Interesting theory, use 50% less light in the last 3 weeks

[tdog4]

very interesting indeed

 

[Sgt.Stedenko]

Has anyone considered trying to reproduce the different light spectrums and intensities produced from dawn to dusk? Usually mornings are more of a blue light and evenings are more red.
I've considered turning the lights on with just 6,500k cfls, starting the hps around 2 hours later, shutting off the cfls around 2 hours before lights finishing the light cycle with hps light only.
Another theory to consider?

 

[Rowdy420]

I have heard, but not done any experimenting yet with adding a 10k bulb the last few weeks to boost resin production.

Interesting Sgt., I have tried to think thru a similar lighting schedule with led's and high intensity bulbs, were the led's will provide a constant 12 hours of light with a high intensity light coming on in the middle of the schedule to provide a 6 hour window of intense light. With a set-up like this you could run 4 rooms on a relay 24-7 on a single ballast.

 

[stinky33]

would be nice if anyone had some side by sides instead of anecdotal information. the majority of the thread seems to be "I heard..." and "It makes sense that..."

love to see some with and withouts if anyone has them.

 

[Mr.Gr33n]

when i hit 8 weeks of 12/12
i drop that down to 10/14 for the last 10-12 days

it just seems to help em frost up even more than usual,
This works for me and my ww ladies,

 

[TruthOrLie]

doesnt the plant only photosynthesize for about 6-7 hrs and then go into shut down mode?

 

[the med man]

it would be superior to cut the day in half instead of the lights in half, mm

 

[t33to]

Since you mentioned this being a "theory"............The only thing that jumped out at me is the fact the the sun is FAR more intense than our lights so even though it diminishes in the fall............its still far more intense than what we can create with HIDs. Just a thought.

So in order to reduce the light by 50% you would need the dimmable ballast right?

A dimmable ballast would lower your electric bill. But if aren't digitized yet, you could always just raise your lights 1/4 of the distance away. I believe a 1/4 distance away reduces the light by half. Something to do with light exponentially losing intensity with distance.

 

[grapeman]

you ay the sun is far brighter than our grow lights .... even when it hits the earth at 100,000 lumens ..... an air cooled 1k light produces 190,000 lumens at bulb .... and since its cooled it can get up close.

what the sun does have that we can never improve on, is intense canopy penatration

It's far cheaper to run the sun then your lights.

 

[Hydrofarm420]

Just wondering but isnt the bottom line on this whole discussion that the only 2 enemies of THC (which is only manufactured and held in the resin glands - does not flow within the plant) are light and oxygen? As far as i knew heat was necessary in order to decarboxylate it into its psychomimetic form. I do not think that the properties of THC change depending on whether or not the plant is alive. If this is the case then i would have to say in order to keep THC degradation to a minimum reducing oxygen concentrations slightly (if this is even possible) and reducing the amount of light that the resin is exposed to would have the largest affect on maintaining THC. I also think it should be noted that there are many other compounds responsible for the quality and properties of the high that determining "how good" a variety is from THC percentage alone is inaccurate. Just the thoughts of a stoner with nothing but his pipe and too much free time.

 

[JWP]

with approx 3 weeks of the cycle left to go the buds have formed all the calyxes they are going to, defining your yield, so by reducing the light you are not reducing your yield.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary proof...

Lets do the math

8 week strain. 50% less light for 3 weeks...

21/56x100=37.5

50% less light for 37.5% of the flowering cycle...

I predict a loss in yield between 0% - 18.75%

Would be nice to see a side by side

Edit: Thats a yield prediction is for bud weight. If the plants were being used 100% to make hash i think it would be an even higher loss than 18.75%