Consequences of light leak when flowering 12/12?
- Thread starter pratzman
- Start date
I've never understood this topic. When you read reviews about grow tents people sound obsessive about pin-hole light leaks in less expensive tents (like Lighthouse Hydro). I have a LH tent and zipped myself in it. It's much darker than being outside at night, even away from the city. At worst, it's like a moonless night away from the city.
So, the "any light exposure" isn't well defined, IMO. Darker is better.
Buy a green LED or CFL bulb and one of those clamp-on reflectors sold at Home Depot. You can use this during lights out for 5 minutes or so to work on plants when lights are out. I would keep it at a distance, just enough to see. I wouldn't use it for long, nor every day. But, it's useful for those rare times you have to do something.
PS: watering at lights on is recommended more.
So, the "any light exposure" isn't well defined, IMO. Darker is better.
Buy a green LED or CFL bulb and one of those clamp-on reflectors sold at Home Depot. You can use this during lights out for 5 minutes or so to work on plants when lights are out. I would keep it at a distance, just enough to see. I wouldn't use it for long, nor every day. But, it's useful for those rare times you have to do something.
PS: watering at lights on is recommended more.
Joe Blows Trees
Well-Known Member
I wonder how cannabis continues flowering when growing outside under moonlight? That's one hell of a light leak!
ricky1lung
Well-Known Member
Different light, but surprisingly enough plants still flower when surrounded by street lights.
I don't have the experience to be sure one way or the other, but there are some interesting points that argue against light leaks to a small point and other issues like herms that reinforce the no leak law.
SPLFreak808
Well-Known Member
Yes light leaking is bad. Yes it can hermie your plants. If you have pinhole leaks coming from a cfl room then they will probably be fine but DO NOT leave pinhole leaks with an HID in the other room.
pratzman
Member
To be safe I will take precautions! Thanks!
churchhaze
Well-Known Member
If you have light leaks during 12/12, there's a high chance that some or all of the plants will show signs of reveg.
chained
Well-Known Member
How do you mean? Light from the moon is sunlight reflected off of it...
It's happened twice to me. Once I had an auto which didn't flower. I put it on 12/12. When it began flowering I thought it was an auto again and put it back in the 16/8 tent. It stretched again. Back under 12/12, then 16/8 again. I think I did that three times before I kept it on 12/12. I had a remarkable number of seeds in those buds. But, it smoked great.
It happened on another grow when I forgot to zip up the door before the lights went out. The door wasn't wide open, but 3' of the vertical zipper was undone, the bottom zippers completely undone, and the flaps separated a little (to aid in intake because it was hot then). It stayed like that for about 4 hours after lights out. One or two of the plants closest to the doors had some seeds.
I sometimes get 3-4 seeds. My strains came from marijuana-seeds [dot] nl and they're a budget place. So, it could be genetics. But, it could be from the pinhole light which is a consequence of budget Lighthouse Hydro tents.
I'm curious if total, absolute darkness would have prevented any seeds. If that's the case, I assume outdoor plants have some seeds (just nature?).
But, I don't care much because I don't mind some seeds. Keeps me growing and practicing without a lot of stress about expensive seeds.
ricky1lung
Well-Known Member
It's not bright light?
Spectrums are different.
We all know it's reflected light, and it's different.
chained
Well-Known Member
Well, from what I can tell it's the same color spectrum, it's just weaker. If you're going to tell me the light spectrum is different, that's cool, I'd just like to know how.
I'm trying to establish why, given that information, we fear a 'pin-prick' when a field of weed can grow under a full moon and I could drive my car through that field at night, with spotlights on, with no apparent harm.
Or at least how long it takes, how much light, size of light source, type of light, from peoples first hand experiences.
The one so far, posted above, is far from a pin-prick
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ricky1lung
Well-Known Member
I don't get the pin prick thing, like we've both said, they still flower under other conditions where brighter light is available durning dark periods.
3N1GM4
Well-Known Member
Light change outdoors is gradual over months and it includes many more environmental changes, it makes the plants more resilient. When you grow indoors you are tricking the plant into flowering thus taking away all the other environmental factors and causing it to be more susceptable to abnormalities.
chained
Well-Known Member
Yeah, it doesn't make sense to and that's why I asked what I asked.
I understand if someone has a sheet of plastic, poorly taped to the wall and roof, to divide veg/flower areas. The light source is still very close and a lot of heat and light could come through. I get leaving a zipper open on a tent for prolonged periods of time, like the guy above. I would think you'd need enough light, for long enough, to start whatever the hormonal/chemical process is that goes on in a plant when it believes the seasons are changing... and I don't know how a pinhole on a couple of fan leaves would achieve that. I'd like to know so I can avoid it!
Then again they're no longer natural, genetically, so perhaps that's something to consider. The breeding?
If anyone else can post their experiences?
racerboy71
bud bootlegger
i grow in a small closet, and often times will leave the door about a 1/3rd of the way open in the summer to aid in cooling, and have been doing so for about, idk, 6 or so years now, and i've never had a plant hermie on me in that space, so for me, going solely off of my own personal experience, i don't buy into the whole light leaks cause hermies notion, and my grow has more light leaks than idk what, and like i said, never an issue..Yeah, it doesn't make sense to and that's why I asked what I asked.
I understand if someone has a sheet of plastic, poorly taped to the wall and roof, to divide veg/flower areas. The light source is still very close and a lot of heat and light could come through. I get leaving a zipper open on a tent for prolonged periods of time, like the guy above. I would think you'd need enough light, for long enough, to start whatever the hormonal/chemical process is that goes on in a plant when it believes the seasons are changing... and I don't know how a pinhole on a couple of fan leaves would achieve that. I'd like to know so I can avoid it!
Then again they're no longer natural, genetically, so perhaps that's something to consider. The breeding?
If anyone else can post their experiences?
to me, saying light leaks cause hermies is a good way breeders get off for putting out a so called strain that , wasn't worked worth a shit, and b, started off with one or two parents that happened to carry the hermie trait to it's offspring..
my $.02