TucsonBob

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Date: Thu Jan 26 10:17 PM, 2012

Lighting

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Lighting Types and Intensities

Lumen: A unit of measurement of the total flow of light which is emitted continually from a source. One lumen is equal to the flow of light which is emitted from a very small wax candle.
The common 40 Watt incandescent bulb emits some 400 lm (lumen). So the efficiency of that bulb is 400lm/40Watt= 10 lm/watt.
LUX: = lm/m², the intensity of light which falls on a surface.
Colour Temperature: - measured in degrees Kelvin, the color of a light's output in relationship to the degree of heat applied to produce the specified colour of light. Daylight is measured around 5000 degrees kelvin

If we direct all light from our 40 Watt lamp towards a floor area of 1 square meter the intensity of light on that area will be 400 lux, (400 lumen distributed over 1 square meter, 400/1 lm/m² = 400 lux,) which is a little better than moonlight, but far away from the sunlight intensities we need for growing plants.

The sun gives some 50 000 lm/m²= 50 000 lux at the earth surface on a clear summerday. See the table below.

The 40 Watt incandescent lamp is not only too weak for growing plants, it also has too little blue in its spectrum and is far too inefficient. Fluoroscent tubes and HPS and MH lamps are the better choices.

Cannabis needs 24 hours of strong light for the first 4-6 weeks of vegetative growth. Then it needs 2 months of 12/12 hours of strong light and very dark, to flower and ripen. If they get less than 30000 lux they will still grow vegetatively but slower. And they will flower less, if at all.

Light Requirements of "High Energy" Plants
1000 - 5000 lux	Min. necessary for life
10000 - 15000 lux	Min. necessary for consistent but sparse growth
20000 - 25000 lux	Min. necessary for robust growth
	25000 - 30000 lux	Max. Efficiency for Sub Tropical varieties	25000 - 50000 lux	Max. Efficiency for Equatorial varieties

Plants need 25000-50000 lux too grow fast.

90000 lux Max. Sunlight Intensity on Earth's surface This is too much light, it is not good for the plant.

Plants subject to intensities at this level or greater are at risk of "solarization," whereby photosynthesis is retarded. This can happen at noon on a clear Tropical summer day, especially at high altitudes.

140000 lux Sunlight above atmosphere (Solar Constant)

More advanced theory: Scientific, but has many answers about how and why.

Air Temperatures between 23C (70F) and 32C (90F) are ideal for growth; beyond 35C (95F) can adversely affect plants, retarding photosynthesis, and, in extreme cases, can cause leaf burn if a radiant heat source is nearby.

Calculating with lumen, lux and efficiency:

The cheapest and easiest solution to the beginner is to use fluoroscent tubes. The usual ones are 120 cm (48") long, and give at best 4000 lumen.

*****Ed Note: If you care to get a light meter and measure the light from various distances to your flouros, you'll see immediately that you will want to keep the lights as close to the top of your plants as possible. *****

Your grow room must have at least these dimensions: 140 cm high (these plants get big, 180 cm is better, 120 cm long (to accomodate for the tubes), and wide enough, let's say 60cm (2 feet). The easiest is to build an extra wall, made of silver tarpaulin or wood. This wall is placed 60 cm from a real wall, to create a space of say 200*260*60cm for use as a greenhouse or rather two. Build the wall and divide the space up into two small rooms. Make some type of opening, so you can take care of your plants later. Put in ventilation and cover all inside surfaces with al-foil using a stapler. We want the light to bounce around in there until it finds a green leaf to do its work in. As much light as possible is needed for the growth of the plants. The ventilation consists of a 12Volt fan which pushes the warm air from the green house through a plastic tube which ends outside the house to let the warm moist and odors out. Instead of a fake wall you can disguise the green house as a very big bass speaker, stereo wall, tv-stand, cupboard or whatever.

Buy the fluoros in ready-made units or do it yourself like this:

Buy the bare necessities to put up fluoros, that is reactors, lighters, tube holders, lighter holders, wire.7mm, capacitors and connectors.

Most of these devices have pushcontacts, that means you don't have to solder or screw much, just strip off the insulation from the cable and push it in.

Put up as many tubes as possible in the ceiling of the green house. You might be able to get 6 tubes into every green house half. Every green house has a floor area of 0.60m*1.30m=0.78m² With 6*4000 lumen you get 24000lumen. Divide by 24000lm with 0.78m²to get 31000 lux, which is good enough.

Use hanging mounts for the tubes, they are cheapest and easiest to use. They also make it easier to pack the tubes densely in the cieling or hanging at different levels, hanging only in the thin electric cables. If you manage to get 10 tubes into the top of the green house you get 40000lm/0.78m²= 51300 lux in there.

As another example, let's take one of the most popular hps grow bulbs:

Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
53,000	430	123.3	2000	16k	Philips, SON T AGRO

The Son-T-Agro gives out 53000 lumen. If we use a reflector to direct all of that light towards a floor area of 2 m² we get a light intensity on that area of 53000 lumen/2 m², which is 26500 lumen/m²(=lux)

We can see in table 3 above that it fits in: "25000 - 30000 lux =Max. Efficiency for Sub Tropical varieties".

We add some daylight fluoros, 6 fluoros a 4000 lumen=24000 lumen. Divide by floor area 2 m² to get =12000lumen/m²=12000lux

Together the hps and the fluoros give 26500+12000=38500lux in the 2 m²big grow room. see table 3: 25000 - 50000 lux Max. Efficiency for Equatorial varieties.

This combination will draw 430Watt+6*40Watt+100Watt in the ballast units, total =530+240=770Watt of electricity.

Our total efficiency is 53 000 + 24 000 lm divided with 770 Watt, which is 77 000 lumen /770 Watt = 100 lm/Watt

At 38500 lux we have an illumination which is optimal for growth,

Illumination Chart

Light Intensity (lux) as a Function of Area Illuminated (m²)
Light Source	lumens	1.0 m²	1.5 m²	2.0 m²	2.5 m²	3.0 m²	3.5 m²	4.0 m²
1000W HPS	140000	--	--	70000	56000	46700	40000	35000
600W HPS	90000	--	60000	45000	36000	30000	25700	22500
400W HPS	50000	50000	33300	25000	20000	--	--	--
250W HPS	29000	29000	19300	--	--	--	--	--

1000W MH	115000	--	--	57500	46000	38300	32900	28800
400W MH	40000	40000	26700	20000	--	--	--	--

For example, from this chart we can see that a 600W HPS used to illuminate an area of 2.5 m² will result in a lighting intensity of 36000 lux. Note that this presumes that a reflector is being used so that all the light is being directed towards this 2.5 m² area.

LIGHT BULB PRODUCT LIST

HPS Conversion
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
40,500	360	112.5	1900	24k	Philips C150S63/RETROLUX
23,000	215	106.9	1900	24k	Philips C215S65/RETROLUX
15,000	150	100	1900	24k	Philips C260S64/RETROLUX

High Presssure Sodium (HPS) bulbs
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
140000	1000	140.0	2100	24000	Philips C1000S52 Ceramalux
130000	1000	130.0	2100	24000	Sylvania LU1000 Lumalux
130000	940	138.3	2100	24000	IwasakiEyeSunluxUltraAceMHcnv)
90000	600	150.0	2100	24000	Philips C600S106 Ceramalux
84000	600	140.0	2100	18000	Sylvania LU600 Planta
53000	430	123.3	2100	16000	Philips Son T Agro 430W
51500	430	119.8	2100	18000	Sylvania LU430 Planta
50000	400	125.0	2100	24000	Philips C400S51 Ceramalux
50000	400	125.0	2100	24000	Sylvania LU400 Lumalux
47500	360	131.9	2100	24000	Philips C360S51/EW Ceramalux
45000	360	125.0	2100	24000	IwasakiEyeSunluxUltraAceMHcnv)
29000	250	116.0	2100	24000	Sylvania LU250 Lumalux
28500	250	114.0	2100	24000	Philips C250S50 Ceramalux
27500	225	122.2	2100	24000	Philips C225S50/EW Ceramalux
22000	200	110.0	<2100	24000	Sylvania LU200 Lumalux
16000	150	106.7	<2100	24000	Sylvania LU150 Lumalux
6300	70	90.0	<2100	24000	Sylvania LU70 Lumalux

MasterColor (MH)
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
6200	70	88.6	3000	7500	Philips CDM70/U/M
6200	70	88.6	3000	7500	Philips CDM70/C/U/M
9500	100	95	3000	10k	Philips CDM100/V/M
9200	100	92	3000	10k	Philips CDM100/C/V/M

Metal Halide (MH) bulbs
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
125000	1000	125.0	4200	12000	Iwasaki MH BSX/BU 1000
115000	1000	115.0	4000	12000	Sylvania MS1000/BU SupMetalarc
115000	1000	115.0	3400	12000	Sylvania MS1000/C/BUSupMetalarc
111000	1000	125.0	3700	10000	Philips MH1000/U/BT37
40000	400	100.0	4300	20000	Philips MS400/HOR
40000	400	100.0	5000	20000	Philips 5K High Output Metal Halide
39000	400	97.5	4200	20000	Sylvania MS400/HOR SupMetalarc
38000	400	95.0	4200	20000	Iwasaki MH 400 Eye Sunlux
38000	400	95.0	3800	20000	SylvaniaMS400/C/HOR SupMetalarc
34500	400	86.3	3200	20000	Sylvania MS400/3K/HOR Super

Metalarc
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
23000	250	92.0	4300	10000	Philips MS250/HOR
23000	250	92.0	4200	10000	Sylvania MS250/HOR SupMetalarc
22000	250	88.0	3800	10000	Sylvania MS250/C/HORSuMetalarc
18000	250	72.0	3200	10000	Sylvania MS250/3K/HOR Super

Metalarc
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
15000	175	85.7	4300	10000	Philips MS175/HOR
15000	175	85.7	4200	7500	Sylvania MS175/HOR SupMetalarc
15000	175	85.7	3800	7500	Sylvania MS175/C/HORSMetalarc
15000	175	74.3	3200	7500	Sylvania MS175/3K/HOR Super

Metalarc
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
9300	100	93.0	4200	7500	Philips 4K Master Color ED-17
8500	100	85.0	3200	10000	Philips MS100/BU/BD/M/3K
7800	100	78.0	4300	10000	Philips MH100/U/ED28/HR
6800	100	68.0	4200	7500	Philips 4K Master Color PAR-38

Flourescent tubes, 48"
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
4400	60	73.3	3000	12000	Sylvania F48T12/D830/HODesigner
4250	60	70.8	4100	12000	Sylvania F48T12/D41/HO Designer
4250	60	70.8	3500	12000	Sylvania F48T12/D35/HO Designer
4250	60	70.8	4100	12000	Philips F48T12/SPEC41/HO
4250	60	70.8	3500	12000	Philips F48T12/SPEC35/HO
4250	60	70.8	3000	12000	Philips F48T12/SPEC30/HO
3700	40	92.5	5000	24000	Philips F40/AX50 Advantage X
3700	40	92.5	4100	24000	Philips F40/AX41 Advantage X
3700	40	92.5	3500	24000	Philips F40/AX35 Advantage X
3700	40	92.5	3000	24000	Philips F40/AX35 Advantage X
3600	40	90.0	5000	24000	Philips F40T12/ADV50/ALTO
3600	40	90.0	4100	24000	Philips F40T12/ADV41/ALTO
3600	40	90.0	3500	24000	Philips F40T12/ADV35/ALTO
3600	40	90.0	3000	24000	Philips F40T12/ADV30/ALTO
3500	40	87.5	4100	20000	GE Staybright
3500	40	87.5	3500	20000	GE Staybright
3500	40	87.5	3000	20000	GE Staybright
3400	60	56.6	6500	12000	Philips F48T12/D/HODaylight
3300	40	82.5	3000	20000	Philips F40T12HomeLightWarm
3300	40	82.5	4100	20000	Sylvania F40/D841 Desi800
3300	40	82.5	3500	20000	Sylvania F40/D835 Desi800
3300	40	82.5	3000	20000	Sylvania F40/D830 Desi800
3300	40	82.5	4100	20000	Philips F40/41U Ultralume
3300	40	82.5	3500	20000	Philips F40/35U Ultralume
3300	40	82.5	3000	20000	Philips F40/30U Ultralume
3280	40	82.0	5000	20000	Philips F40/50U Ultralume
3200	40	80.0	4100	20000	Philips F40T12HomeLightCool
3200	40	80.0	3500	20000	Philips F40T12HomeLightWarm
3000	40	75.0	6500	20000	Sylvania F40/D865 Design800
2325	40	58.1	6500	20000	Philips F40DXDaylightDeluxe
2250	40	56.3	5000	20000	GE F40/SUNSunshineFullSp
1900	40	47.5	3050	20000	GE F40PL/AQ/WS Plant&Aquarium
1875	40	46.9	3400	20000	Sylvania F40GRO/WS Gro-Lux
1600	40	40.0	na	20000	Philips Agro-Lite
800	40	20.0	6750	20000	GE F40PL Gro & Sho

Mercury Vapor bulbs
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
60500	1000	60.5	4300	24000	SylvaniaH36GW-1000/DXBrWhDlx
23000	400	57.5	3500	24000	SylvaniaH33GL-400/N Warmtone
22000	400	55.0	4300	24000	SylvaniaH33GL-400/DX BrWhDlx
13000	250	52.0	3500	24000	SylvaniaH37KC-250/N Warmtone
12500	250	50.0	4300	24000	SylvaniaH37KC-250/DX BrWhDlx
8900	175	50.9	<3500	24000	SylvaniaH39KC-175/N Warmtone
8400	175	48.0	<4300	24000	SylvaniaH39KC-175/DX BrWhDlx
4500	100	45.0	<3500	24000	SylvaniaH38JA-100/N Warmtone
4100	100	41.0	<4300	24000	SylvaniaH38JA-100/DX BrWhDlx

Tungsten Halogen Quartz double end lamps
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
22000	1000	22.0	<3200	2000	Sylvania 1000T3Q/CL
21000	1000	21.0	<3200	3000	Philips 1000T3Q/P/CL cl pl
11000	500	22.0	<3200	2000	Sylvania 500T3Q/CL
10500	500	21.0	<3200	3000	Philips500T3Q/P/CL ClPlusline
10000	350	28.6	3075	2000	GE Q350T3/CL/ULTRA
9200	400	23.0	<3200	2000	Philips 400T3Q/CL Clear
6000	300	20.0	<3200	3000	Philips300T3Q/P/CL ClPlusline

Standard Incandescent Bulbs 110V/230V
Lumen	Watt	lm/watt	Kelvin	Hours	Manufacturer, Name
400	40	10.0	2000	1000	40 Watt Std. Incandescent Bulb

Equivalences:

1 lm/m²(lumens per square meter): = 1 lux (lx)
= 10^-4 lm/cm²
= 10^-4 phot (ph)
= 0.093 lm/ft²
= 0.093 foot-candles (fc)
1 meter = 3.3 feet
1 square meter = 10.8 square feet
1 foot = 0.3 meter
This information was barrowed and is for educational purposes only

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Sabali

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Date: Fri Jan 27 7:49 PM, 2012

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very helpful thanks bob __________________ Be who you are and say what you feel because those who mind dont matter and those who matter dont mind - Dr. Seuss

TucsonBob

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Date: Wed Feb 1 7:04 PM, 2012

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I've been studing this method of lighting i'm going to give it a try and will let every body know how this works.
Grow Bigger and Better,Saving 30-50% on your energy cost!
Grow Bigger and Better,Saving 30-50% on your energy cost!

By Joe Pietri

The biggest innovator in the history of cannabis in my generation is Reinhard Delp. Not only did he invent and holder of the patent for ice water extraction, he has been building flower forcers since 1992. His new solar powered Sun-gate is the leader of the industry. He was the first to feminize seeds and sell them in Europe in the late 90’s. His process was done naturally, without the use of any chemicals.

No one is more copied but seldom matched than Mr. Delp, who to me is the top grower of our generation.

The first time he impressed me he showed me 2 plants, planted next to one another, 1 completely covered in powdery mildew, the other completely clean and beautiful.
He was developing mildew and mold resistant genetics.

In the late 90’s Reinhard brought back the gas lantern routine that you find in any college grade horticulture book, and applied it to cannabis. Cannabis needs only 13 hours to stay in growth state. The 18-6 lighting in growth pattern, actually stress your plants, that never get that much light in one-day outdoors. Cannabis is an outdoor plant. Growing indoors you should copy how it grows outdoors.

No Cannabis growing in Afghanistan gets 18 hours of light in growth pattern. Most strains today have some part Indica in their genetic pool. Even equatorial strains don’t get 18 hours of sun a day.

12-1 lighting is as follows: 12 hours lights on, 5.5 lights off, 1-hour lights on, 5.5 lights off, and repeat schedule. The 1 hour on in between off period fools the plants that stay in growth state!

Your immediate savings is 5 hours in energy costs daily, as well as your bulbs and equipment lasting longer. But how do the plants react to this lighting schedule?

You see immediate growth response from your plants, they are happy from the added rest time. By day 14 the plants tripled in size. The plants are bushy with twice as many bud sites without topping or bending, In fact, when you top and stretch your plants out, you get many more bud sites than you would have had under 18-6 using same procedure of topping and stretching plant, your growing bigger and better and faster.

So you're saving 5 hours daily in energy costs, as well as your accelerated growth pattern which also saves you time and energy and equipment use.

In the growth cycle, never use 12-12, start your flowering period at 11 hours on 13 hours off. When your are growing outdoors each day you get less and less sun light, you should copy the way the sun acts naturally in your indoor grow. So first 2 weeks of flower you go 11 on 13 off, the next 2 weeks you go down to 10.5 on 13.5 off, next 2 weeks 10 on 14 off, next two weeks 9.5 on 14.5 off and the last weeks of flower you should be at 9 hours on and 15 hours off. You’ll get bigger and better buds by copying the way the sun light works on cannabis outdoors.

Cannabis is an outdoor plant and you should copy the way it grows outdoors indoors. The only thing that 18-6, and then 12-12 do is make the energy companies rich as well as the people who sell lights and equipment, the more you use the more you spend. 12-1 is a more natural way to grow indoors and you well have the best results you have ever had and save as much as 50% in energy costs.

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TucsonBob

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Date: Thu Feb 2 3:34 PM, 2012

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i'm going to try this method soon will post a grow long when I do __________________

migrainehater

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Date: Fri Feb 3 4:18 AM, 2012

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Thanks Bob. Great info. Please keep us posted as to the results. __________________ Warning......I may or may not know WTF I'm talking about. Registered AZDH Medical Marijuana Patient Fully Compliant AZ 203

TucsonBob

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Date: Sat Feb 4 2:23 AM, 2012

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RX420 wrote:
Tucson Bob I have a Question for ya...I am useing 600watt HPS bulbs in fixtures that can have glass installed.. at this time I am not air cooling the fixtures with ducting so I have removed all the glass.. the question is can I install the glass without over heating or damageing the bulbs? or should I only install the glass if I am air cooling

it doesn't make much differance but without the glass the heat excapes easier so just make sure your not to close to your plants with the glass more of the heat radiates up. in cooling with duting and fan drws the heat straight out and will increase bulb life a little but not much. in not using duct the glass will become a dust trap. hope this helps

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phfphil

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Date: Tue May 22 1:47 PM, 2012

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Thanks Bob lots of good info. Bob do u think that the auto flowers can handle more ours of light? __________________

TucsonBob

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Date: Tue May 22 1:54 PM, 2012

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yes some people run autos on 16hrs __________________

phfphil

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Date: Thu May 24 10:33 PM, 2012

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Great stuff. Read this info twice and going to read it again and use it. __________________

Low tide

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Date: Thu May 24 10:56 PM, 2012

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i have run autos on 24,18 and even 12 hours of light. the one i did at 12 yeilded just as much as any auto i run on 18 or 24 hours. __________________

TucsonBob

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Date: Mon May 28 7:26 PM, 2012

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LIGHT SPECTRUM & CHLOROPHYLL

200 - 280 nm UVC ultraviolet range which is extremely harmful to plants because it is highly toxic.

280 - 315 nm Includes harmful UVB ultraviolet light which causes plants colors to fade.

315 - 380 nm Range of UVA ultraviolet light which is neither harmful nor beneficial to plant growth.

380 - 400 nm Start of visible light spectrum. Process of chlorophyll absorption begins. UV protected plastics ideally block out any light below this range.

>>>400 - 520 nm This range includes violet, blue, and green bands. Peak absorption by chlorophyll occurs, and a strong influence on photosynthesis. (promotes vegetative growth)

>>>Photosynthesis peaks at 430nm, no red (575nm+) is needed.
>>>Chlorophyll a and b are created between 400nm(UV/blue) and 550nm(green/white).

520 - 610 nm This range includes the green, yellow, and orange bands and has less absorption by pigments.

610 - 720 nm This is the red band. Large amount of absorption by chlorophyll occurs, and most significant influence on photosynthesis. (promotes flowering and budding)

>>>Chlorophyll best absorbs light from the 680nm to 700nm range.
720 - 1000 nm There is little absorption by chlorophyll here. Flowering and germination is influenced. At the high end of the band is infrared, which is heat.

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DesertGrn520

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Date: Wed Jul 18 3:34 PM, 2012

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Quick question on running autos. Currently I am in flower on my photo's... so i am thinking about purchasing a t-5 setup to run three auto seedlings under.. I plan on running both autos and photos at the same time so i don't go medless in the off time. In the long run i could use the t5 for veg and seedlings.. My question is if i buy a four bulb set-up would it be beneficial to run mixed spectrum for the autos say three 6500k and one 3000k.? Or maybe half and half.. i have been reading up on other forums but it's never clear on if anybody runs there t5's this way for autos.. all the more expensive hid. bulbs are marketed saying they put out more enhanced spectrum either blue or red depending on the bulb.. the most expensive seem to be the dual arc bulbs that have both... Any thoughts on running mixed spectrum for autos?

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TucsonBob

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Date: Wed Jul 18 3:39 PM, 2012

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mixed spectrum works great. i'd do 3 (6500k) 1 (2700-3000k) __________________

DesertGrn520

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Date: Wed Jul 18 3:49 PM, 2012

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Cool thanks for the quick response yeah I figured it would. Just wanted to make sure before I purchased anything.. Thanks Just trying to get the most out of my HBD. I trust your knowledge.. the decreased light cycle also seem like something worth looking into, very interesting stuff. Mr. delp might be a new role model for me.. Please keep us posted on your results.. !

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azbluntman

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Date: Wed Oct 31 1:02 PM, 2012

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Hello has anyone ever tried this method?

"12-1 lighting is as follows: 12 hours lights on, 5.5 lights off, 1-hour lights on, 5.5 lights off, and repeat schedule. The 1 hour on in between off period fools the plants that stay in growth state!

Your immediate savings is 5 hours in energy costs daily, as well as your bulbs and equipment lasting longer. But how do the plants react to this lighting schedule?

You see immediate growth response from your plants, they are happy from the added rest time. By day 14 the plants tripled in size. The plants are bushy with twice as many bud sites without topping or bending, In fact, when you top and stretch your plants out, you get many more bud sites than you would have had under 18-6 using same procedure of topping and stretching plant, your growing bigger and better and faster."

I've read elsewhere one guy tried all 3 vegetative methods (24-0, 18-6, 12-1) and reported that with the (24-0) method he got the fastest growth. Others would argue that (18-6) is better because when the lights are off it allows the plant to build up flowering hormones I believe. So it sounds like if you were keeping a mother then (24-0) would be the best method. I'm curious what types of results people have gotten by using (12-1 & 18-6) with plants they flowered.

-- Edited by azbluntman on Wednesday 31st of October 2012 01:03:52 PM

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BudGrower420

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Date: Wed Oct 31 8:12 PM, 2012

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really i don't think you can do 18-6 or 24-0 for flowering, you have to have at least 12-12 minimum for the plant to think that winter is coming, i'm growing my plants on 24-0 and it hasn't given me any problems whatsoever, it does speed up the growing process cuz it keeps the plant in full veg mode all the time until you are ready to flower it. I don't know if i would do it with a hps, i'm running t5s so those are penny's to use on 24-0, if you are using hps/mh go with an 18-6 or 20-4 give it just a little time to rest and you save a little money on your bill too

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muscleman54

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Date: Wed Oct 31 9:28 PM, 2012

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I have heard of people doing the 12-1 method but IMO, whatever cost reduction you are seeking with it is negligible and you probably have the wrong hobby if you are trying to save those few dollars by doing that. Also, I remember reading about someone doing that staggered light cycle and they had 10+ different strains in veg and one of them started to flower.

With all of that said, you cannot go wrong with 18-6 in veg. I've done 24-0, I have seen other grows at 24-0 and I have not seen a considerable difference that justifies 24-0 in veg.

As for flowering, a few interesting notes.... plants will flower with a 13/11 cycle and there's a lot of anecdotal evidence to support that a 13/11 cycle produces bigger buds. Plants flower outdoors with 14.5/9.5.... then as the fall hits, it finishes up in a 13/11 cycle. 13/11 is something I will be looking to try for my next run.

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migrainehater

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Date: Wed Oct 31 10:21 PM, 2012

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Might have to try the 13/11 ! __________________ Warning......I may or may not know WTF I'm talking about. Registered AZDH Medical Marijuana Patient Fully Compliant AZ 203

azbluntman

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Date: Thu Nov 1 1:28 PM, 2012

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"really i don't think you can do 18-6 or 24-0 for flowering"

My question was aimed at different vegging light cycles. (24-0, 18-6, 12-1 [12-5.5-1-5.5])

I think it would be pretty cool to save some electricity if the outcomes are the same. Think about it if the (12-1) cycle is only 13hrs a day. You would be cutting your electricity consumption by just under half compared to the (24-0) light cycle. The problem with this idea is there are not enough sources that vouge for the (12-1) method. I'm thinking most likely because its not as effective ???? Has anyone found any different to support the (12-1) method ???

Thanks for your input. Just trying to understand it all a little better.

-- Edited by azbluntman on Thursday 1st of November 2012 01:28:59 PM

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RX420

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Date: Fri Nov 2 12:54 AM, 2012

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I do 18-6 veg and 12-12 flower but always interested in hearing and reading more about other methods This is the Facebook link to the guy that promotes the 12-1 method https://www.facebook.com/#!/groups/347890575247222/ muscleman54 13/11 sounds interesting where did you get that info? __________________ Disabled Vet in full compliance with 203