|
Post by z on Aug 18, 2009 18:49:46 GMT -5
Does anybody keep their terrarium lights on all day? I just set up a few small fluorescent lights I found and a small aquarium tank and sowed a whole bunch of seeds and stuffed in a few lowland neps. The problem is that the lights do not turn on from my timer, I have to jiggle the tubes a bit before they turn on. Since I won't be able to see my plants for around 10 days, I can't be there to turn on the tubes myself, so I've decided to keep them on. Now I know it's too late to fix the lights, but it would give me a piece of mind if there are other people successfully doing this. I guess my major worry is how constant light would affect the germination speed and ratio. I did some research, and it seems that some people grow "special" plants under 24h lights , so I guess the neps are ok, but I don't see too much of this in the cp world.
|
|
|
Post by dvg on Aug 18, 2009 18:59:17 GMT -5
I've left the lights on 24/7 when I'm trying to get ping leaf pullings to strike. My only concern about leaving the lights on that long is the drying effect it would have over the 10 day period. But if you have an automated watering system setup in place, then that might not be a problem at all. I have also contemplated leaving the lights off for 10 days also, since CP's are uprooted and sent bareroot in a plastic bag enclosed inside a sealed darkened box, often times arriving at their destination after 10 days or more...and most of the time survivng the trip. Of course, it is easier on the plants to have the lights on, and having them on 24/7 for only 10 days, shouldn't be a problem, as long as the media stays moist during that interval.
|
|
|
Post by z on Aug 18, 2009 20:22:59 GMT -5
Thanks for the info. This is actually a different setup from my automated one that is in another house, but this time someone would be available to do some watering. Thanks for the tips, I'll make sure to fill the tray up just in case.
|
|
|
Post by vraev on Aug 20, 2009 9:09:02 GMT -5
yup! Doug has hit it spot on. Drying is the only effect that you have to be concerned about. Also... for the most part lowlanders are generally more resilient and less picky than some of the highlanders. I wouldn't do this forever as plants require the darkness and night time to cool and slow down their metabolism. Especially for highlanders as they require that temperature drop. I think this is analogous with the vFT dormancy requirement. You can grow a VFT without dormancy for 2-3 years...I have done it....but the plants which get dormancy are still healthier.
|
|
|
Post by z on Aug 30, 2009 1:01:24 GMT -5
I just got back from my trip and the plants seemed fine with the 24h lights. I even got some capensis seeds to sprout, although they'd probably sprout in any condition.
I wonder how much benefit 24h lights can bring to a plant, I mean they are getting 2x the nutrients. Sounds like an interesting experiment. I don't have to tools to do it myself, but if someone does do this experiment I would love to hear the results.
|
|
|
Post by mabudon on Aug 30, 2009 1:30:46 GMT -5
I leave my lights on all the time usually, doesn't seem to bother my plants much
|
|