18 vs 24 hour light cycle for veggie stage

this is a question that made me think alot too im in my second grow and with 24/0 the plant seemed to grow but then after doing some research I switched to 18/6 and I noticed a huge change in growth but personally I see more growth with the 18/6.

stucklikechuck said:

anyone else use 20/4?

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I was thinking about it, but whats the point of any darkness if the roots dont got that much time to produce and become healthier

18/6 here big difference from 24/0... using cfls too.

luarg2 said:

18/6 here big difference from 24/0... using cfls too.

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what are you saying with cfls, keep them on 24 hours or do 18/6 with the cfls?

luarg2 said:

18/6 here big difference from 24/0... using cfls too.

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i think hes saying theirs a better growth rate with 18/6 and im using cfls as well

ive been doing 24/0 for the first 3 weeks, 18/6 during transition, then 12/12 for bloom. this time im going to try 18/6 for grow, 12/12 for bloom.

Plants will balance the root ball vs the plant. Neither are going to be way ahead of the other.

Roots DO grow without night (dark) since the 24/0 plants do actually *grow*

There are 3 main strains, Sativa, Indica, and Ruderalis (sp?) then at least 100 of each (on average)

To say that 24/0 kills over 18/6 (or visa verse) is just speculation out one's ass. Grown all of them?

For an analogy, one cup of coffee makes *everyone* jittery and anxious, and on edge all day. (since it might have made someone sometime somewhere)

BigBudBalls said:

Plants will balance the root ball vs the plant. Neither are going to be way ahead of the other.

Roots DO grow without night (dark) since the 24/0 plants do actually *grow*

There are 3 main strains, Sativa, Indica, and Ruderalis (sp?) then at least 100 of each (on average)

To say that 24/0 kills over 18/6 (or visa verse) is just speculation out one's ass. Grown all of them?

For an analogy, one cup of coffee makes *everyone* jittery and anxious, and on edge all day. (since it might have made someone sometime somewhere)

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well put but may i ask what light schedule do you grow with?

24/7 seedling stage, 18/6 veg stage, 12/12 flower stage

mr.feelgood said:

well put but may i ask what light schedule do you grow with?

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LOL Kinda afraid to answer. I started and was a big proponent of 24/0.
I'm on 18/6 now. Momma had been on both. Clones (same genetics) have seen both. Growth seems to be close enough to say it doesn't matter enough.

But now thats *one* strain. I went to 18/6 for electrical costs. And now that *my* strain isn't showing much diff, I'll save a few bucks. (buys a few extra beers)

So for me, i'm on the 18/6 (but thats on CFLs and a small 70W HPS) now.
I'm still working on my 'system'

BigBudBalls said:

LOL Kinda afraid to answer. I started and was a big proponent of 24/0.
I'm on 18/6 now. Momma had been on both. Clones (same genetics) have seen both. Growth seems to be close enough to say it doesn't matter enough.

But now thats *one* strain. I went to 18/6 for electrical costs. And now that *my* strain isn't showing much diff, I'll save a few bucks. (buys a few extra beers)

So for me, i'm on the 18/6 (but thats on CFLs and a small 70W HPS) now.
I'm still working on my 'system'

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interesting, what's your strain it is a indica/satvia hybrid? and for the cfls how many do you use/recomend and what is the lumen output? sorry for all the questions but im just trying to improve my setup

mr.feelgood said:

interesting, what's your strain it is a indica/satvia hybrid? and for the cfls how many do you use/recomend and what is the lumen output? sorry for all the questions but im just trying to improve my setup

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I have a 70W HPS hanging in one corner, and 2 lamps hanging down with a 'Y' splitter bulb socket with a pair of 26W (100W equiv) CFLs So 2 lamps with 4 bulbs total (and the 70W HPS) As for lumens, I dunno. just know the plants seem to grow with little stretching if the lights are positioned correctly.

it seems more people where saying that the plants grew more after changing from 24/0 to 18/6, what would happen if you where to keep changing back and forth say every week untill you switch to 12/12 for flower

Why is it always 24h or 18-6 ? why not negotiate, I'm going with 20 on and 4 off.

the reason why im saying this is cuz people are saying the 24 hour light will make the plant grow continuously but slower cuz less root development 18/6 is less time developing but begger roots, maybe more branching bigger yield?? but what i noticed was thet when people switched from 24/0 to 18/6 the plants jumped in growth, like they charge up as much energy and grow as hard as they can but slow down after a few days and if the schedual get changed to include darkness they rest grow roots and looks like they jump in growth
im going to try this methode of switching betweek 24/0 and 18/6 every week and see what happens, i just hope i wont have a negative effect on my plant, i.e early flowering, higher chance of male...etc

I keep my plant in the sun during the day, moveing it with the sun and then bring it indoors under CFL... is 18 hours still needed?
I'd prefer to use as little energy as possible, but need to get my fingers wet for my first indoor grow this autumn.

I firmly believe that 24/0 is best for vegging. I've tried both... and plants grow much faster and are shorter/bushier with the 24/0 schedule... because they don't stretch in search of light. They don't need rest and they don't need dark for root growth.

have you fond the same results with different strains?
would you know what causes that growth spike after switching from 24/0 to 18/6 of is that completely random?
and if the schedule keeps being changed is that bad for the plants??

nobody has any input
iv done my own searches arround and i havent rele found and actual properly done unbaised tests on this matter
all iv found is that 24/0 makes plants more compact and smaller as for 18/6 lets the grow bigger but arent as compact, there where no real comparasins as to the ammount of bud produced and it seems that it could be prety much the same, and there doesnt seem to be much of a time diff between grows either. i started off with 18/6 but cuz i had crappy lighting i upped it to 24/0 but now that i got a good light and proper nutes i got it running at 18/6 again

BigBudBalls could answer my first question best, since I see he's using HID lights. I have a 200W MH, a 150W HPS and a 50W HPS...about how hard would that hit my electric bill if I use them?

And has anyone experimented with or have any knowledge of doing something like 9/3/9/3?