lighting When should I introduce lights to my plants in my humidity dome?

[jswieton]

When do you introduce light to your seedlings when germinating in a humidity dome?  I know some growers put their dome under lights as soon as they plant their seeds.  I have also noticed that some growers keep their humidity dome covered in total darkness and don’t introduce lights until their seedlings have sprouted and have formed their first set of leaves.
 
I’m not sure if I’m doing this right but I have my  72 cell tray/dome on a heat mat set at 85 degrees in complete darkness and once or twice a day I remove the dome for 20 minutes to circulate some fresh air around my plants.
 
I am just curious what’s the best way to do this.  Should I have my dome under lights right now or should I wait until the majority of my plants have sprouted?

 

[NeedsWork]

Should I have my dome under lights right now or should I wait until the majority of my plants have sprouted?

 
My vote is light 18 on 6 off from the start, or as soon as you see one seed germinate.  

 

[MR2Jay77]

 
My vote is light 18 on 6 off from the start, or as soon as you see one seed germinate.  

 

This is the approach I am using this year

 

[rickster]

18-6 it is. as soon as they sprout

 

[moruga welder]

remove them from the dome once they have popped their little heads ,   it doesn't matter if the dome is in total darkness or under the light  . You'll still want to remove them from the dome once sprouted , so theres no dampening off       

 

[Masher]

I have my lights on 18/6 as soon as the seed hits dirt or rockwool.....you don't turn off the sun when planting seed outside.
 
 

 

[mpicante]

I'm in total agreement with these above responses.As soon as they POP put them under lights.

 

[solid7]

You don't have to leave lights on 18 hours a day.  It won't make them grow any faster - but it will run up your electricity bill.
 
12 hours is more than sufficient.

 

[Masher]

Power is cheap here and they are already on preset timers...I'm lazy 

 

[solid7]

Power is cheap here and they are already on preset timers...I'm lazy 

 
Understood - but to the OP, not knowing anything about his setup, it could be an injustice to suggest lengthy lighting durations. I was just trying to suggest that such lengths of time aren't necessary.
 
Peppers aren't picky on lighting.  You can get away with as little as 6 hours of full intensity artificial lighting, and as much as 24 hours/7 days a week.  Personally, I have always opted to keep lights on during the hours when I'm not in the house, and no longer.  If you have a basement, that might not be an issue.

 

[Sizzle Lips]

My method is as follows.....Humidity dome on....no lights..............once I get a sprout the dome comes off......I turn the lights on when I leave for work and turn them off when I go to bed.

 

[jswieton]

Thanks for all of the info, I really appreciate all of the tips!!
 

 

[LocalFart]

I just set the 18-6 timer as soon as they were in the soil.. It keeps them warm too if you don't have a heat pad
 
I'm running CFL lights so the extra 6 hours of light isnt going to break the bank with power use either

 

[jswieton]

It has only been 3 days and my first seed to germinate is a Chocolate Bhutlah seed.  I also have Jamaican hot chocolate and a 7 pot Primo that is starting to break the surface.  I did have one question, and it might be a silly one.  Is this abnormally leggy for being a seedling that was nonexistent 24 hours ago? As I mentioned earlier this is the first time I have grown from seed and it  looks a little different than many of the other photos I have viewed on the web, maybe I’m just being a bit paranoid.
 

 

[karoo]

Is that the pepper seed , or just a contamination seed ?
3 days on the bhutlah does not sound right.
 
Best of luck on your grow.