Movin Lights "ON" Forward...

[Reebs]

I've tried searching with not much luck, i'm not sure if i'm just not searching the right keywords or something but anyways...

i'm trying to figure out the best way to move my 12/12 lights schedule forward?

Currently my lights turn on at 7:30pm so they are on all night, but i want them on during the day or at least turn on several hours earlier like 11am or Noon.

as of late i've just been clicking back my relay timer 15 mins every few days and it hasn't seemed to harm anything so far. Is this too much or can i move it back like a half hour each wk or something more dramatic?

thanks for any input!

 

[sixstring]

I moved my start times 12 hours all at once by just giving them more then 12 hours of dark.so my lights were coming on at 7pm and I wanted them on at 7am,i just kept it dark an extra 12 and it went fine.i just figure I have had power failures that last for more then a day before and everything was always fine.

 

[Bannacis]

If you have em turn on at 730pm, just have them turn off at midnight then on at noon,,, there you go.

 

[Seamaiden]

I always maintain that 12hrs of dark as a minimum dark period. So, if I want to shift a night-timed daylight photoperiod to daytime, I just wait til the dark period, then change the timer.

I hope to hell that makes sense, because I always end up standing there staring at the timer for several minutes thinking really hard about the math involved. :o

 

[Reebs]

I always end up standing there staring at the timer for several minutes thinking really hard about the math involved. :eek:

i do this too, it's a normal thing i think. :p

so once it's dark, then i move the timer to where i want it?

letting them come on at 7:30 then turning off at midnight and back on at noon seems like i would mess something up, i have 4 seperate gardens in this room like wk's 1,3,5,7 and i don't want to stress anything or cause a problem.

so it's lights out right now, what everyone is saying is that all i have to do is change the timer now to the ON time that i want?

lol i'm sorry guys. i feel like i just got 3 totally seperate answers and i'm confused again.

 

[Reebs]

or, wait are you all saying i should extend my Dark time?

 

[Reebs]

or, wait are you all saying i should extend my Dark time?

ok i think i got it figured out in my head now, so "Seamaiden" what your saying is to wait till dark time, then go move forward the lights on so they come on later than before thus shifting the schedule ahead.?

sixstring- what your saying is to just keep them off now until tomorrow at the time i want them back on during the day? this sounds like my best option if thats what you mean

and bannacis - have you ever tried that? 12 hrs dark, then 4 1/2 hrs of light, then 12 hrs dark again, then back to 12 hrs light?

 

[Seamaiden]

It's important to maintain a minimum of 12hrs of darkness. So, IF you can maintain that number as a minimum and just move the timer forward during the dark phase, go for it. If you find that, by the numbers, your dark phase won't be long enough, then you'll have to wait a full cycle (letting it be dark) before you shift the timer. Or at least, that's how I do it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who stands there staring at the timer!


Ok... I'm sitting here visualizing a timer, your timer. The way I would do it is unplug everything for one full daytime cycle, then turn it all back on at 11am-12pm, otherwise they'd only be getting a 4.5hr night. IF I'm visualizing/reading this correctly, that is. Fuck, this is so much easier using an analog clock with movable hands.

 

[Reebs]

It's important to maintain a minimum of 12hrs of darkness. So, IF you can maintain that number as a minimum and just move the timer forward during the dark phase, go for it. If you find that, by the numbers, your dark phase won't be long enough, then you'll have to wait a full cycle (letting it be dark) before you shift the timer. Or at least, that's how I do it.

I'm glad I'm not the only one who stands there staring at the timer!


Ok... I'm sitting here visualizing a timer, your timer. The way I would do it is unplug everything for one full daytime cycle, then turn it all back on at 11am-12pm, otherwise they'd only be getting a 4.5hr night. IF I'm visualizing/reading this correctly, that is. Fuck, this is so much easier using an analog clock with movable hands.

lol that last part.

anyways, ok cool so that makes more sense then, now that light are off i'll just keep them off till tomorrow when i want them to turn on. so they will get like 24 hrs of dark for 1 day and then be on schedule.

 

[sixstring]

Thats how I would do it also.i think extra dark time is better then shorter dark time.

 

[Bannacis]

You'al making it to difficult, Its only one day...or less... with 4 1/2 hours of light they be like saying "ahhh sun"
then at midnight, lights off "ahhh time to sleep" for 12 hours...then at noon lights on...
Its not that radical of a change in a 24 hour period. as long as you have your 12 hour or so of dark your girls, even the ones on different schedules will be fine.
if you stretch it out for a longer period (to change lights) the plants will notice, if you do it once, they will be fine. A long dark period 20-24 is ok too. it wont hurt nothing, just takes longer to get the switch over is all.
And I don't think anybody said a shorter dark time....?

Seamaiden... You counting with your fingers and toes??? lol ;)

 

[Reebs]

i did the extra dark and it worked fine. i got them turned on about 15 mins ago and they had off since yesterday at 8am.

thanks for the help!

 

[Seamaiden]

You'al making it to difficult, Its only one day...or less... with 4 1/2 hours of light they be like saying "ahhh sun"
then at midnight, lights off "ahhh time to sleep" for 12 hours...then at noon lights on...
Its not that radical of a change in a 24 hour period. as long as you have your 12 hour or so of dark your girls, even the ones on different schedules will be fine.
if you stretch it out for a longer period (to change lights) the plants will notice, if you do it once, they will be fine. A long dark period 20-24 is ok too. it wont hurt nothing, just takes longer to get the switch over is all.
And I don't think anybody said a shorter dark time....?

Seamaiden... You counting with your fingers and toes??? lol ;)

Damn near! LMAO!

 

[ttystikk]

I always maintain that 12hrs of dark as a minimum dark period. So, if I want to shift a night-timed daylight photoperiod to daytime, I just wait til the dark period, then change the timer.

I hope to hell that makes sense, because I always end up standing there staring at the timer for several minutes thinking really hard about the math involved. :o

It takes a lot less math to just move the timer forward during the DAY, knowing you will preserve your 12 hour dark interval.

In the same vein, going up to 40 hours straight with the lights ON won't screw up your plants, as its the darkness interval they're measuring. In fact, there are a few people out there experimenting with light/dark cycles that don't add up to 24 hours...

 

[Seamaiden]

And that will work just fine? It's not something I've done.

Yet another reason why I REALLY prefer growing outdoors, LMAO! No math involved for the lighting.

 

[ttystikk]

And that will work just fine? It's not something I've done.

Yet another reason why I REALLY prefer growing outdoors, LMAO! No math involved for the lighting.

Yes. Shorten or lengthen the day, leave night length alone. Plants time their dark cycle carefully, and too much unexpected darkness really screws them up.

 

[sixstring]

[quote="ttystikk, post: 1102517,and too much unexpected darkness really screws them up.[/quote]
I dont agree with this statement at all, I have had at least 4 times in the last 5 years where we lost power for over 24 hours and both veg and flower were fine.
When you say really screws them up, what happens to them? Maybe an extra half inch of stretch?

 

[ttystikk]

I dont agree with this statement at all, I have had at least 4 times in the last 5 years where we lost power for over 24 hours and both veg and flower were fine.
When you say really screws them up, what happens to them? Maybe an extra half inch of stretch?

Repeated study shows the plants carefully time their expected darkness interval to have just enough reserve carbs to pick up the next morning. If this is exceeded, the studies say the plants can stress and stall. Clearly, the longer in the dark the worse the progression of these issues.

 

[sixstring]

So 12 extra hours of darkness 1 time to change your start times would be no big deal then?

I've played with the cycle a bunch of times when I first started growing indoors and it never hurt my plants in a way that I could see.i followed some grows that used some goofy on/off times and they never mentioned herms or badly stressed plants.
I grew a plant 20 feet from my neighbors back porch and he flipped his outside light (hps) on and off all the time and that plant grew big fat colas with very little care.

 

[Bannacis]

The weird changing of the light usually effect the plant if its for a longer period than a day, maybe some strains react different then others. I had a plant out back where there was a street light and only have of the plant flowered, the part exposed to the light did not. it was weird looking.
The light timing or change over a period of time could cause them to hermie, they sense a change in the climate, so they think they need to reproduce quickly to ensure their survival.