Hello everyone, I'm Dick! Yes, it's fine, you can call me that. I'm used to it 
haha
Been quite a while since I've been around these parts, I kind of got out of growing for a little bit and put more time into other hobbies. This year I had been toying with the idea of renovating and cleaning up my grow room to get back at it, while doing so and getting some babies popping above ground I thought maybe I should start up another journal. My past journals were a great experience here and I hope to make some new memories, friends and learn even more as I go. So whoever would like to come and pull up a seat for this ride, have at it and light one up. Let's get down to what we have going on around here.
My grow space
10 'x 12' vented room in the basement, mostly sealed with white poly, still some improvements to be made
2 x 600w MH lights moving to 880w Spectrum X panel upon arrival
2 x 6" air cooled hoods with duct fan pushing towards main room exhaust
Furnace blower on speed controller built in to work as a whole room exhaust, unknown cfm, way more than needed
Fans - 2 x 6" clip ons, 2 x 16" oscillating, 1 x 20" box fan
Shelving unit with bottom shelf being used as propagation area with 4 x 52w fluorescent sunblasters.
Water reservoir if needed - roughly 100L - with air pump and stones
Strains currently starting
4 x Skunk #1 by G13 Labs - description from their website
Type: 70% Indica 30% Sativa
Lineage: Acapulco Gold x Afgan x Columbian Gold
Indoor: 450 gr/m2;
Outdoor: 600-800 gr/plant50-60 days indoor; mid-October outdoor
Flavour: Skunk, Fine Hardwood, fruity
Aroma: Strong Skunk with Sweet Fruity backnotes
Effects: Physical, Mental, Balanced
THC: 12-16%
6 x Sundae Banana Cookies by Greenpoint Seeds - description from their website
Type: 70% Indica 30% Sativa
Flowering legnth: 62-70 days
Finished height: Medium tall - Tall
Lineage: Sundae Driver (Fruity Pebbles OG x Grape Pie) X Black Banana Cookies (Banana Fire Cookies x Black Berry Kush)
Aroma: Mixed berries, Cookie Dough
Flavor: Banana bread, Tropical Fruit
Nutrients, Water & Medium
Mantis Buffered Nutrients - All-in-one 1.5-2.7-2.3
1 bottle and same dose through the whole grow, that's it. 5ml/L
I am very interested to try it out. It has a ph buffer that stays in the optimal range of 5.2-6.2 through the plants whole life and the one bottle has all the nutrients needed by any cannabis plant. This would be especially helpful in perpetual grows or autoflower strains. We will see how it goes!
Reverse Osmosis water and/or tap water
I plan to start using our town tap water in my grow room, I was always strictly RO water for the longest time because it was the easiest to work with. But I also noticed it was getting a little expensive filling the jugs. I do have a small under sink style RO system but I don't think that would be efficient for a larger grow. The mantis nutrients also advise not to use RO water due to the buffing agent but there are some options they gave me for using it if I want to. So I will try just the tap water first and see how it goes, the plants are currently getting straight tap ph'd water. May be adjusted in the future.
Soilless medium - Promix HP with mycorrhizae
Not a lot to say about this stuff, it's a high porosity peat based mix with about 30% perlite.
I used to mix in some extra with this mix but there's really no need to, its works great as is.
**Spectrum X light panel from MedicGrow**
Lets get started on our introduction of this monster light panel from one of our 420Mag sponsors, MedicGrow. Once it arrives the MH lights will be taken down.
To start with, I'd like to say that my experience so far has been very good with this company. We have emailed back and forth numerous times, they are prompt to answer any questions I may have and pretty speedy on the replies as well.
Thank you @MedicGrow for allowing me this opportunity to showcase your Spectrum X+ light panel!
Lets start with unboxing the light panel. Everything came in 2 boxes, the main panel and hardware was in 1 larger box and the 2 UV/IR light bars were in another smaller box. Both were packaged very well with huge foam panels inside to protect the products even if they got bumped around, I was impressed how well it was protected. Unfortunately I did not get pictures when I first opened the box, minor details.
Inside the main box was a small box right on top with the hardware for the panel. It comes with the booklet, 6' power cord, plug socket adapter, hanging cables and the daisy chain cable to connect more than 1 panel.
So I got the panel out of the box, it feels pretty heavy duty and weights about 35lbs. It comes folded up, there are hinges on each side of the driver housing/frame, this is convenient for storage compared to some other models out there this size that don't fold up from what I've seen. Once I unfolded it on the table, I opened up the UV/IR bars and started to secure them, they just snap on in between the fixed light bars and the cable screws into a provided port for power.
Right away I took it downstairs to my grow room to start hanging it up. Once I measured and got my hanging hooks in place, my wife helped me to hang the panel. We started with the middle main frame, once hung on the provided cable we opened up each wing and secured the second set of cables on each end to hold up the wings. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of this process but it's pretty straight forward.
The cables they provide are a different style from what I'm used to, they have a little plush pin in the top to adjust the height and you just pull the cable through to where you want it and let go of the pin for it to lock. The cables for the wings are set up in a Y formation so you can slide the cable and level out the panel, then you tighten a screw in the bottom so it wont slide anymore. Handy little cables.
Now, onto the light panel itself. It seems very sturdy and made with some quality hardware. There's nothing to get snagged on as you walk around the hanging panel and all the cables are secure as well, they either click in or screw in. The display panel is very well shaped, it doesn't stick out and stays somewhat protected. It also shows you the PPF and wattage output levels on the display as you turn the dimmer up or down, very nice to have. The dimmer and timer knobs are on top out of the way, as well as the red and uv/ir buttons. The daisy chain connections and power are on the opposite end. The timer only goes from 6-16hrs, I have been told this would be changed in the near future. It's not a big issue though as you can leave the timer off on the panel and use your own timer at the plug.
Once we got everything hung and in place, it was time to turn this panel on and see how it works. I was very impressed! I started to turn the knob from the off position, there is a click point for it to be completely turned off, and once the knob is turned to 30% the light turns on. At this point is when I said "wow" because the light intensity compared to the MH bulbs that were still on was crazy, and it wasn't even turned way up yet. I was able to take a couple of comparison shots for you all on this one. First we have just the 2 x 600W MH bulbs, then the Spectrum X panel at 30%, and again at 100%. These shots were taken without the red or uv/ir buttons on, we will get to those next.
So there's 4 different spectrum settings on this panel, plus the option to turn on extra red lighting for flowering. We have V1, V1 + UV/IR, F1 and F1 + UV/IR. The V1 options are for veg with more blue light and the F1 options are for flower with more red light. Also if you have the Spectrum Y daisy chained, when you change the spectrums on the X's display, it will also change it on the Y. This is a very convenient option to have and makes this panel great for every stage of your grow. Here are all the different spectrums that will show on your display as you change them.
I have not had a chance to do any sort of par tests on the panel, I will be looking for a decent app on my phone to do this with as I do not have a par meter at the moment. Here are the ppfd distribution sheets that are provided on MedicGrow's website, they seem fairly impressive. The efficacy of this panel is rated at 2.8umol/J and the PPF light output is rated up to 2297umol/s. I have not broken down all the stats yet to compare these numbers, but have watched a couple other videos on ways to do so, I will check those out in the future.
This is my first really nice LED light panel so I don't have much to compare to, but I will say that the light this panel gives off is amazing. With that being said, I am going to give this panel the best possible testing that I can personally can with what I have available. I am going to continue my current grow journal with just this light panel, I should be able to fit everything under it as it has about a 6x6 footprint, they say 5x5 for flower by the time you get the light closer to the plants. As for now, I'd say that's about it for an introduction on this panel. Once I have used it for a while longer, or even completed this round of plants, I will do a full final review in the appropriate sections of the 420Mag forums. Now lets test this monster light out on growing some buds, that's what we got it for! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read through this intro, I greatly appreciate every single one of you! Also, if there's any questions or comments about the light, please feel free to ask or comment away, I'd like the feedback!
*I will stop this post here for now and begin with a 2nd part introducing the plants, talking about their life so far and what we've done, as well as what we plan to do in the near future. Thanks for stopping in to look everyone! Glad to be back in action!
hahaBeen quite a while since I've been around these parts, I kind of got out of growing for a little bit and put more time into other hobbies. This year I had been toying with the idea of renovating and cleaning up my grow room to get back at it, while doing so and getting some babies popping above ground I thought maybe I should start up another journal. My past journals were a great experience here and I hope to make some new memories, friends and learn even more as I go. So whoever would like to come and pull up a seat for this ride, have at it and light one up. Let's get down to what we have going on around here.
My grow space
10 'x 12' vented room in the basement, mostly sealed with white poly, still some improvements to be made
2 x 600w MH lights moving to 880w Spectrum X panel upon arrival
2 x 6" air cooled hoods with duct fan pushing towards main room exhaust
Furnace blower on speed controller built in to work as a whole room exhaust, unknown cfm, way more than needed
Fans - 2 x 6" clip ons, 2 x 16" oscillating, 1 x 20" box fan
Shelving unit with bottom shelf being used as propagation area with 4 x 52w fluorescent sunblasters.
Water reservoir if needed - roughly 100L - with air pump and stones
Strains currently starting
4 x Skunk #1 by G13 Labs - description from their website
Type: 70% Indica 30% Sativa
Lineage: Acapulco Gold x Afgan x Columbian Gold
Indoor: 450 gr/m2;
Outdoor: 600-800 gr/plant50-60 days indoor; mid-October outdoor
Flavour: Skunk, Fine Hardwood, fruity
Aroma: Strong Skunk with Sweet Fruity backnotes
Effects: Physical, Mental, Balanced
THC: 12-16%
6 x Sundae Banana Cookies by Greenpoint Seeds - description from their website
Type: 70% Indica 30% Sativa
Flowering legnth: 62-70 days
Finished height: Medium tall - Tall
Lineage: Sundae Driver (Fruity Pebbles OG x Grape Pie) X Black Banana Cookies (Banana Fire Cookies x Black Berry Kush)
Aroma: Mixed berries, Cookie Dough
Flavor: Banana bread, Tropical Fruit
Nutrients, Water & Medium
Mantis Buffered Nutrients - All-in-one 1.5-2.7-2.3
1 bottle and same dose through the whole grow, that's it. 5ml/L
I am very interested to try it out. It has a ph buffer that stays in the optimal range of 5.2-6.2 through the plants whole life and the one bottle has all the nutrients needed by any cannabis plant. This would be especially helpful in perpetual grows or autoflower strains. We will see how it goes!
Reverse Osmosis water and/or tap water
I plan to start using our town tap water in my grow room, I was always strictly RO water for the longest time because it was the easiest to work with. But I also noticed it was getting a little expensive filling the jugs. I do have a small under sink style RO system but I don't think that would be efficient for a larger grow. The mantis nutrients also advise not to use RO water due to the buffing agent but there are some options they gave me for using it if I want to. So I will try just the tap water first and see how it goes, the plants are currently getting straight tap ph'd water. May be adjusted in the future.
Soilless medium - Promix HP with mycorrhizae
Not a lot to say about this stuff, it's a high porosity peat based mix with about 30% perlite.
I used to mix in some extra with this mix but there's really no need to, its works great as is.
**Spectrum X light panel from MedicGrow**
Lets get started on our introduction of this monster light panel from one of our 420Mag sponsors, MedicGrow. Once it arrives the MH lights will be taken down.
To start with, I'd like to say that my experience so far has been very good with this company. We have emailed back and forth numerous times, they are prompt to answer any questions I may have and pretty speedy on the replies as well.
Thank you @MedicGrow for allowing me this opportunity to showcase your Spectrum X+ light panel!
Lets start with unboxing the light panel. Everything came in 2 boxes, the main panel and hardware was in 1 larger box and the 2 UV/IR light bars were in another smaller box. Both were packaged very well with huge foam panels inside to protect the products even if they got bumped around, I was impressed how well it was protected. Unfortunately I did not get pictures when I first opened the box, minor details.
Inside the main box was a small box right on top with the hardware for the panel. It comes with the booklet, 6' power cord, plug socket adapter, hanging cables and the daisy chain cable to connect more than 1 panel.
So I got the panel out of the box, it feels pretty heavy duty and weights about 35lbs. It comes folded up, there are hinges on each side of the driver housing/frame, this is convenient for storage compared to some other models out there this size that don't fold up from what I've seen. Once I unfolded it on the table, I opened up the UV/IR bars and started to secure them, they just snap on in between the fixed light bars and the cable screws into a provided port for power.
Right away I took it downstairs to my grow room to start hanging it up. Once I measured and got my hanging hooks in place, my wife helped me to hang the panel. We started with the middle main frame, once hung on the provided cable we opened up each wing and secured the second set of cables on each end to hold up the wings. Sorry I didn't get any pictures of this process but it's pretty straight forward.
The cables they provide are a different style from what I'm used to, they have a little plush pin in the top to adjust the height and you just pull the cable through to where you want it and let go of the pin for it to lock. The cables for the wings are set up in a Y formation so you can slide the cable and level out the panel, then you tighten a screw in the bottom so it wont slide anymore. Handy little cables.
Now, onto the light panel itself. It seems very sturdy and made with some quality hardware. There's nothing to get snagged on as you walk around the hanging panel and all the cables are secure as well, they either click in or screw in. The display panel is very well shaped, it doesn't stick out and stays somewhat protected. It also shows you the PPF and wattage output levels on the display as you turn the dimmer up or down, very nice to have. The dimmer and timer knobs are on top out of the way, as well as the red and uv/ir buttons. The daisy chain connections and power are on the opposite end. The timer only goes from 6-16hrs, I have been told this would be changed in the near future. It's not a big issue though as you can leave the timer off on the panel and use your own timer at the plug.
Once we got everything hung and in place, it was time to turn this panel on and see how it works. I was very impressed! I started to turn the knob from the off position, there is a click point for it to be completely turned off, and once the knob is turned to 30% the light turns on. At this point is when I said "wow" because the light intensity compared to the MH bulbs that were still on was crazy, and it wasn't even turned way up yet. I was able to take a couple of comparison shots for you all on this one. First we have just the 2 x 600W MH bulbs, then the Spectrum X panel at 30%, and again at 100%. These shots were taken without the red or uv/ir buttons on, we will get to those next.
So there's 4 different spectrum settings on this panel, plus the option to turn on extra red lighting for flowering. We have V1, V1 + UV/IR, F1 and F1 + UV/IR. The V1 options are for veg with more blue light and the F1 options are for flower with more red light. Also if you have the Spectrum Y daisy chained, when you change the spectrums on the X's display, it will also change it on the Y. This is a very convenient option to have and makes this panel great for every stage of your grow. Here are all the different spectrums that will show on your display as you change them.
I have not had a chance to do any sort of par tests on the panel, I will be looking for a decent app on my phone to do this with as I do not have a par meter at the moment. Here are the ppfd distribution sheets that are provided on MedicGrow's website, they seem fairly impressive. The efficacy of this panel is rated at 2.8umol/J and the PPF light output is rated up to 2297umol/s. I have not broken down all the stats yet to compare these numbers, but have watched a couple other videos on ways to do so, I will check those out in the future.
This is my first really nice LED light panel so I don't have much to compare to, but I will say that the light this panel gives off is amazing. With that being said, I am going to give this panel the best possible testing that I can personally can with what I have available. I am going to continue my current grow journal with just this light panel, I should be able to fit everything under it as it has about a 6x6 footprint, they say 5x5 for flower by the time you get the light closer to the plants. As for now, I'd say that's about it for an introduction on this panel. Once I have used it for a while longer, or even completed this round of plants, I will do a full final review in the appropriate sections of the 420Mag forums. Now lets test this monster light out on growing some buds, that's what we got it for! Thanks to everyone who took the time to read through this intro, I greatly appreciate every single one of you! Also, if there's any questions or comments about the light, please feel free to ask or comment away, I'd like the feedback!
*I will stop this post here for now and begin with a 2nd part introducing the plants, talking about their life so far and what we've done, as well as what we plan to do in the near future. Thanks for stopping in to look everyone! Glad to be back in action!
Much love!
