MindlessCorps
420 Member
Hmm... and here I just ordered 2 MARS HYDRO UR45 UV & IR Supplement Light Bars.
How to Use UV And IR For Growing Indoor Plants
- Thread starter Mars Hydro
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- marshydrour45 uv&ir
Fenderbender
Well-Known Member
Are those together? different bars I guess.. well no great. put the IR on timers and program them so they shine at lights on and lights off.. and program the UV to shine at "noon" for an hour to max 3?
Don't let others get you down. Run your own test come up with your own hypothesis.
If anything the plants feel the love. This is such an uncharted territory. There is no right answer. @Emilya Green has had some well documented trials. I feel bad I haven't made it back to finish.
Keep your head up!
MindlessCorps
420 Member
Yes, they are together, but with switches for which to use, the IR or UVA.
I have started into flower, so I am thinking at about 21 minutes before lights out, run uva 7 minutes on, 7 minutes off, 7 minutes on, and then all lights out.
2 separate timers (which I have)
I did try smaller uva lights several years ago and had some bud that would occasionally put me on the floor...
seaofgreen18
Well-Known Member
What I'm trying to figure out is does the sun give off uv?? Well we all know it does And does the uv from the sun shut off during the day? And do any of you folk's grow outdoors? Humm,
Sounds like a dillema to me 
Sounds like a dillema to me 
What I'm trying to figure out is does the sun give off uv?? Well we all know it does And does the uv from the sun shut off during the day? And do any of you folk's grow outdoors? Humm,
UV from sunlight changes throughout the day. plants have evolved to be most reactive to it during early morning and late sunset. they have a natural defense from it during the rest of the day as well.
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
UV is blocked by our atmosphere for the most part except when the angle of the Sun is right overhead. There is a bell curve of UV around the noon hour and then it drops off before and after that. This is why I believe that UV lights should be run for about 3 hours around the virtual noon time but not full-time in our grows.
that's about the time they try to avoid it the most. i believe the plants are most receptive at day end. my understanding is pretty small, but i believe the plants are most receptive when there is less uv around, but still present.
seaofgreen18
Well-Known Member
I agree they put on sunscreen on high uv days I've done some research and I'm a fan of whatever mother nature does now I do not know outputs of uv during any given time of day and honestly I don't think a light can come close to putting out the uv like the sun can it's just an opinion but I've done just a sodium no uv and I've added uv in back to back runs and I've found adding it increase the tri comb production which would be the defense you are talking about and strength of plant not too mention flavor but not so much of flower size change now I know there would be other factors plays into this in different runs but I tried to keep everything as close to the same as I could
so I don't dispute what you're saying I think there is alot of variability when talking this subject is Ali
Fenderbender
Well-Known Member
UVC is blocked by the atmosphere, lucky us.. most is also absorbed by the Ozone so what reaches us is mostly UVA and some UVB and UVB is what you gotta watch out for with skin damage. The shorter the wavelength the higher the energy.
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
Early experiments that I have seen show that yes, a little bit of UV around noontime definitely adds to trichome production, since that is the protection the plants put up against it. Too much UV however, rapidly degrades trichomes, and by running it full time, you can actually burn up the trichomes on your plant, making this counter productive. Sure, no light can equal the sun, but I can certainly generate enough light in many spectrums to burn my plants. Give that UV, and IR too for that matter, a lot of respect... it doesn't take a lot to have major impacts on your plants.I agree they put on sunscreen on high uv days I've done some research and I'm a fan of whatever mother nature does now I do not know outputs of uv during any given time of day and honestly I don't think a light can come close to putting out the uv like the sun can it's just an opinion but I've done just a sodium no uv and I've added uv in back to back runs and I've found adding it increase the tri comb production which would be the defense you are talking about and strength of plant not too mention flavor but not so much of flower size change now I know there would be other factors plays into this in different runs but I tried to keep everything as close to the same as I could
do they not work best in tandem ? that's the basis for the morning / evening exposure. most folk run them late in the day cycle.
edit : uv is very weak at those points, and ir is a bit stronger.
seaofgreen18
Well-Known Member
You are absolutely right 
seaofgreen18
Well-Known Member
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
no. They are two completely different things. IR is used as trigger lights before and after the light period by those who know, and they may not be most people. That is how I run them though, but again, I am not like most people. UV is best around the noon hours. Both of these are exactly mimicking what the sun does out in nature.
i agree that uv is at the strongest during the noon period. i was under the impression that both needed to be present, with only a weak uv, and that uv on it's own was not beneficial in larger amounts, or really at all, without the presence of the ir.
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
I believe that it is the light manufacturers who are trying to convince us that these bands should be used in tandem and full time. I am not a believer and would never buy one of these lights. At least with the new Mars light, you have the ability to run both or either on a seperate timer. I plan on buying one or two of those lights.
seaofgreen18
Well-Known Member
Your right about too much my plasma did exactly that I experimented around and when I ran my 2 plasmas with the sodium's in flower the trichromes production was WEAK but when I used 1 it was better and when I switched to the LEC it was ALOT Better and this is after using just sodium then 1 plasma which was a little better than just sodium I tried 2 plasmas not a good idea to much then I switched to the LEC together with the sodium much better production I also use the gavita uv strips I think more so it was the full spectrum that made the difference not as much as the UV I think it helps but not as much as I'd like to think
i agree. i'd never run either full time. we've been getting by just fine with the little standard lighting has provided for years.
i can only see tears if running it full time, unless so weak it really doesn't play, and then why would you need it ?
Emilya Green
Well-Known Member
I don't believe this to be the case. As far as far red goes, the Emerson effect describes how this previously thought to be useless band, does add a little bit to photosynthesis.... but the key word is "little bit". IR has a much more important function as a trigger light and has nothing at all to do with the tolerance of UV... that high energy stuff is dangerous... we can see it clearly on our skin so why wouldn't it be the same for plants?
