Doc Bud Tries The G8 450 LED From Dorm Grow!

D

Doc Bud

Well-Known Member
Member of the Month
December 2010
Hello everyone!

Yep, I'm having a go with an LED. This will be my first grow using modern technology!!!

This particular light features 3 watt LED's, and a very well thought out spectrum for growing. For blooming, I've got a red UFO supplemental light.

This model is designed with a 3x4 footprint in mind.....so I'm going to use it in a 2x4 foot print, because that's what size many grow tents are.

I will be testing the light, not doing a comparison or a competition. My goal with this grow is to show what the light is capable of in a perfect environment.

I'll be growing in High Brix soil and the plants will be living in a climate controlled room with steady temps in the optimal zone at all times. I'll be careful to keep the light at the optimal height at all times, etc.

I've got 3 small Tahoe OG's here....figuring that would be a popular "Dorm" crop. I'll probably end up choosing one and blooming it under the 2 lights....maybe 2, depending on how big they get!

Stay tuned! I'll go into detail about the light in subsequent posts.

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So Doc's goin' LED, eh?

People say you get better trichs ... but ... better than ... ?

:cheesygrinsmiley:
 
My brother in law gave me a 240 for chirstmass. I have not put it in use yet. flowering right now with a 1000w hps.Trying to find a way to use it now. seems like it built
 
AWWWWW Shiz!!!! DOCBUD has gone LED!! This is epic!! Doc, you already have the frostiest nugs I've ever seen, now adding LED to high brix... be prepared for a blizzard!!! I'm in!
 
Icemud said:
AWWWWW Shiz!!!! DOCBUD has gone LED!! This is epic!! Doc, you already have the frostiest nugs I've ever seen, now adding LED to high brix... be prepared for a blizzard!!! I'm in!
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I didn't choose the frostiest strain I have....but I did choose one of the better yielding strains.
 
There's not much new to report so I thought I'd share some personal thought I have about LED growing while we wait for the plants to grow up.

LED's offer some amazing benefits, namely they use less electricity and put out far less heat than HID lighting, due to increased efficiency. This translates perfectly to small, personal grows in tents.

In fact, this light would be PERFECT in a 4x4 tent, as the ideal footprint per the manufacturer is 3x4. Indeed, because the LED doesn't put out much heat, you could use this light in a dorm room in a small tent, keeping the room temperature at about 70, and letting the LED warm up the tent to perhaps 78.

What I'm trying to do on this grow is show what kind of bud a person could grow with this light if they wished do so. I'm going to do everything in my power to make this light look good, growing in a manner that ANYONE could follow. In other words, given the same environment, anyone could duplicate my efforts here.

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I really like this journal Doc and your reasoning behind it. I was curious if you would share what made you choose the LED light and manufacturer you did with all the different options available. Like what key interests/points did you seek when finding your LED light? Was there any specifics you were seeking in a LED light? For me, I went with topled because of the cost and also housing full spectrum white LEDs, and being sort of unsure of LED technologies, I didn't want to spend a fortune to try LED out, and so that was my main reasons. Just was curious what your ideals were for choosing LED, since I respect your knowledge greatly!

I've noticed with LED, even though the lights run cooler, because of the lack of a "air cooled hood" or way to direct the warmer air out of the tent, the tent temps are about the same running 3x 80x5w LEDs vs my 1000w HPS because the HID lights. The HID allowed a way to directly remove most of the heat out of my tent, vs LED which just ejects the heat out the vents into the tent. I would say my tent maybe runs about 1-2 degrees cooler if that but it was not enough to convince me LED overall will lower temps a lot.

One thing I did notice with LED though is the amount of trichome production was way higher under LED than HID lighting. A very noticiable difference more trichomes under LED than HID running the same strains as my previous grow. Definitely a big plus!

Growth of buds/size of yield was virtually the same HID vs LED, but again the LED buds were more covered in trichomes, as well as much much denser buds, rock hard!

Electricity useage of course has been cut in half and I am getting much more usable light out of 580w of LED vs 1000w of HID light and this alone is saving me over 100$ a month on my bills, definitely a big plus!

Overall my skepticism about LED's has been alleviated and I definitely am convinced that LED produces the same if not better plants :) my next goal is to create a custom full spectrum panel with custom wavelengths to address auxillary pigments. I want to modify one with more orange, yellow, aqua/blue green and 280nm UV and see if it produces even better results, but that is still a few months out from the start :)

BTW, I picked up PGR, bloomit and amaze! my 1st application of amaze and PGR on my vegging plants and instantly overnight, the plants reacted very prudently!! My question is on their page it says to add dextrose to the foliar feedings, they don't sell it anymore, will advanced nutrients carboload be a ok replacement for dextrose, it is just sugars ( Deoxyribose..15 % Lyxose 15 %. Ribose 20%. Xylulose 20 % Xylose 20% with 10% inactive ingredients). Also have you been adding (pre your kit...) anything else to the foliar sprays like cold pressed seaweed/kelp? my 1st application was at 1/2 the recommended strength you posted so I used about 1/2oz of amaze per liter and 1/4 oz of PGR per liter.
 
Icemud said:
I really like this journal Doc and your reasoning behind it. I was curious if you would share what made you choose the LED light and manufacturer you did with all the different options available. Like what key interests/points did you seek when finding your LED light? Was there any specifics you were seeking in a LED light? For me, I went with topled because of the cost and also housing full spectrum white LEDs, and being sort of unsure of LED technologies, I didn't want to spend a fortune to try LED out, and so that was my main reasons. Just was curious what your ideals were for choosing LED, since I respect your knowledge greatly!

I've noticed with LED, even though the lights run cooler, because of the lack of a "air cooled hood" or way to direct the warmer air out of the tent, the tent temps are about the same running 3x 80x5w LEDs vs my 1000w HPS because the HID lights. The HID allowed a way to directly remove most of the heat out of my tent, vs LED which just ejects the heat out the vents into the tent. I would say my tent maybe runs about 1-2 degrees cooler if that but it was not enough to convince me LED overall will lower temps a lot.

One thing I did notice with LED though is the amount of trichome production was way higher under LED than HID lighting. A very noticiable difference more trichomes under LED than HID running the same strains as my previous grow. Definitely a big plus!

Growth of buds/size of yield was virtually the same HID vs LED, but again the LED buds were more covered in trichomes, as well as much much denser buds, rock hard!

Electricity useage of course has been cut in half and I am getting much more usable light out of 580w of LED vs 1000w of HID light and this alone is saving me over 100$ a month on my bills, definitely a big plus!

Overall my skepticism about LED's has been alleviated and I definitely am convinced that LED produces the same if not better plants :) my next goal is to create a custom full spectrum panel with custom wavelengths to address auxillary pigments. I want to modify one with more orange, yellow, aqua/blue green and 280nm UV and see if it produces even better results, but that is still a few months out from the start :)

BTW, I picked up PGR, bloomit and amaze! my 1st application of amaze and PGR on my vegging plants and instantly overnight, the plants reacted very prudently!! My question is on their page it says to add dextrose to the foliar feedings, they don't sell it anymore, will advanced nutrients carboload be a ok replacement for dextrose, it is just sugars ( Deoxyribose..15 % Lyxose 15 %. Ribose 20%. Xylulose 20 % Xylose 20% with 10% inactive ingredients). Also have you been adding (pre your kit...) anything else to the foliar sprays like cold pressed seaweed/kelp? my 1st application was at 1/2 the recommended strength you posted so I used about 1/2oz of amaze per liter and 1/4 oz of PGR per liter.
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Hey Ice!

I didn't choose the light....the light chose me. I'm doing a review for the manufacturer.

Regarding the sprays.....unless you're in proper soil those sprays won't work quite right and mess things up a bit. I suggest finding a source for Dextrose. You can find it on Amazon. Just mix it in with the water.

I'll be a distributor pretty quick here for all that stuff....exclusive 420 discounts and all. If you can be patient for a short time I can hook you up!

Also, the lab is custom designing a high calcium potting soil AND another "Root Zone" product as well. A lot of really, really great things are going to be happening in the very near future. Stay tuned and be patient!
 
Following along. Just got set up with 900W of LED in a 4x4 in anticipation of my Hi-Brix grow so good timing!

How are you determining what the "optimal height at all times" is for your light?
 
CaptainCanuck said:
Following along. Just got set up with 900W of LED in a 4x4 in anticipation of my Hi-Brix grow so good timing!

How are you determining what the "optimal height at all times" is for your light?
Click to expand...

I'm following the manufacturer's suggestions:

Proper Distance to Hang Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights

Keeping the proper distance between your full spectrum LED grow lights and your plants is important to robust photosynthesis and growth. Your LED grow light provides the wavelengths of light your plants need for growth and flowering. G8LED grow lights are formulated to the photosynthetic activation radiation (PAR) wavelengths necessary for plant growth. Plants will reach for the much coveted light source just like they grow towards the sun in outdoor conditions. The general rule of thumb is to increase the distance between the top of the plants’ canopy and the light source as the light becomes more intense. This means that hydroponic LED grow lights of different power ratings will perform best at different distances.

The G8-240 should be hung 20-24 inches from the top of the canopy. The G8-450 should be hung at 24-30 inches from the top of the canopy. The G8-600 should be hung at 30-36 inches from the top of the canopy and the G8-900 should be hung 30-42 inches from the top of the canopy of your plants. Maintain these distances as your plants grow in the vegetative stage. For plant stretching increase the distance from the the plants to the light. For shorter, bushier plants decrease the distance. As you raise the light, the plants will reach for the source and grow taller. If you keep the light fixed, the plants will grow tall to a certain point, then grow wider and more dense. Putting lights too close to the plants may be too intense and stunt growth and create discoloration. It is best to follow the recommended distances and adjust as necessary. During flowering the lights can be left at a constant distance.
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Proper Distance of Full Spectrum LED Grow Lights | Dorm Grow
 
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