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Veg lights. 18-6 or 20-4 ?
- Thread starter Keewee101
- Start date
Chemichael
New member
Not sure but I see no issues other than thick growth with 24/0. I am running 24/0 for heat purposes- and also I am running some autos in the veg area. I think 24/0 is fine- as well as 20 or even 18. Some will save money by cutting the 4-6 hours per day- others dont care.
Royal Nugs
New member
I prefer 18/6. Plants grow the most in the dark it seems.
My $.02.
My $.02.
Chemichael
New member
I noticed that also. I can post my mainline girl who looks like a freaking bush with real nice node growth under 24/0 - and I believe I helped greatly the Golden Tiger strain that I have going- I was nursing her back to a healthier look and shes a beast right now under the 24/0. something here green75 something here...
Before anything else i have to say I'm completely new to Marijuana world. But I'm learning fast(Thank you Nebula)
Some ppl say 24/0 is better and some say 18/6. we have also some guys that like 20/4 and say this one is better. I agree with none of them. They all are looking at one side of the moon.
let me say my idea and look at the other side of the moon. Plants grow as they get Daily Light Integral. For every plants there is an specific DLI which plant can't use more light they get to perform photosynthesis. I personally call this DLI as CDLI. This CDLI obviously depends on kind of plant, strain and CO2 level. below the CDLI, plants grow faster by increasing DLI. There are 2 ways to increase DLI which are longer day and stronger light so Hours and light intensity both matter. Must of the time ppl dont use strong enough light to reach CDLI in 18 hours. They are bellow CDLI So they get better results and faster growth by running their light more hours which increases DLI(here more hours decreases the distance between their DLI and CDLI). Those who say 24/0 is better don't use strong enough light so they prefer more hours which increases growth rate and those who prefer 18/6 because of electricity bill are satisfing their growth rate to lower their bill(as i say later lowering number of hours won't help them to pay less for the grow)
Overall, if you are running your light 18 hours and u need faster healthy growth you probably can reach it by running your light more hours but it also increase your next bill.
If your light are strong enough(it also depends on coverage area) you can't run hour light more hours as passing CDLI will hurt your plants and lower growth rate which means 18/6 hours is not beter always. In this circumstances you better hang your light higher decreasing intensity. it drops your DLI below CDLI giving you more coverage area and allow you to run your light more hours to reach CDLI once again.
Give your plants some rest if CDLI is behind you. I think plants need some reset only if they got their CDLI on that day otherwise let your light running if your next bill doesn't matter to you.
1 more thing. Theoretically, Total dollars you pay in veg for the electricity is the same no matter how many hours your lights are on. By decreasing number of hours your light are on you have longer veg stage and inversely, increasing number of hours lights are on will give you faster growth and shorter veg stage so you pay the same in both conditions.
Watch CDLI and go faster. Wasting Time equals wasting mony. Go as fast as you can. It's probably free and cost you nothing. Let your light run more hours.
I really like to know NebulaHaze idea and it doesn't mean i dont read all of you.
Some ppl say 24/0 is better and some say 18/6. we have also some guys that like 20/4 and say this one is better. I agree with none of them. They all are looking at one side of the moon.
let me say my idea and look at the other side of the moon. Plants grow as they get Daily Light Integral. For every plants there is an specific DLI which plant can't use more light they get to perform photosynthesis. I personally call this DLI as CDLI. This CDLI obviously depends on kind of plant, strain and CO2 level. below the CDLI, plants grow faster by increasing DLI. There are 2 ways to increase DLI which are longer day and stronger light so Hours and light intensity both matter. Must of the time ppl dont use strong enough light to reach CDLI in 18 hours. They are bellow CDLI So they get better results and faster growth by running their light more hours which increases DLI(here more hours decreases the distance between their DLI and CDLI). Those who say 24/0 is better don't use strong enough light so they prefer more hours which increases growth rate and those who prefer 18/6 because of electricity bill are satisfing their growth rate to lower their bill(as i say later lowering number of hours won't help them to pay less for the grow)
Overall, if you are running your light 18 hours and u need faster healthy growth you probably can reach it by running your light more hours but it also increase your next bill.
If your light are strong enough(it also depends on coverage area) you can't run hour light more hours as passing CDLI will hurt your plants and lower growth rate which means 18/6 hours is not beter always. In this circumstances you better hang your light higher decreasing intensity. it drops your DLI below CDLI giving you more coverage area and allow you to run your light more hours to reach CDLI once again.
Give your plants some rest if CDLI is behind you. I think plants need some reset only if they got their CDLI on that day otherwise let your light running if your next bill doesn't matter to you.
1 more thing. Theoretically, Total dollars you pay in veg for the electricity is the same no matter how many hours your lights are on. By decreasing number of hours your light are on you have longer veg stage and inversely, increasing number of hours lights are on will give you faster growth and shorter veg stage so you pay the same in both conditions.
Watch CDLI and go faster. Wasting Time equals wasting mony. Go as fast as you can. It's probably free and cost you nothing. Let your light run more hours.
I really like to know NebulaHaze idea and it doesn't mean i dont read all of you.
Last edited:
insomniaczzz
New member
I went with for 20/4 for no particular reason other than it seemed the most recommended when doing research. I'll probably use that for my autos also.
Wattze
New member
I dig the 18/6, I do like the natural feel to it lol plus it's just nice to give my light a break.. after having done research, to my preference, I liked what the 18/6 does to my plants, however, I'm always willing to try something new! But I wouldn't want a 400w MH for the 24/0, not with the space I have lol this is a cool topic to bring up, to see which people prefer what, because after going and looking at some of these plants, I'm like... "DAAAAANG" lol then I find out they're on 24/0 and I start re-thinking my whole strategy.. 😅
On a for real though, I like 18/6, it's nice for my current setup lol
On a for real though, I like 18/6, it's nice for my current setup lol
PaganRich
New member
http://surna.com/a-62-light-schedule-could-increase-plant-growth/ Hopefully this will lead to an article I read about 6/2 lighting which I found very interesting and may try one day 
NebulaHaze
Administrator
I personally do 18/6. I've tried both.
On 24/0 the plants grow slightly faster but are more prone to problems. On 18/6 they grow a little slower, but tend to be more hardy. Because of that I think 18/6 is better for beginners.
But if you've got it dialed in, you can do 24/0 no problem and your plants will be beautiful and fast growing!
However, I feel like you get diminishing returns after 18/6. For me the small amount of extra growth doesn't seem worth the fact that 24/0 uses 33% more electricity. Especially considering the price of electricity where I live! It also gets hot here, so 18/6 saves me even more electricity in cooling costs because I can have a lights-off period in the middle of the day when the temperature is highest
For me 18/6 seems to be the best fit, but I don't think there is a "best" schedule. I really think it varies depending on your situation!
On 24/0 the plants grow slightly faster but are more prone to problems. On 18/6 they grow a little slower, but tend to be more hardy. Because of that I think 18/6 is better for beginners.
But if you've got it dialed in, you can do 24/0 no problem and your plants will be beautiful and fast growing!
However, I feel like you get diminishing returns after 18/6. For me the small amount of extra growth doesn't seem worth the fact that 24/0 uses 33% more electricity. Especially considering the price of electricity where I live! It also gets hot here, so 18/6 saves me even more electricity in cooling costs because I can have a lights-off period in the middle of the day when the temperature is highest
For me 18/6 seems to be the best fit, but I don't think there is a "best" schedule. I really think it varies depending on your situation!