Should I change light cycles to save energy? HELP!!

right now i'm running 2 1000wt metal halides with 27 2week old sprouts. i was thinking about cutting the light cycle to 20/4 or 18/6. i've heard that 20/4 "actually" grows the biggest plants cuz the dark gives em some time to stretch for light. anyone have any input? could i go wrong? and how's the 18/6 cycle for veg?

it is a matter of your choice

umm o.k. dude

If you want to save, replace all your household lights with CFL's
I veg 24/7 it seems to trigger flowering better/Faster but I might be wrong

I think its a bit both subjective and based on your needs.

I have heard doing 12/12 from seed gives smaller plants, but most I've seen is either 18/6 or 24/0. A lot of people say their plants respond well to 18/6 so I assume that's because the plants are stretching for light.

You'll need someone with a lot more experience than me to chime in however, sorry I couldn't be of much help.

As a side note to whomever helps this gentleman out, any ideas or experiences with simulating sunrise and sunset? I was thinking, just as a test (I doubt I'll yield anything different) to turn on and off sets of lights at different times to simulate dusk and dawn.

But, I've also thought of doing a slow-rolling light ring around the plants to fully simulate sun-rise and sunset. Thought being the key word. Its a topic that interests me for no reason other than to see what happens.

That should probably be in a different thread, sorry for hijacking PlainWrek.

Edit: As for power savings go, I'd move to CFL for vegging and use the MH lights for 12/12 at flowering. CFLs seem to be the most efficient as far as power goes, they also reduce the need for cooling and such. Vegging seems to be a lot more forgiving than flowering.

i usually veg for the first week under 24/7 and than switch over to 18/6... i have read that the plants prefer some off time to recoup... there are some processes that a plant will only perform when the lights are off, such as how it only photosynthises when the lights are on for ex...
some people do use 20/4.. but i think the majority of growers prefer the 18/6 schedule for their plants...
i would hate to be paying your electric bill running those two 1000 watters, and i can see why you are looking for some savings, lol...

I prefer 24/4 for vegitive growth. and to save money buy a ballast that operates at 75% running current. It has a switch on the side. so you can choose when it operates 100% and 75%. buy a generator.