Scooby's 1st grow - LED

[The Lurker]

Nice haul, Scoob! Especially considering these were soil and allowed to grow vertically. Nice frosted sugar coated goodness. You'll have some snacks later for sure!

A bit surprised you cut 'em already as you mentioned trichomes were mostly clear on the 4th, unless you were going for more of the head high. Hairs are nicely colored in any case...

Interesting to see what two panels would have done with these from the beginning, as all three had only one panel until halfway through flowering, as you mentioned...

All in all, not bad for a first grow, LED or no! Enjoy your harvest, my friend!

Regards,

-TL

 

[filmclip]

Great grow Scooby...be proud!

I'm currently in the middle of my 1st grow.
I have 6 mothers doing extremely well under 100W CFLs

A 120w LED panel and grow-tent are arriving next week so I'll be referring back to this thread often.
Keep it up!

 

[Mmmmick]

Timber !!!!

Chopped the LAW and the WW today. Finally!!

I'll have a nice update with pictures as soon as I get some things done.

Like

Man trimming is a bit of a chore, but well worth it.

Got wet weights. I'm in a little bit of shock to be honest. Can anyone tell me how much weight weight you lose during drying?? Unless I lose more than 80% I'm real happy with my haul. Especially considering my best 2 plants have 2 weeks + left.

Wet weights
LAW - 8-1/2 oz.
WW - 6 oz.

WW was solid buds through the whole plant. Pictures coming!!

Well done Scooby, you should end up with close to 3 1/2 to 4 oz when dry. Very nice looking buds, lots of trichs. They look great.

The cfl/led comparison looks close but from that one close pic I'd say the cfls did a slightly better job. LAW thickened up pretty nicely. I like that plant loaded up like that.

Great job, waiting on the dry weights and smoke report. excellent first grow my friend. You should be pleased with your results.

 

[happynow]

Nicely done sir!!


Makes waiting these last couple of weeks for mine take forever. Yours look really yummy!

 

[Scooby_Snacks]

Nice haul, Scoob! Especially considering these were soil and allowed to grow vertically. Nice frosted sugar coated goodness. You'll have some snacks later for sure!

A bit surprised you cut 'em already as you mentioned trichomes were mostly clear on the 4th, unless you were going for more of the head high. Hairs are nicely colored in any case...

Interesting to see what two panels would have done with these from the beginning, as all three had only one panel until halfway through flowering, as you mentioned...

All in all, not bad for a first grow, LED or no! Enjoy your harvest, my friend!

Regards,

-TL

Lurker, trichomes were tough to get a clear picture of. The LAW I'm not sure what was there. 2 of us looked and we both always came back with different answers than each other and than out last time looking. Loupe we ordered takes 14 days to get here. Planned too late on that. I needed the light for the new tent, so we chopped her. The WW I was not planning on chopping yesterday. When we looked I saw a good amount of amber and decided to chop.

Ask and you shall receive. The new tent has 2 lights the entire time it was needed. I wouldn't have turned a second light on till this week anyway in that tent. Gonna have 5 plants under her.

Great grow Scooby...be proud!

I'm currently in the middle of my 1st grow.
I have 6 mothers doing extremely well under 100W CFLs

A 120w LED panel and grow-tent are arriving next week so I'll be referring back to this thread often.
Keep it up!

You going to be posting a journal?

Well done Scooby, you should end up with close to 3 1/2 to 4 oz when dry. Very nice looking buds, lots of trichs. They look great.

The cfl/led comparison looks close but from that one close pic I'd say the cfls did a slightly better job. LAW thickened up pretty nicely. I like that plant loaded up like that.

Great job, waiting on the dry weights and smoke report. excellent first grow my friend. You should be pleased with your results.

Mmmmmick. About the comparison, a few things stand out. The red hairs on the LED plant are SICK! They are a deeper red and there are many many more of them. It's noticeable to someone who knows not what they are looking at. Also, I'm not sure how to say this. I don't think the LED has MORE trichs but maybe they are bigger? It just looks frostier, but when you look at the closeups you don't see a big difference. The cfl's are larger, but than they should be. They had those lights to themselves for the last 8 weeks. I am still surprised at what the cfl's can do though.

The LAW is personal taste. Personally I think it smells like shit. The Wonder Woman on the other hand has a fruity aroma that hits that sensitive spot top of the inside of my nose. Mmmmmm. Someone else had the exact opposite impression and LOVED the smell of the LAW.

Nicely done sir!!


Makes waiting these last couple of weeks for mine take forever. Yours look really yummy!

happynow thanks for tuning in

 

[WarBux79]

Hey Scooby. Any ideas on your dry weight yet? I have a friend growing clones from my grow under CFLs right now 2nd week @ 12/12. Its hard to tell exactly but his are doing at least as good as mine were. I totally didn't expect CFL's to flower as well as they are.

 

[Mmmmick]

Sorry Scooby I got the LAW and Wonder Woman mixed up. The Wonder Woman on the chair by herself was the plant I meant.

 

[Scooby_Snacks]

Hey Scooby. Any ideas on your dry weight yet? I have a friend growing clones from my grow under CFLs right now 2nd week @ 12/12. Its hard to tell exactly but his are doing at least as good as mine were. I totally didn't expect CFL's to flower as well as they are.

I like to go with worst case scenarios. Assuming I lose 80% during drying.
LAW - maybe 1 1/2 - 2 oz?
WW - heavy oz +

Now that I know what weight looks like on a plant, I got a little excited looking at the Blackberries. The LED BB should yield at least, if not more than the LAW maybe by as much as 15%. She's also thick down the middle like the WW. The cfl BB, man I hate to even venture a guess. Possibly almost a pound of wet buds? If it's less than that it won't be by much, and it could easily be more. There are 2 giant colas and several pretty big ones.

Sorry Scooby I got the LAW and Wonder Woman mixed up. The Wonder Woman on the chair by herself was the plant I meant.

I love that one and can't wait to smoke it. If it tastes half as good as it smells. You also have to like how much bud that tiny plant put out. I have to go back and look but I don't think she was taller than 14". She had buds all the way down to the bottom most node. If nothing else about this light impresses me, the fact that light got down through that thick canopy did.

 

[Mmmmick]

I like to go with worst case scenarios. Assuming I lose 80% during drying.
LAW - maybe 1 1/2 - 2 oz?
WW - heavy oz +

Now that I know what weight looks like on a plant, I got a little excited looking at the Blackberries. The LED BB should yield at least, if not more than the LAW maybe by as much as 15%. She's also thick down the middle like the WW. The cfl BB, man I hate to even venture a guess. Possibly almost a pound of wet buds? If it's less than that it won't be by much, and it could easily be more. There are 2 giant colas and several pretty big ones.



I love that one and can't wait to smoke it. If it tastes half as good as it smells. You also have to like how much bud that tiny plant put out. I have to go back and look but I don't think she was taller than 14". She had buds all the way down to the bottom most node. If nothing else about this light impresses me, the fact that light got down through that thick canopy did.

yeah there's just something about a small plant that loads up like that. I need to work on my air circulation, hoping to get the smell back full force. I think my plants were stifled in that little basement closet.

The led definitely managed to dress that plant up quite well. I'm hoping to get the 126w grow started soon.

You are getting pretty decent results from what I'm seeing. What are the issues you feel the led has presented and can you work around them?

 

[Scooby_Snacks]

The led definitely managed to dress that plant up quite well. I'm hoping to get the 126w grow started soon.

You are getting pretty decent results from what I'm seeing. What are the issues you feel the led has presented and can you work around them?

1. Coverage area. - more lights or scrog - yes

2. wet dry cycle - lack of heat makes the plants need less water. First grow I was not prepared for that. less water = less nutes - smart pots and adding more perlite to the soil hopefully will help with that. - yes

3. Price - I'll leave this one unanswered until the BB's finished. I still think there's more upside in led than cfl, but I'll wait to see first. - ?

4. Companies BS - Everyone's got their own pet peeves when it comes to what drives them crazy or makes them mad. The thing I'm most upset about is HGL changing the spectrums just as the first round of grows with them are finishing. Personally if I had an HGL light and hadn't started my grow, I'd return it and roll the dice with another company. I personally will not spend another penny with her company but possibly still will with LED. I know I'm not the only one, although the reasons vary. - yes, go with another company or get my own direct.

5. spectrums - sort of part of the above. most lights seem to be missing a spectrum of two still or not have them in the right ratios. adding cfl's may be the way to go until that happens to save $$.


1 & 2 I've done. 5 I want to wait one more round before doing. Other changes I plan on making this time. 1 extra week of veg. Topping more, possibly 3 times each. Lollipoppin the bottom of the plants right before flowering. The WW had buds through out but was only about 14". The LAW has immature crap at its bottom and was short of 3'.

 

[logitech227]

Good job scooby. You did well with the light.

I feel your heat regarding HGL changing the light right when her largely talked up claims were pretty much destroyed by unbiased 3rd party grows. I bought one but I wont buy another one because I just don't like how she openly bashed a company when it was her own light that was inferior at the time. She told me the new design has been a R&D project for some time but I personally think that is a lie. It was a direct response to her light not holding up to her claims. Frankly, the educated consumer should have figured that out but a lot of new growers dont know any better and actually believe a 126w light can mimic a 400w hps. I knew before I bought my light that I will not get over 126g, plain and simple. So my expectations have not been crushed like some because I know how sales are and in the marijuana world it is easy to talk things up and people will believe it because they don't know any better. In my opinion HGL is equal to Advanced nutrients in their marketing tactics, they present a super solid case backed with technology but at the end of that day sales out weigh complete honesty.

Aside from that I feel the light does work well and if it didnt have such a huge standard to live up too people would respect it more. But that is not the case because MFG built up a hype that 3 126w lights could mimic a 1000w HPS and that just clearly is not possible. The thing is the light cast to large of a shadow to fill. People just need to realize that and once they do then they can start reassessing how they use them, and use them better and more effectively.

I for one, when I bought my light, opted for a 30 degree model because I knew tall plants would yield the same amount or less then multiple tiny individual plants. Number one being is the intensity, so I wanted the tiny plants receiving 100% intensity without the foliage blocking it. Despite viewing angles, LEDs just don't have the poneys to grow large plants like we are used to growing under HPS, plain and simple. You would need multiple units to do so.

 

[Mmmmick]

1. Coverage area. - more lights or scrog - yes

2. wet dry cycle - lack of heat makes the plants need less water. First grow I was not prepared for that. less water = less nutes - smart pots and adding more perlite to the soil hopefully will help with that. - yes

3. Price - I'll leave this one unanswered until the BB's finished. I still think there's more upside in led than cfl, but I'll wait to see first. - ?

4. Companies BS - Everyone's got their own pet peeves when it comes to what drives them crazy or makes them mad. The thing I'm most upset about is HGL changing the spectrums just as the first round of grows with them are finishing. Personally if I had an HGL light and hadn't started my grow, I'd return it and roll the dice with another company. I personally will not spend another penny with her company but possibly still will with LED. I know I'm not the only one, although the reasons vary. - yes, go with another company or get my own direct.

5. spectrums - sort of part of the above. most lights seem to be missing a spectrum of two still or not have them in the right ratios. adding cfl's may be the way to go until that happens to save $$.


1 & 2 I've done. 5 I want to wait one more round before doing. Other changes I plan on making this time. 1 extra week of veg. Topping more, possibly 3 times each. Lollipoppin the bottom of the plants right before flowering. The WW had buds through out but was only about 14". The LAW has immature crap at its bottom and was short of 3'.

Coverage area was the first thing that came to my eye but I was accustomed to the 120 UFO lens which works great with a close mylar fence, My coverage evened out almost perfectly. The 126 appears to drop off abruptly but thats a lens issue. Matching the lens to the intended scrog should address that. I'd be willing to replace the lenses myself if they could be retro'd, but a retail customer should be clearly advised up front on their coverage requirements and if the coverage isn't properly advised the seller should eat it and correct the issue.

heheh more lights is on a lot of wish lists.

The wet/dry cycle was an early lesson for me as well, lots of perlite fixed that. I had no expectations due to no growing history.

Prices are re-fning-diculous imo. And the changes happen so quickly in designs that available gear doesn't get cheap/affordable until it's 3 or 4 generations behind. Having said that, my UFO has paid for itself in money not spent on smoke, and all the nutes, power, whatever are covered as well. It'll cost nutes plus 17 bucks in power for all my future grows. The smoke is as good or better than 90% of whats available. Thats upside to me. Overall positive experience, but I went in expecting claims to be grossly exaggerated so I wasn't dissapointed.

I'm still going to do a grow with the 126w. I got an attractive price on the unit and, as with the UFO, there's no substitute for personal experience.

Yeah I knew there were design changes coming early this year in the HGL but I don't ever buy first gen due to cost and current prices aren't attractive to me. Some folks pay top dollar and should be dealt with honestly. Perhaps companies might offer some sort of sweetener for those who bought just prior to design upgrades. I haven't been following the HGL issues to any extent, but I'm sure there are some genuine concerns. I don't like to see people have to struggle for fair treatment.

I'm finding myself quite drawn to the custom idea. The Lurker posted $1-$1.50 a watt as the cost of a custom build, shipping in. I'm up for that!! Lurker is getting some good info compiled on spectrum, gonna come in handy for a lot of folks. Once I figure whats missing I'll add it to the tent with the UFO and penetrator and nuke my little screen, heheh.
Maybe a led watt/hid watt would look good at $1 per considering lifespan.

Yeah get that grow tweakked, heheh I'm anxious to see the tops you'll pull with some fine tuning.

 

[slimm]

1. Coverage area. - more lights or scrog - yes

2. wet dry cycle - lack of heat makes the plants need less water. First grow I was not prepared for that. less water = less nutes - smart pots and adding more perlite to the soil hopefully will help with that. - yes
...

I agree with your assessment of the watering needs. Even with my smart pots I am still not seeing them dry as quickly as I would like. Definitely want to add some perlite to the soil if you are using FFOF.

 

[IrishBoy]

i tried to tell everyone before they bought these lights. plan and simple i hope you guys listen to me, let me be the genie pig and test these leds and see how they work. i have nothing to lose but yield, i haven't paid a dime for my leds and company's keep sending me their lights to prove their better then others. if i was you i would hold off until i finish my mission to find the best led lights out their and ill be sure to let you guys know who has the real deal. i hate seeing people waisting their money on false claims and BS. ill post my journals and you guys can see my led grows right with me.

if you must buy leds please do ur homework and see a few unbiased growers getting good results, donut believe what the company's says to you. i have no reason to BS anyone with one light over the other. leds are way too much money to be taking risk on company claims

 

[Scooby_Snacks]

Good job scooby. You did well with the light.
I knew before I bought my light that I will not get over 126g, plain and simple. So my expectations have not been crushed like some because I know how sales are and in the marijuana world it is easy to talk things up and people will believe it because they don't know any better. In my opinion HGL is equal to Advanced nutrients in their marketing tactics, they present a super solid case backed with technology but at the end of that day sales out weigh complete honesty.

Aside from that I feel the light does work well and if it didnt have such a huge standard to live up too people would respect it more. But that is not the case because MFG built up a hype that 3 126w lights could mimic a 1000w HPS and that just clearly is not possible. The thing is the light cast to large of a shadow to fill. People just need to realize that and once they do then they can start reassessing how they use them, and use them better and more effectively.

Glad to see you here Botanist. I'm lurking over there watching yours still.

Fortunately for me I got lucky. I hit my expectations, but they were uneducated expectations. Overall I've made my money back as soon as the rest of the first run is finished. I can't be toooo upset. I expected some BS.

The 126 appears to drop off abruptly but thats a lens issue. Matching the lens to the intended scrog should address that. I'd be willing to replace the lenses myself if they could be retro'd, but a retail customer should be clearly advised up front on their coverage requirements and if the coverage isn't properly advised the seller should eat it and correct the issue.

HGL blamed the issue on not having any experience growing in soil. I've heard that one used a lot. Not sure what that has to do with the size of the footprint, but whatevery.

heheh more lights is on a lot of wish lists.

the question for me now is another LED or cfl.

The wet/dry cycle was an early lesson for me as well, lots of perlite fixed that. I had no expectations due to no growing history.

Same here. I didn't know what to expect and only after I started did others mention it. No biggie, lesson learned.

Prices are re-fning-diculous imo. And the changes happen so quickly in designs that available gear doesn't get cheap/affordable until it's 3 or 4 generations behind. Having said that, my UFO has paid for itself in money not spent on smoke, and all the nutes, power, whatever are covered as well. It'll cost nutes plus 17 bucks in power for all my future grows. The smoke is as good or better than 90% of whats available. Thats upside to me. Overall positive experience, but I went in expecting claims to be grossly exaggerated so I wasn't dissapointed.

I agree 100%. Mine will work. I'll just start to look for what's better.

I'm still going to do a grow with the 126w. I got an attractive price on the unit and, as with the UFO, there's no substitute for personal experience.

I can't wait to see you use it. Yours and slimms finish are going to answer a few questions for me. Speaking of which you should check out Botanists grow. He's using a 126w 30 degree on a scrog.

Yeah I knew there were design changes coming early this year in the HGL but I don't ever buy first gen due to cost and current prices aren't attractive to me. Some folks pay top dollar and should be dealt with honestly. Perhaps companies might offer some sort of sweetener for those who bought just prior to design upgrades. I haven't been following the HGL issues to any extent, but I'm sure there are some genuine concerns. I don't like to see people have to struggle for fair treatment.

Even if she offered an upgrade program I'd tell her to stick it hearing some of what I've heard. We were led to believe that there was a pro model coming out with higher lumens and a "game changer" sometime next year. adding one color and taking away another after watching performance does not sound like "game changer" to me.

I'm finding myself quite drawn to the custom idea. The Lurker posted $1-$1.50 a watt as the cost of a custom build, shipping in. I'm up for that!! Lurker is getting some good info compiled on spectrum, gonna come in handy for a lot of folks. Once I figure whats missing I'll add it to the tent with the UFO and penetrator and nuke my little screen, heheh.
Maybe a led watt/hid watt would look good at $1 per considering lifespan.

I'm with you. One of the only reasons I'm still considering LED. I won't buy from another manufacturer until I see results that match claims.

Yeah get that grow tweakked, heheh I'm anxious to see the tops you'll pull with some fine tuning.

You and I both. I went back and read HGL's grow to see what exactly she does to her plants. I don't expect her results but I hope to tell if they are BS or not. Extra week of veg and topped 2-3 times. I'm also going to try and get them around the size of the blackberry under LED or slightly bigger.

I agree with your assessment of the watering needs. Even with my smart pots I am still not seeing them dry as quickly as I would like. Definitely want to add some perlite to the soil if you are using FFOF.

Using an local organic for the second grow. Mostly peat moss and compost. I have lower expectations of my wet dry cycle after the issues last run. I'll worry about getting them as good as I can as soon as I get it within reason. lol.

 

[go green]

I am using 2 of my hgl 126 unit as side lighting for the ladies under the lumigrow! haha. Life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

I am glad I am not the only one with similar feelings. I still love my 180ps unit though...cant complain much about that, and irish has pretty well proven it.

I feel ya guys...i own three 126 units.

-gog-

 

[Mmmmick]

Glad to see you here Botanist. I'm lurking over there watching yours still.

Fortunately for me I got lucky. I hit my expectations, but they were uneducated expectations. Overall I've made my money back as soon as the rest of the first run is finished. I can't be toooo upset. I expected some BS.



HGL blamed the issue on not having any experience growing in soil. I've heard that one used a lot. Not sure what that has to do with the size of the footprint, but whatevery.
Soil containers most likely require more space due to the volume of medium required. Plants could be positioned in the pots to overcome this initially but they still need wider coverage as they grow. I read that part of the thread and and recall a statement that the plants would grow toward the light. I don't have the experience to know but that didn't convince me. I still feel that a 90 degree lense is required for a smallish screen in order to stay within acceptable light distance and get even coverage. Mine is a 60 so the grow should provide an answer for me.


the question for me now is another LED or cfl.



Same here. I didn't know what to expect and only after I started did others mention it. No biggie, lesson learned.



I agree 100%. Mine will work. I'll just start to look for what's better.

heheh thats the biggest problem with developing tech, the new stuff is always changing. No matter when a buy is made there's something better in no time. Can't blame the tech for that, it's the rush to release the next new thing. We can add to our existing lights without having to scrap the works. It could just be a question of adding a couple of extra bandwidths in a small panel, much cheaper than starting from scratch. Gonna have to make sure Lurker stays in the design lab 24/7 lol.

I can't wait to see you use it. Yours and slimms finish are going to answer a few questions for me. Speaking of which you should check out Botanists grow. He's using a 126w 30 degree on a scrog.
30 sounds tight for a scrog, I'll check it out.thanks


Even if she offered an upgrade program I'd tell her to stick it hearing some of what I've heard. We were led to believe that there was a pro model coming out with higher lumens and a "game changer" sometime next year. adding one color and taking away another after watching performance does not sound like "game changer" to me.

If you feel you got less than you paid for then I'd definitely pursue other sources. I dunno if one small wavelength change would qualify as gamechanger.



I'm with you. One of the only reasons I'm still considering LED. I won't buy from another manufacturer until I see results that match claims.



You and I both. I went back and read HGL's grow to see what exactly she does to her plants. I don't expect her results but I hope to tell if they are BS or not. Extra week of veg and topped 2-3 times. I'm also going to try and get them around the size of the blackberry under LED or slightly bigger.

seems to be some controversy there. I dunno, I've seen so many posts that made outrageous claims pro and con that I'm gonna do it for myself then I'll know what I'm seeing and why.

Using an local organic for the second grow. Mostly peat moss and compost. I have lower expectations of my wet dry cycle after the issues last run. I'll worry about getting them as good as I can as soon as I get it within reason. lol.

make sure you load up at least 25-30% extra perlite. Made mine cycle normally after a completely soaked first grow.

 

[Mmmmick]

I am using 2 of my hgl 126 unit as side lighting for the ladies under the lumigrow! haha. Life gives you lemons, make lemonade.

I am glad I am not the only one with similar feelings. I still love my 180ps unit though...cant complain much about that, and irish has pretty well proven it.

I feel ya guys...i own three 126 units.

-gog-

I have mixed feelings about that grow. I like the direct comparison but it should have been watt for watt whether HGL thought so or not. The 180 has almost 50% more power, should produce 50% more weight to do as good or better. I haven't checked Irish in a couple of days. Maybe he's got weights? Curious one way or the other.

 

[slimm]

...
I can't wait to see you use it. Yours and slimms finish are going to answer a few questions for me. Speaking of which you should check out Botanists grow. He's using a 126w 30 degree on a scrog.

I'm not sure that my grow will answer many questions for you SS. The poor drainage is making it hard for me to get things dialed in after all the issues I faced early on. Overall, things are improving but growth has been slowed. At this point I'm not looking to set any records on harvest - I just want to make it across the finish line with some decent bud. I'm really excited to chop these and get started on my next grow with hydro.

 

[Scooby_Snacks]

make sure you load up at least 25-30% extra perlite. Made mine cycle normally after a completely soaked first grow.

I think I've got at least that in there.

I wouldn't say I got less than I paid for. $25/g adds up quick. lol. just a hindsight thing. How many times you look back over something and say "I'd do it exactly the same way". For me not many first time thru's

I'm not sure that my grow will answer many questions for you SS. The poor drainage is making it hard for me to get things dialed in after all the issues I faced early on. Overall, things are improving but growth has been slowed. At this point I'm not looking to set any records on harvest - I just want to make it across the finish line with some decent bud. I'm really excited to chop these and get started on my next grow with hydro.

sometimes the ones with problems show more than the ones without. I also think they set the floor for expectations. Some of us are stuck with these lights. May as well max them out while we have em.