flowering, where you would do something like 10/12. This gave you 1 or 2 more 'days' during a month.

(I just wanna get some buds before I screw around too much)
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
BigBudBalls said:
I really forgot where I read it, and forgot the particulars (so forgive me) But its was a trick during flowering, where you would do something like 10/12. This gave you 1 or 2 more 'days' during a month.

(I just wanna get some buds before I screw around too much)
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they need at least 12 uninterrupted hours of darkness to start flowering but you can go 10/14 or something like that. From what i understand, the buds will be bigger but leafier and take longer to finish - though i have never tried it either. I have tried all the light cycles and noted no significant difference but since i was using different strains (and lights) it is hardly solid evidence - really no evidence at all.
 
BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
email468 said:
they need at least 12 uninterrupted hours of darkness to start flowering but you can go 10/14 or something like that. From what i understand, the buds will be bigger but leafier and take longer to finish - though i have never tried it either. I have tried all the light cycles and noted no significant difference but since i was using different strains (and lights) it is hardly solid evidence - really no evidence at all.
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Well at 10/12 you do have 12 hours of dark. But the start stop times aren't the same time every day. It moves 2 hours from the previous.
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
seeing preflowers is dependent on the amount of time you let the plants veg for - the light cycle is irrelevant. preflowers tend to appear on the 4th or 5th node of a plant with 7 or 8 nodes. i would guesstimate at least 4-6 weeks of veg time before preflowers appear (but your mileage may vary). also - it is very difficult to determine sex using preflowers alone - better to wait before culling males until you are 100% certain.
 
BigBudBalls

BigBudBalls

Well-Known Member
Coop25 said:
24/0 lights, will you still see preflowers befor you swicth to 12/12 or can you only see them when on 18/6, and can i still clone a plant that shows preflowers on 18/6??? thanks
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Yup. You can clone a plant in flowering from what I've read, but best while still in veg. If in Veg and showing preflowers, its still veg. Those preflowers do not develop into real flowers if still under veg lighting cycles.
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
BigBudBalls said:
Well at 10/12 you do have 12 hours of dark. But the start stop times aren't the same time every day. It moves 2 hours from the previous.
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i would strongly recommend AGAINST any cycle that does not add up to 24 (that is the plant's circadian rhythm and probably shouldn't be messed with).

so 10/14 or 11/13 or i guess even 9/15 - though i suspect 12/12 is best since every book, website, FAQ and fellow growers recommend it nearly exclusively. About as close to a consensus as i have ever seen when it comes to growing.
 
S

Streetsk8

Well-Known Member
Ok so to clarify what happening here.
24/0 hours are good when u make clones
since the clones needs an always open light to get energy and make root
u can veg throught 24/0 and have maybe a 10% increase in growth rate
but 10 % is hard to see really
lol
so 18/6 is tha best for vege and electricity bill. but that not the point of 18/6
a nature plant as that kind of light when they growth in summer

Now
for the preflower
it is just like a flower
means that it is showing white pistil already
that is preflower
and that means its a female
so u can take clones and me quite sure they will be female !~
that how it is done
got any more question ?
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
Streetsk8 said:
Ok so to clarify what happening here.
24/0 hours are good when u make clones
since the clones needs an always open light to get energy and make root
u can veg throught 24/0 and have maybe a 10% increase in growth rate
but 10 % is hard to see really
lol
so 18/6 is tha best for vege and electricity bill. but that not the point of 18/6
a nature plant as that kind of light when they growth in summer

Now
for the preflower
it is just like a flower
means that it is showing white pistil already
that is preflower
and that means its a female
so u can take clones and me quite sure they will be female !~
that how it is done
got any more question ?
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there isn't 18 hours of daylight all summer. there is also no proof 18/6 is better for veg.

Preflowers aren't all females - not sure what you're saying there. Not every plant preflowers - you usually have to let them veg longer than most of us are willing or able to accommodate before switching to 12/12 (which also rarely occurs in nature for any great length of time).
 
S

Streetsk8

Well-Known Member
I know about this !
i got 8 plants
6 got preflowers and 2 dont
i never said it wasnt like this :P
just telling that preflowers
if there is pistil
its female
if its sack its a male
there no other preflowers than this
or maybe are u cheking ur plant with 100x zoom
i only use my eye
 
email468

email468

Well-Known Member
Streetsk8 said:
I know about this !
i got 8 plants
6 got preflowers and 2 dont
i never said it wasnt like this :P
just telling that preflowers
if there is pistil
its female
if its sack its a male
there no other preflowers than this
or maybe are u cheking ur plant with 100x zoom
i only use my eye
Click to expand...
i believe i misunderstood what you were saying - sorry about that :joint:
 
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