What is better 18 hours or 24 hours of light..

tenament

Member
This is pure speculation also Bullethead, but don't plants switch to breathing oxygen during the dark stages? Is there really concrete evidence that this machine doesn't need a resting time like other living things? You must consider that the plant, as robust and beautiful as it is, may need some rest to give the plant opportunities that 24/7 light doesn't. :)

I remember a friend of mine would start cuttings under 22/2, and for each week vegging he would decrease the amount of light to simulate nature best. Of course he was also an organic nut and used only bone meal and worm casings, but his plants were lush and always of top quality. Maybe there is some fruit to this dark business ;)

AGAIN Pure speculation =)

onelove
 

Brick Top

New Member
The problem I have always had with a 24/0 light cycle is it robs plants in the vegetative stage of growth of their most efficient more productive hours of growth.
 
During hours of light plants multitask. They take in as much energy as they can and it is allocated for all various different plant functions, including the storage of energy for growth during periods of darkness. Because the plant is multitasking it can only allocate a small amount of energy to different plant functions due to the number of them and the limited amount of energy to draw on.
 
During hours of darkness plants stop multitasking and put all their stored energy into just a few primary functions, growth being one of them. Because of this during hours of darkness growth receives an increased amount of energy to use for growth so during the 6 hours of darkness in an 18/6 light cycle the plant grows at the slower daylight growth speed and then gets 8 hours of increased energy for growth and for those 8 hours it grows more efficiently and faster.
 
So what benefit is it to rob plants of those hours of darkness, the very hours when by their genetics they have their most efficient growth?

Does it really makes sense to replace those 8 hours of ultra-efficient growth with 8 hours of less efficient growth?
 

Ring'n

Active Member
Thanks for the informative read.

I think in my case (Using CFL's) I will veg @ 24hr for a couple weeks and see how it goes.

I do need to ask this:
After you hit 12/12 wont that be enough to boost the roots during flowering, or is the plant concentrated
on the flowering and no longer the root system?
Is the veg stage the optimal time to boost the root system as it is concentrated on growth
of the plant and not the flowering?
 

Evil Buddies

Ganja King
In the dark periods the roots grow more and become stronger. Leave on 24/7 and it doesnt promote root production.

Most people do 18/6 for a reason as its tried and tested the best.

I feel that its good for them to have dark period then they can rest a bit. Cool down in temp but i geuss some strains respond different to diff living conditions.

Evil
 

meowmix

Active Member
im using the stinkbud setup.

instead of hoping my roots grow out and get crazy huge I CHOP THE FUCK OUT OF EM!!!!

BWAHAHAAHA
 

redivider

Well-Known Member
actually this has been addressed before.

weed can grow just fine with 24/0, because that particular type of plant doesn't have the type of plant cycle that requires several hours of dark...

the thing is that there is no appreciable difference between having a plant on 24/0 or on 18/6.

a grower running 250 watts, running it at 18/6 for 30 days, 18 cents per kw/h, would pay $26.73 in utilities. if that same grower runs it at 24/0 then he spends $35.64.

that's a difference of $8.91 per month. if we pretend the grow lasts 8 months, that's 71.28 dollars over the course of the grow.

basically this hypothetical grower is gonna spend 70 more dollars on utilities without getting 70 more dollars worth of weed.

nobody has proven that using 24/0 gets you more bud. they just prove it can be done.... i think 24/0 is wasteful..... that's just me....
 

baddfrog0221

Active Member
I listen to my plants, if they're not loving the light they will tell me. Growth and production does not need to stop in a plant. When it does the plant slows down and gets ready to flower, the marijuana plant can grow continuously during the veg state. The only thing that can hurt the growth is excess heat or humidity. Otherwise they stay on auto pilot from start to flower. Now I don't want to get ahead of myself because I am not that experienced, but until I come across a strand that grows in the dark I am going to 24/7 these babies.
 

BUDDZY

Well-Known Member
16 hours of light will also give you more females if you're trying to make seeds. colder temps too
 

Dysprositos

Member
I just wanted to say that this thread is awesome! Great info for comparisons. Any final conclusions made by certified/scientists/etc?
 
16 hours of light will also give you more females if you're trying to make seeds. colder temps too
Not that I don't believe you, I want to believe you. however, Is there any proof that suggest or definitively outlines this claim? I would definitely be using 16 cycle if there is science to back up this claim.
 

riddleme

Well-Known Member
Not that I don't believe you, I want to believe you. however, Is there any proof that suggest or definitively outlines this claim? I would definitely be using 16 cycle if there is science to back up this claim.
you brought up a 3 year old thread and most of these members are gone, there is no proof or science, only breeders observations, but if it helps I always start with 16 hours and then slowly work up to 18 to simulate nature
 
Top