Temperature or light

[PuravidaC]

Which is more critical during flower, temperature or light? I struggle with higher than recommended temperatures during flower. On my first grow I changed some 42W cfl's to 23W and it helped keep temperatures down but gave off less lumus and got better than expected yields. It took longer to ripen but buds were excellent. Last grow I stayed with 43W bulbs with temps in the 90's during flower and plant finished much earlier with light, airy buds. Any thoughts?

 

[MoreNurgzPlz]

Light = food for plants, the more you give them the better the yields. However temps at 80-85+ (without additional CO2) are definitely going to stunt growth.

I'd be reluctant to reduce the lights/watts, I'd rather add additional fans and try to draw more air through the environment, assuming your humidity levels wouldn't be adversely affected.

 

[Lotusyde]

Light is the winner, but temp is the killer. Just work on getting that hot air outta there. That temperature is way to hot. I freak out at 79. Id try to get it at 70 - 75 if I were you.

 

[Beach_Town_Brit]

I struggle with high temps too, I feel your pain.

Are you running your lights during the night when temperatures should be cooler, that helps a bit?

I added a height extension to my tent, that helped drop temperature at the canopy a bit too (might not work with CFLs).

The craziest thing I've done to try and control temps is to make an impromptu swamp cooler. I used an old styrofoam cooler and mounted my intake duct on one side, air holes on the top (opposite side), then cycled in cold paks from the freezer. It was hokey as hell and more work than it needed to be but I managed to drop my tent temperatures by 5-10 degrees this way.

I also found that moving from CFLs to LEDs helped a bit. Sounds counter intuitive but CFLs being so close to the canopy really increased the heat right at the canopy. Even though my LEDs create more heat, that heat is vented away from the canopy.

Once I have the funds I'm going to invest in a proper vent fan, vent outside the house, and use a Titan controller to adjust the fan speed to maintain correct temps.

 

[Flockshot]

You had me at "better than expected yields"

 

[kingfish]

Light, no contest. do what ever you must to get the temp down. During flowering, blast them with as much light as possible.

 

[PuravidaC]

Don't weigh because it's all personal use but got 5 quart jars from one plant.

 

[PuravidaC]

Growing in finished basement so temperature doesn't fluctuate. I like your swamp cooler idea. Temps are only high when lights are on. I could use a better exhaust fan but stealth is paramount.

 

[Royal Nugs]

Preach it!