Grow Version 1.0 - Reserva Privada Hurricane - LED - DWC - Mainline

[Grouchy]

I think I posted this on your grow but I got the reflector 96... On this front; one of my reflector 48's has a malfunction with its veg lights. I've only had it 1 month. I won't got into details here, but I highly doubt I'll buy Mars-Hydro again.

Ya know, I knew there was a risk when I ordered the Reflector 96 (which I should get Monday) but I figured I should at least give it a shot since I see quite a few people growing nice plants with them. Not to mention the price is low.

Have you dealt with their customer service? How are they?

it's really not that bad once you get into the groove... was a bit time consuming at first tho.

That's good to know. Maybe I'll try a DWC sometime. Maybe a side by side comparison of the same strain?! Who am I kidding. I'm way to lazy for that still.

 

[cogreen]

Ya know, I knew there was a risk when I ordered the Reflector 96 (which I should get Monday) but I figured I should at least give it a shot since I see quite a few people growing nice plants with them. Not to mention the price is low.

Have you dealt with their customer service? How are they?

I'll share some things I've learned in the past few days and let you form your own opinion:
- The lights come with a 3 yr warranty, but you can only exchange a broken light within 7 days of purchase.
- If you have problems with your light, you'll be given some instructions on how to take it apart yourself and try to troubleshoot the issue. If you find the issues they will supposedly send you a new part to replace the broken one (e.g. power supply or whatever).
- If you can't find the problem yourself you can supposedly send the light into one of their repair centers. However I still haven't been able to get that process/address from support and it's not clear to me how long it takes or who pays for shipping.
- Most of the customer service communication is done via email.
- Customer service is out of China best I can tell, so be aware of time diff and communication/language differences.

That said -- I ended up ordering another 300 LED from galaxyhydro rush delivery. I can already tell this marshydro won't be fixed for awhile (if ever) and I don't have the time to wait for it given I'm going to switch to flower this week. I was hoping the marshydro would be a quick exchange, but alas my expectations were too high.

I hope I was just that one unlucky person who got a bad reflector, but even if so I would be aware of this process if something does break on your light (could affect your grow if you don't have backup lighting).

 

[cogreen]

I will post some new pics up in a few hours -- I'm going to do a res change shortly...

These ladies have really started filling out in the past week!

 

[cogreen]

Greetings fellow growers... Time for a quick update.

The ladies are currently taking a 2 hour flush / bath. Once their done with that I'll re-nute at around 600PPM with grow nutrients.

I'm thinking I'll start flower on Thursday or Friday of this week. I'll likely re-flush again when I re-nute for bloom formula -- which for me really only means adding a bit more sweetener and using dyna-grow bloom rather than foliage pro.

Can't wait for flower, and I'm really hoping I can get these ladies through it. I'm feeling cautiously optimistic; very happy about my switch to these Dyna-Gro nutes and I'm hoping they perform as well in flower as they have in veg (I haven't seen really any discolouration since switching to them).

Pics...

"The tools that make my life easier when draining / filling my res"

"Both ladies prepping for a nice bath in clearex"

"Hurricane on the left"

"Hurricane on the right"

"Roots are getting massive"

Sorry about the poor quality of some of these pics -- my camera is obviously a POS.. I'll get some new shots up later this week before switching to flower so their flower-start size is documented.

Happy growing!!

 

[Atulip]

Very sexy roots. And wow they got bushy this week.

Maybe you can get your Mars Hydro fixed. I've had nothing but positive things to say, but I haven't had to deal with their support. I assumed they'd have something dumb like paying some shipping to get it fixed, but I wouldn't have thought they'd suggest you tinker with it yourself, especially since you just bought it. Still, they're cheap enough that you can just buy another, which I'll probably do if one of mine dies. ,

 

[uhewekguilw]

Plants are looking great! Nice root porn too

As for mars hydro, that has been the issue with them from the get go. They want you to change out the parts yourself. I'm sure you have the background and ingenuity to remove the case and replace what's wrong with your light. Everything is plug and play except for the diodes. If you need any help, let me know and I'll try to find some time to come over and help you repair it. Just order your parts and we will go from there. You are doing a great job, im completely jealous that you are doing so well with dwc on your first grow! Good luck!
GB80

 

[cogreen]

Very sexy roots. And wow they got bushy this week.

Maybe you can get your Mars Hydro fixed. I've had nothing but positive things to say, but I haven't had to deal with their support. I assumed they'd have something dumb like paying some shipping to get it fixed, but I wouldn't have thought they'd suggest you tinker with it yourself, especially since you just bought it. Still, they're cheap enough that you can just buy another, which I'll probably do if one of mine dies. ,

thanks for stopping by...

yeah it's hard to beat the price of mars-hydro. i was thinking to just order another one from them, but figured it would be good to experience a diff brand as well

 

[cogreen]

Plants are looking great! Nice root porn too

As for mars hydro, that has been the issue with them from the get go. They want you to change out the parts yourself. I'm sure you have the background and ingenuity to remove the case and replace what's wrong with your light. Everything is plug and play except for the diodes. If you need any help, let me know and I'll try to find some time to come over and help you repair it. Just order your parts and we will go from there. You are doing a great job, im completely jealous that you are doing so well with dwc on your first grow! Good luck!
GB80

thanks for stopping by and I really appreciate the offer to help... I took the light apart last week and tried a bunch of troubleshooting. unfortunately it appears the issue in the diod panel (if thats what its called) so I'll have to send it in.

rest assured if these ladies turn out you'll get a goodie sample bag

 

[Grouchy]

I'll share some things I've learned in the past few days and let you form your own opinion:
- The lights come with a 3 yr warranty, but you can only exchange a broken light within 7 days of purchase.
- If you have problems with your light, you'll be given some instructions on how to take it apart yourself and try to troubleshoot the issue. If you find the issues they will supposedly send you a new part to replace the broken one (e.g. power supply or whatever).
- If you can't find the problem yourself you can supposedly send the light into one of their repair centers. However I still haven't been able to get that process/address from support and it's not clear to me how long it takes or who pays for shipping.
- Most of the customer service communication is done via email.
- Customer service is out of China best I can tell, so be aware of time diff and communication/language differences.

That said -- I ended up ordering another 300 LED from galaxyhydro rush delivery. I can already tell this marshydro won't be fixed for awhile (if ever) and I don't have the time to wait for it given I'm going to switch to flower this week. I was hoping the marshydro would be a quick exchange, but alas my expectations were too high.

I hope I was just that one unlucky person who got a bad reflector, but even if so I would be aware of this process if something does break on your light (could affect your grow if you don't have backup lighting).

oh man... how did I miss this post. That's ridiculous that they expect you to fix it yourself.
"Here, pay for this brand new product, which will arrive broken. But don't worry, we'll walk you through how to fix it." HAHAHAH!
Some warranty. But you get what you pay for I guess. If you pay dirt for your unit, you're going to get a box of dirt... which happened in your case I guess. I luckily got a working unit (we'll see for how long). But I really hope your galaxy does a great job!

Also, kind of off topic but you are doing a phenomenal job on that DWC. I see tons of new growers try it and have problems non stop. You, on the other hand, are a good example of taking advice from these skilled, DWC growers combined with doing your own research. very impressed man. Great job.

So, looks like our grows are even more similar now that we're both mainlining and pulling just under 400w. The difference being DWC and Coco. GROW OFF! Just kidding. I just don't know when to exactly flower them because I don't want to have them grow too tall and get burnt on the lights. I'll at least get to see yours stretch during flower so I can see when to flip mine.

 

[cogreen]

oh man... how did I miss this post. That's ridiculous that they expect you to fix it yourself.
"Here, pay for this brand new product, which will arrive broken. But don't worry, we'll walk you through how to fix it." HAHAHAH!
Some warranty. But you get what you pay for I guess. If you pay dirt for your unit, you're going to get a box of dirt... which happened in your case I guess. I luckily got a working unit (we'll see for how long). But I really hope your galaxy does a great job!

the light actually worked for 1 month before it started malfunctioning.. but yeah, you get what you pay for most of the time. my other 2 mars-hydro lights are working fine and I so far they seem to work well.. I guess hopefully they KEEP working.

Also, kind of off topic but you are doing a phenomenal job on that DWC. I see tons of new growers try it and have problems non stop. You, on the other hand, are a good example of taking advice from these skilled, DWC growers combined with doing your own research. very impressed man. Great job.

oh thanks man, appreciated. lucky I guess, but still a long way to go to finish these ladies up
again - I love these dyna-gro nutes + regimen I switched to. I bet I would've had many more issues had I kept using Foxfarms.

So, looks like our grows are even more similar now that we're both mainlining and pulling just under 400w. The difference being DWC and Coco. GROW OFF!

I actually would like to see a DWC vs Coco grow off - would be interesting to see any diffs. I've never done Coco, but I suspect it's easier and less expensive to implement so if it grows as good as DWC, seems like a better option for most...


thanks for stopping by and have a good one!

 

[Bamalabrat]

I would love to see comparison grows as well. The thing, in my mind, is that they are nearly impossible to do accurately. You would have to have the same genetics, enviroment, nutes, timeline and training of the plants to get a useful subjective comparison. But it would be cool to see them done.

 

[Camo420Grow]

I'd be interested in a grow off too! But I hope everything goes good with the led cogreen! Honestly reading your journal as pretty much sold me on the Platinum LED cause its American made and America customer service.

 

[cogreen]

thanks for stopping by guys...

Bama -- yeah would be impossible to have a "perfect" comparison, but like you said even an ad-hoc grow-off / comparison would be cool. there's probably something already out there, but I haven't looked.


Camo -- yeah there's something to be said about good customer service. however IIRC those Platinum LED's are over 2x the cost of a mars-hyrdo right? I'd always prefer to buy American, but one has to weigh the cost vs benefit... You might checkout those "GalxyHydro" LEDs... I just got a 300 and I believe it's backed by support in the US. Seems pretty decent and not much more than a Mars-Hydro.



UPDATE
So I'm officially moving these girls to a 12-12 light schedule starting at 9AM today. They are currently in a 2 hour flush and I'll re-nute with bloom.

Believe it or not I did a pretty hefty defol on Tuesday, but these girls have already regrown that defol and then some. I want to do another defol, but since I'm going to induce flower starting today I don't want to stress them right now -- will have to defol after they get some stretch.

On with the pics because the dog is waiting for her jog.

finally I thought I'd show off a few girls I have outdoors that I've been munking with. note - for some reason this site keep rotating my pics - sorry bout that.

this is from bag seed. I literally just tossed a seed from some smoke I had into my wifes veggie garden -- no care at all until recently when I started giving her good nutes.

for those of you that've been here since the beginning of my grow may recall the white widows I had. well here they are:

I doubt any of these outdoor plants will finish in time given our outdoor season is almost over.


happy growing everyone!

 

[Camo420Grow]

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I think for a marshydro mars192 it is $320. And for a Platinum LED P300 it is $370. I believe they have the same output, I'm not positive tho. I would gladly pay 50$ extra for American made quality and customer service with someone I can understand. PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, I'm all about saving as much money as I can! I will for sure look into GalxyHydro leds before I make my purchase. I haven't bought yet, just pretty sold on Platinum LED.

On another note, look at those stems!! And man they have gotten bushy, I can't wait to seem em flowering their gonna be gorgeous ! I hope you get some buds off the outside plants, let us know if you do! Love a smoke report on the white widow !

 

[cogreen]

Now correct me if I'm wrong, but I think for a marshydro mars192 it is $320. And for a Platinum LED P300 it is $370. I believe they have the same output, I'm not positive tho. I would gladly pay 50$ extra for American made quality and customer service with someone I can understand. PLEASE correct me if I'm wrong, I'm all about saving as much money as I can! I will for sure look into GalxyHydro leds before I make my purchase. I haven't bought yet, just pretty sold on Platinum LED.

On another note, look at those stems!! And man they have gotten bushy, I can't wait to seem em flowering their gonna be gorgeous ! I hope you get some buds off the outside plants, let us know if you do! Love a smoke report on the white widow !

thanks for the kind words sir!

I'm not sure on the prices without looking. if it's only a 50$ diff, then yeah IMO its a no brainer and I'd go for the P300 as well! Here's the glaxy I got btw: Amazon.com : Galaxyhydro? LED Grow Plant Light 300w Hydroponic Plant Grow Lamp : Patio, Lawn & Garden

gotta run bro - need to finish up this flush on my plants!

 

[Bamalabrat]

I agree, those plants in the room look awesome. I also like the outdoor ones. But the stems on those mainlined ones look incredible. Seriously just wow. How tall are they? Just read something pretty interesting on another journal about yields as they relate to how tall the plant is prior to flip. I am sure that it is mostly related to genetics and skill of the grower. But there is also the obvious, the bigger the plant the more it yields. They look awesome Cogreen. Now go walk the dog!

 

[Camo420Grow]

Yeah a $50 difference for sure go with the Platinum, but I have been looking into the galaxy that you turned me on to and I am liking what i have found !
Galaxy300w- $115 vs. P300 $370
Galaxy600w-$250 vs. P450 $560

I do believe they have the same output maybe you can tell me if I'm wrong or not but from what I've read it's pretty much the same except galaxy 9 band spectrum vs. 12 band spectrum for the Platinum! All that being said thanks to you I think I will get the galaxy 600w I mean it is pretty much the same and half the price, with US support.

I hope the flush went good sir. Look forward to the grow and more pics

 

[cogreen]

Bama -- thanks for the kind words dude... I can't measure them right now - they are sleeping.. ssshhh.. I have no experience to speak from, but based on what I've read you can get some good yields on shorter wide plants too. That's what I'm obviously going for here, but will be happy just to get them through flower lol yeah that dog knows exactly when it's our time to run -- she never misses a beat!!

Camo -- Due to my lack of experience I can't provide any sound advice on the lighting choice. Honestly when I was researching I struggled to find a way to compare apples-to-apples with LED lighting. At the end of the day I have a budget for this hobby so price was a huge factor for me. If (err when) I can get into a bigger setup I'll buy higher quality lighting if needed. I wanted to get my feet wet with growing, learn and then reiterate on my setup as needed... You only know what you know right!?


UPDATE (again):
I tied down the 4 inner mains on these plants before I put the ladies down for a 12hr nap to try and flatten out the canopy... Seriously, you wouldn't believe how much I chopped off on Tuesday for the defol, and these girls are bushy as hell already (they could use another defol IMO, or maybe that's just my OCD talking). Unbelievable.

Have a good weekend all!!

 

[Camo420Grow]

I totally understand cogreen. I'll just have the to make the decision ! Just don't want to waste money if not needed, ya know.

The girls look mad bushy ! But nice and plump at the sametime ! Keep up the great work cogreen

 

[cogreen]

I totally understand cogreen. I'll just have the to make the decision ! Just don't want to waste money if not needed, ya know.

The girls look mad bushy ! But nice and plump at the sametime ! Keep up the great work cogreen

thanks brotha!!

I'll just throw this out there as food for thought -- my lighting preference is to have more smaller lighting rather than less bigger lighting. that's why I chose to have 2 LEDs -- 200w above each of my plants rather than say one 400w in the middle. with a single light you may have to consider how much area it will *really* cover for good results and ensure it fits your growing area size.

side note -- my mars-hydro malfunctioning has really helped me understand the importance of having backup equipment... if that was my only light I would've been running down to my local hydro store and drop way more than needed for a new light. now if I could only afford a backup water chiller!