Gov's PlatinumLED Adventure With DocBud's High Brix Kit

Governmentchz

Well-Known Member
I would like to welcome my friends and any others that would like to walk this path of discovery with me. For this grow, I've made a few changes. First, I've swapped out the TopLED Mars II 700 light in my cabinet for a PlatinumLED P300. This is the reason I've decided to grow a familiar strain (Barney's Farm 8-Ball Kush) in 3.25 gal hempy buckets to mimic the environment from my previous 8bk grow. I will also be using the same nutrients for this sole plant (General Hydroponics FloraDuo 2-part).

The rest of the space in the cabinet will be occupied by a pair of 2009 cup winner Vanilla Kush beans and a Barney's version of Acapulco Gold influenced by a discussion in another high brix thread. And, yes, I am going for 4 plants this round as well, 3 of which will be grown in Doc Bud's High brix kit soil (currently cooking and on day 8)

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Here is my new light, the PlatinumLed P300!! And a few comparison pictures with the Mars.

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This Mars consumes 298w. It has no veg/flower switches nor does it have an on/off switch. Neither of these factors influenced the quality of produce, but there is certainly money to be saved by having a veg setting. The veg setting on the P300 consumes 99w according to my Kill-a-watt meter. With no veg option on the mars, the power savings throughout the veg cycle would be 0VER 66%!! The actual power savings will be closer to 70% while this grow is in veg because with considerably less heat being generated, I'll be using less fans. ~100w less fans to be more direct. So closer to 75% power savings just from switching to this PlatinumLED light. hmmm.


I also finally vented the cabinet and room by cutting a hole and installing a backflow preventer. I eyeballed the alignment before I went in and shinnied 80 feet across rafters dodging f'n roofing nails. I was off about 1/4"...lol

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And here is the focus of this grow...for now.

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I stumbled across this little piece of kit in the sale bin at walzmartz. It said it was a cactus garden and came with some little pouch of seeds I chucked. The chincy plastic pots are the perfect size for my rapid rooters and at ~$2 I figured I could save that much in aluminum foil making holders and shit (see previous journals for a chuckle) so snagged it.

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I put the lone 8bk bean in its soaked paper towel house and plugged in the warmer...here we go again.

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Here are some pictures of my expanded grow area too. I added a 4'x4' Botanicare tray, some brackets on the ceiling and hung the Mars over it for perspective. If you've seen my cabinet, here it is in perspective with the new area

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Welcome all. Let's grow something. :welcome:

:peace::cool:
 
Subbed of course. I remembered to bring a lawn chair, and some extra firewood for the fire, keep it stoked up this time, packet of marshmallow if anyone wants some. I know your supplying the smoke so I won't be leaving for Afew months. Peace gov
 
So your using the same cabinet as your last grows gov? Four instead of two? How do you plan on growing them ( training wise)? Only ask cause it seemed your cabinet was packed tight after you first grow with the two plants, you think you can get four in there?
Oh, I should read all before posting :oops::sorry::passitleft:
 
Welcome everybody. Yeah Grizz, I'm 'vegging' all 4 girls in this cabinet...for awhile anyway. If they get too big for it, I will move the two VK girls to the tray. AG is scheduled to run in the cabinet with the 8bk, but if she gets too big, I'll move her to the new tray too. 8bk will grow exclusively in the cabinet to maintain the comparison to the Mars II.

Keegan, I've done woodworking and really enjoy it, but I did not make this cabinet. it's a product from "hydroponicsgroup" called the Bud Buddy. They've expanded quite a bit this past year and they have some cool stuff. They aren't a sponsor so I won't link, but google is your friend. I got the box-only and outfitted it with products of my choice instead of the proprietary stuff they had.

There is a lot going on in this room right now, but it will settle in during the coming weeks.


:cool:
 
WOOHOO! Can't wait to see how things directly stack up to your last experiment with different lights, Gov.. This proud papa along for the ride!


What's your time frame on starting that 4x4 tray, by the way? We need to make sure that you're taken care of..
 
Oct 1st my soil will be perfect. I'll germ the week before and plant into their 1gal smarties once they're viable (4-7 days usually). Then it'll be go time. ;)
 
Very nice!

Quick question: Do you leave the tray open like that the entire time? No walls/curtains/partitions?

Yes, it's my intention to run this entire room as a chamber. I do not really have separate veg/flower areas yet. I didn't want to be limited by a tent, but in the event I decide to run veg and flower in this room simultaneously, I'll have to do some additional light-proofing as the holes on the back of the cabinet leak enough light to be an issue in a flower room.

It IS my intention to use the cabinet primarily as a veg area as that will allow me to veg a stable of girls on 99w...lmao

Subbed. Nice cabinet!! Looking forward to see how the light preforms

Thanks and welcome. I too am looking forward to its performance!

Great little cabinet :) You'll love Acapulco Gold, it's a fine plant & a 1st class smoke :)

Thanks skunny. I've smoked the real deal before, and question the naming convention, but I've grown a few Barney's plants and they rarely disappoint so I'm excited.
 
Yes, it's my intention to run this entire room as a chamber. I do not really have separate veg/flower areas yet. I didn't want to be limited by a tent, but in the event I decide to run veg and flower in this room simultaneously, I'll have to do some additional light-proofing as the holes on the back of the cabinet leak enough light to be an issue in a flower room.

Interesting! May I make a suggestion then in order to maximize performance: Get some thick white vinyl and make a curtain for it that hangs from the ceiling or otherwise and encloses the tray. One material that works great is white vinyl outdoor tablecloth material as it's very thick, rubbery and opaque if you find the right stuff.

You'll want that reflectivity and your girls will only thank you for it! Lighting intensity is directly dependent on the overall area that you're trying to cover with any given light. Less area = higher intensity.
 
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