re: GrowLEDHydro 300W LED vs. 400W HID Demonstration
I would have to agree with Irish on his 18 or 24. With your meticulous approach it could shed some light on a frequently opinionated debate.
I understand arguments both ways. No where plants grow(arctic variety aside if any exist) a 24 hour day is possible. The pro 18 ers will argue about the amount of growth that takes place in the dark, the whole stored energy thing. The indisputable advantage they have is 6 hours a day less electricity usage.
Then the 24 guys, they cite that cannabis is C4(or c3?) plant that does not require rest. They talk of dark only showing growth by means of stretch and that they actually do not grow faster with dark(usably). More light equals more bud and shorter fatter plants.
A lot of these guys cite the big growers in netherlands and such, but I'm sure even there not everyone agrees.
It would be fun to compare using two very similar enviormentes and a stable mother.
But do you have two of the same plants? Couldnt really do led in one and hps in the other.
Happy New Year, SS!
Irish and Karr both bring up points I have thought much about, but have never tested side-by-side so to speak.
The second half of the lighting debate! Yay, LEDs work fine. (No surprise there, at least for me)
Now its on to lighting schedules, no matter which source lighting you end up picking. I would also love for you to test and either prove or debunk some of the more obvious questions when it comes to lighting schedules.
Not anywhere in the world is there a complete day (24hrs) of light. Nor does anywhere in the world have 12hrs dark with 12hrs light, or an absolute even split from complete sun to complete darkness. The sun does not come on and go off like a light switch(surprise!). Outdoor plants even get artificial lighting from pesky neighborhood lighting(I live in the city, lights everywhere.) Street lights, bug zappers, MH and HPS security lighting and of course MOON LIGHTING. Multiple foreign light sources, yet you'll hear time and time again from indoor growers, DO NOT LET ANY LIGHT 'LEAK' INTO YOUR TENT(not even a light on your power strips, P.S. mine has tape over it!)! I can attest to very good yields with all this excess 'bad' lighting outdoors... So something isn't right here.
SS to the rescue?!
I've grown outdoors in the past with much success without having to worry about lighting schedules and the like. I also have worked outside during opposite times of year, winter vs. summer. The lighting is not 12/12 during the flowering months. I know of waking up at 5am to go to work at 6am and coming home at 8pm when its still light outside. Now that is fact and can not be disputed by any growers. The sun is up and the plant is receiving light from 6am to 8pm, and it didn't get, what we would call "dark" until 8:45pm. Regardless of light intensity in the early and late hours of the longest days. It's still light and these are the months I noticed a HUGE jump in weight. That is 14 hours of "light" per day. Still, the sunlight is only at its most intense for maybe 8 hours of the day, where indoors it would be the entire "day" cycle, current indoor growers swear you MUST use 12/12 to flower and any more or less will confuse the plants. Also, they will argue you MUST NOT let any light leak into your grow tent(please DEBUNK this one!!!). Where in the world do you get darkness where you can't even see your own hand in front of your face, much like inside our tents, anyone?
The "moon light"(quarter, half or full moon) gives off the same spectrum of light as the sun(obviously), the sun is the original source of light reflecting off the moon. So,
ACTINIC LIGHTING occurs for at least 8 hours each night, which is HIGHLY blue in spectrum, even though the entire spectrum is present. I think the night schedules need as much study as the study time we put into the type or duration of light we use. I've used actinic lighting in combination with MH's(14k temp/very blue) on my reef tanks for years. And without actinics on your reef you'll lose a lot of coral growth(propagation occurs mainly at night(shouts to PropaGator!)) Your corals and fish will also lose "color" intensity without actinics, even with the super bright blue 14k MH bulbs. It doesn't take much actinic lighting to see a HUGE difference in your entire tank. I have 300watts of 14k MH with 36watts CFL of Actinics. So, a little actinic lighting goes a long way.
Maybe, adding some actinic bulbs in one of the tents during the "night" hours would be a starting point of testing to see if any light is indeed bad for indoor growing during the "night cycles" and if actinics add anything special(who knows, there's clearly something different outdoors, besides free radicals!). If you compared outdoor lighting during the day vs night, or sun vs moon. The intensity change might "feel" like complete darkness to the plant, but there is still a full spectrum, although at a much lower intensity during the night, being provided to the plant for the entire 24 hour period. (Side thought: An LED array or electronic ballast for MH/HPS, that could do 100% intensity during the "day" and step down to 5-10% intensity to replicate "night" hours?)
With each year passing, growers 'round the world are finding NEW and exciting ways of doing things. Anything is possible, we have much to learn. Let's keep open minds as we are sure to debunk something along the way, it's part of the love of this hobby, I'd say!
Any thoughts?
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. This being as much revelation as remembrance, makes me very grateful for good friends.
