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lighting lighting times

So I currently have my light rig scheduled at 18 on, 6 off. The lights go on at 5pm, and off at 11am.
Is this ok, or should I get them used to day times? In other words, should I reverse the schedule and start lighting at 5am and cut off at 11pm? Ish?
 
5:a.m. on to 9:00 p.m. off for mine well 15 minutes earlier so i can water if needed before i head to work , or move lights up . i would acclimate them to standard light hours . thats what they'll have sooner or later .     :onfire:
 
moruga welder said:
5:a.m. on to 9:00 p.m. off for mine well 15 minutes earlier so i can water if needed before i head to work , or move lights up . i would acclimate them to standard light hours . thats what they'll have sooner or later .     :onfire:
Do you mean you water 15 mins before turning lights on or off? I was wondering about this as well
 
Tried both ways. Only difference I saw was a few bucks in savings in the electrical bill. It may be cheaper to run at night when less energy is used and cost rate drops. If watering using a timer adjust accordingly.
 
i try to water in the morning at 4:45 before i leave to work , but i have never had a problem watering in the evening , i just watered them now , i don't go heavy tho , my fans run 24/7 keep air flow good . also i water/feed with ecovie pure organic won't burn them has all nutrients they need .     :onfire:
 
If the lights, when on, create heat, then running them on a night shift can keep plants warmer during the coldest times (night). It can also avoid overheating them if daytimes are too warm with the lights on. This is good.

If this schedule creates a situation where the day and night temperatures are almost the same, you may find some or all of your young plants start blooming prematurely -- one recent post featured a white fatalii that produced flowerbuds at a 4" height. It's not a disaster, and -- frankly -- it's kinda cute... but it's not ideal conditions for such a young plant.

While it's tempting to try to produce a fruit or two at this early age, it's going to stunt it's growth at least a little, possibly a lot. Even without pollination and fruitset, the cost in metabolic energy to produce flowerbuds will slightly impede growth.

Don't panic if it happens. Just remove the flowerbuds, and try to adjust the environment so that the lights-on temperature is about 5°F warmer than the times when the lights are off.
 
mikeg said:
If the lights, when on, create heat, then running them on a night shift can keep plants warmer during the coldest times (night). It can also avoid overheating them if daytimes are too warm with the lights on. This is good.
If this schedule creates a situation where the day and night temperatures are almost the same, you may find some or all of your young plants start blooming prematurely -- one recent post featured a white fatalii that produced flowerbuds at a 4" height. It's not a disaster, and -- frankly -- it's kinda cute... but it's not ideal conditions for such a young plant.
While it's tempting to try to produce a fruit or two at this early age, it's going to stunt it's growth at least a little, possibly a lot. Even without pollination and fruitset, the cost in metabolic energy to produce flowerbuds will slightly impede growth.
Don't panic if it happens. Just remove the flowerbuds, and try to adjust the environment so that the lights-on temperature is about 5°F warmer than the times when the lights are off.
Dammit buddy that was a very informative answer! And it makes perfect sense, I definitely do not want my plants putting energy into anything other than growth right now. Puberty can wait. Haha
Thank you all for your advice, I guess I'm gonna ride out this schedule a little bit longer, probably until this new round sprouts.
 
Another consideration is if the plants are destined to go outdoors eventually. I didn't see you specified. If they are 180 degrees off on the night and day cycle and then you put them outside they could be shocked for an initial period. Sort of like having a 24 hour day and a return to a natural cycle. If they are indoors strictly....as the church lady on SNL would say "never mind!!"
 
Here's what I schedule, designed around what I intend for final results...
 
I germ my seeds in tray's on top of a Hydro Farm T5 fixture and have it on 12, off 12 starting at 0600.  This keeps the seeds at 98 degrees and 100% humidity.  It cycles the heat to the seeds and has worked very well for me.  After treating, even the Reapers normally sprout in 7 days.
 
Once sprouted I gently plant them into my soil in small peat pots and place them 4" under the same light fixture while I start new seeds back on top of it.  Cycle time doesn't change, 12 and 12.  Peat is not great for peppers but the peat pots make for easy removal when changing pots or putting into the garden, I don't think it hurts them and it letts a lot of O2 into the soil.
 
I keep the same lighting schedule until everything I'm moving outside is out of the room.  The plants that I decided to keep inside get special attention early on.  I take several that show better growth in the peat pots and move them early into larger containers intending to keep them inside.  I give them HO LED lighting underneath the canopy 24/7 while also keeping the T5's overhead on the same schedule until they flower.  Then I move the schedule to 16 on, 8 off.  Once fruit starts I change to 20 on, 4 off.  All the while trying to keep the T5's roughly 4" from tops.  I also prune constantly to try and get bushy plants with flat tops.  
 
The bottom lighting causes the plants to kind of bend over trying to soak up the light with the tops of the leaves which is cool to see.  It also causes the leaves to kind of bulk up.  They can be twice as thick as the outside plants. 
 
I think the longer light cycle mimicks summer and causes more fruit forming.  Seems to work here anyway but your results could vary.
 
Peace out....
 
I'll weigh in with my experience.
I run 4 foot duel bulb T5 fixtures 24/7.
My seedlings are in my garage and it can get cold, so the lights help with a little heat.
I've never had any issues planting out. So I don't think you will have a problem with whatever your light schedule is.
 
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