Mars Epistar Pro Series 160 LED Tester Grow - Dark Dragon - SCROG

[arellanobrian]

Compost teas - as much or as little as you want too. I'm @ 45-65 days of flower and just watered every day for a week with compost tea

Compost tea:
1 cup worm castings
1/4 cup coconut water
1 cup rabbit berries (poop)
5 gallons water.
bubble 24 hrs

Notice no sugars added - that's on purpose. You can add BSM instead of rabbit berries. The tea will only be good for about 72hrs TOPS with sugar added (why I don't use it any more).

To water in:
2-4 cups of the tea added to 3 - 4 gallons water and water in
Also filter and foiler spray on the plants and watch them go CRAZY happy.

Repeat and often as needed and top off the tea bucket with more water as needed - can do this for about a week (as long as no sugar) then discard on compost pile and start another batch. This can be added to VEG plants too.

I just bought a new MarsPro II Cree256 - the one without the programmable stuff.... I'll report back when I get it going! Woohoo
They are now shipping from the USA - no duty tax and discount 3% with coupon from here.

Thanx so much man im def going to do a version of soil (i just dont have the Brix Blend Basalt) and tea on my next run. i think i may make a tea and add for a full week a month, im trying to find the easiest way to grow and here adding a tea 1-2 times a month should be good. i hope you follow the grow so i can get some advice man im a noob when it comes to organics for sure lol.

and congrats on the light! i really like the panel and cant wait to see what the cree model can do, you should add a link to the grow with it so i can follow

 

[bobrown14]

Thanx so much man im def going to do a version of soil (i just dont have the Brix Blend Basalt) and tea on my next run. i think i may make a tea and add for a full week a month, im trying to find the easiest way to grow and here adding a tea 1-2 times a month should be good. i hope you follow the grow so i can get some advice man im a noob when it comes to organics for sure lol.

and congrats on the light! i really like the panel and cant wait to see what the cree model can do, you should add a link to the grow with it so i can follow

I kinda excited about the new light. When I get it I'll just swap out a 144x5 Reflector and put this one in its place. My flower room pretty much has a full ceiling of LEDs 5'x10' - I've got an Amare SolarECLIPSE™ SE220 on one end, 2 pcs 144x5 Mars Reflectors, and a 1200 MarsII going right now with a 144 Reflector as backup.

I'll swap out a 144 Reflector - the new light I calculated to be about 670w output. I'll put my watt meter on it before I install so I know what I'm using and report back.

I'm thinking the 144 reflector uses about `315w so about +2x more light from the Pro Cree (for +3x the cost?? mmmmm) ... Lets hope its worth it. I'm not real happy with the Reflectors performance over time - I think they are not putting out the same intensity as when they did new, at least not according to my watt meter and my yield!

 

[arellanobrian]

I kinda excited about the new light. When I get it I'll just swap out a 144x5 Reflector and put this one in its place. My flower room pretty much has a full ceiling of LEDs 5'x10' - I've got an Amare SolarECLIPSE SE220 on one end, 2 pcs 144x5 Mars Reflectors, and a 1200 MarsII going right now with a 144 Reflector as backup.

I'll swap out a 144 Reflector - the new light I calculated to be about 670w output. I'll put my watt meter on it before I install so I know what I'm using and report back.

I'm thinking the 144 reflector uses about `315w so about +2x more light from the Pro Cree (for +3x the cost?? mmmmm) ... Lets hope its worth it. I'm not real happy with the Reflectors performance over time - I think they are not putting out the same intensity as when they did new, at least not according to my watt meter and my yield!

i do like the mars pro but so far the new reflectors are my favorite panel, with its more widely placed diodes and upgraded chips i feel it has the best coverage-penetration combo. i still have to see how the pro panel does with and proper grow though so we'll see


and i got my reflector this past may i believe and no issues that i can tell but ill keep an eye out for depreciation, i thought most LEDs are supost to go like 3-5 years

 

[arellanobrian]

Hello 420 family, some really awesome new today. a friend of mine won a herbies seeds facebood giveaway and since he doesnt have the means to grow he has donated them to me! i feel so lucky to be able to add Green Love Potion by Sam Sara Seeds. i dont know a lot about the breeder but the packaging does have some good info on the genetics. i will be popping these in the next month or so and including them in my summer grow so keep an eye out for these awesome gene's

 

[arellanobrian]

Sorry its been so long since the updates but here is the long awaited vid! cheers

 

[arellanobrian]

OK guys i just finished weighing out the 2 Dark Dragon plants and the numbers are just about what i thought they would be.

Yellow DD: 82 Grams
Blue DD: 95 Grams
Total: 177 Grams

Just under 1/2 a gram per watt so a bit lower than i would like but not to bad for all the issues i had with the soil this time around. and even though the weight isnt perfect but quality top shelf for sure! the aroma, taste, frost coverage and effect are on par with some of the best stuff ive smoked for sure!

I will still be giving you guys a good smoke report so stay tuned for that guys, and as far as the mars pro series epistar 160LED it is still a bit early to give it a full review especially with the issues i went through but ill give you guys a few pro's and con's i noticed in my first test with the light.

Pro: There are alot of pro's to the light from the adjustable spectrum to the quality parts and design! i will go over the things i found most impressive and feel free to ask any questions if i dont cover what you would like to know. First of all i LOVE the ability to adjust the intensity and spectrum of the diodes so you can use the panel from seed to harvest without minimum wasted power!
second is the upgraded drivers and diodes as you can truly see increased intensity compared to a panel of equal wattage (mars2, lumigrow, reflector series) as well as feel much less heat at canopy level. Finally the cup reflectors really seem to increase the intensity of light while more evenly distributing the light to increase coverage. Like ive said there are MANY other things that are great about the light but these are the features i enjoyed the most and please feel free to ask me about anything i have not mentioned.

Cons: The timer will have to be reset when the power goes out and it is a pain to program in general. the COB style means there are more diodes closer together which in my opinion places them to close to cover the panels full potential. and finally i wish they would replace a few of the red diodes with IR to help with flowering. Now the first 2 are the only ones i really find to be something i would change as IR does help initiate flower it barely puts out any light intensity and feel that the pro's out weigh the con's by far. And even though i did put the timer as a con since i have read and seen a few vids and journals with it getting reset or not being able to set it at all i personally had only slight issues when first setting it up and no power outages so never had to reprogram the panel. Again i will continue to grow with the light and will make sure to do another test grow soon!

 

[arteekay]

Thanks for the awesome report man. Great work.

I've been looking at the new Pro II models with some lust lately.

 

[Mars Hydro]

Thank you so much for the report, Brian! Appreciate it very much for the advices! We decide to develop WIFI controlled LED so as to make the remote control function more user-friendly. Having takin the spectrum into consideration, Mars ProII without remote has already added IR leds. We will continue to developing the light.

And Brian, I am expecting your next running and more advices!

 

[arellanobrian]

Thanks for the awesome report man. Great work.

I've been looking at the new Pro II models with some lust lately.

I think that the pro II will be great and easier to use for sure and with the added IR you should get some frosty buds fast!!! keep me posted when you get it and post a link on my journal so i can follow brotha. cheers!

Thank you so much for the report, Brian! Appreciate it very much for the advices! We decide to develop WIFI controlled LED so as to make the remote control function more user-friendly. Having takin the spectrum into consideration, Mars ProII without remote has already added IR leds. We will continue to developing the light.

And Brian, I am expecting your next running and more advices!

absolutely! i really did love the light and feel that now that i have a hang of how the light works with distance from canopy and optimal coverage the next rounds will be just as amazing in the quality and a much better yield. Thanx again sara and mars hydro for a great panel and opportunity

 

[ganjazz]

Great journal,

 

[arellanobrian]

Great journal,

thank you much brotha im getting everything ready for the coco run and ill be posting a link here. Cheers

 

[arellanobrian]

Ok guys i wanted to end this journal with a smoke report of both plants and now that they've had a good cure there def ready to smoke!

Dark Dragon (yellow)

Smell: This pheno is def the more pungent of all the females i got this round with smells of citrus(grapefruit), pine and diesel when if was freshly jarred and ending with an amazing candied grapefruit aroma.

Taste: The aroma translates very well to the taste with big citrus notes of grapefruit and bitter orange up front and ending with a fresh pine/planty hint that makes me think i could have dried this a bit longer. 8 out of 10

Effect: Very clear and cerebral high that will make you space out super easy especially when listening to music (watch out when driving lol) with effects noticeable very quickly and the peak being reached fairly quickly (about 30-45 mins) so great for smoking on before having to be productive (work, DMV, family, ect) and something you can smoke all day without being useless. 7 out of 10

Density: a bit lighter than i would like but its hard to say what the culprit is with so many issues. i would say a 6 out of 10

Yield: i was disappointing with the yield this round but when growing in a new medium and having so many issues i would not say this is a fair representation of either the lights or genetics. 5 out of 10

Keep an eye out on my final post with a review of the blue marked dark dragon tonight or tomorrow, cheers!

 

[arellanobrian]

And here is the final review on the Dark Dragon marked with a blue marker! had a great time with the panel and the new stains, now that i signed my new leace i can focus on the garden and journal more! ill post a link to the new journal today or tomorrow.

Smell: Coming off the drying it initially had a earthy, very subtle sweet smell that is now more prevalent with the sweet/berry and no earthiness. The smell is still not very strong but is very attractive. 7 out of 10

Look: This has very chunky nugs with a lot of nubs poking out making it look like a battle mace haha it is a very nice light green with AMAZING frost coverage. with an overall light green color and frost coverage it really pops in the sun 9 out of 10

Taste: The taste is a bit disappointing with none of the sweet berry coming though, instead the earthiness comes though big with wood/stem flavors coming on strong at first and lingering on the tongue for a long time. i feel that with a better flush and cure this pheno has some potential if the taste can resemble the smell. 3 out of 10

Effect: While this plant may lack in the smell and taste arena the effects hit you hard in the face and keep you down for a good hour or 2, this is def a very indica forward pheno that is what most users looking for pain releif or just want something to keep them satisfied sitting at home watching the TV all day 8 out of 10

Density: I would say the desity is the same as the last yellow pheno, the buds are not the densest ive had and not the fluffiest and its hard to say if it was due to the issues or the genetics/Lights. 6 out of 10

Yield: This was a bit better producer than the yellow pheno and with a proper grow the plant shows potential to give some pretty good yields so while the rating i give it may be low the possible yields look outstanding. 7 out of 10

 

[arellanobrian]

A quick review of the Purple Haze Auto from GenoFarm Seeds ive been growing using 100% marshydro LED. A great yield with FROSTY nugs love the buds grown under my LEDs

 

[hockeybry2]

Those are some nice pine cones on that purple haze auto there b

 

[arellanobrian]

Those are some nice pine cones on that purple haze auto there b

Thanx man, ive really had some good look with the autos from genofarm seeds. hows your garden been man?

 

[LEDBud]

I am back from slacking and have just caught up on The Dark Dragons
Looks to be some pretty good bud with its crystals




In one video you mention the dark dragon jars did not have much smell. That got me thinking the strain may of grown past its flavorful fragrance stage.
I grew those last Jock Horrors well past their stinky stage , its Jars have very little odor.

This grew I am going to be a little Hasty and harvest the major top buds at 8 weeks and flower the bottom half of for a week or two longer.

That Purple Haze Auto looks like some Dank sticky looking buds on her , nice !

 

[arellanobrian]

I am back from slacking and have just caught up on The Dark Dragons
Looks to be some pretty good bud with its crystals




In one video you mention the dark dragon jars did not have much smell. That got me thinking the strain may of grown past its flavorful fragrance stage.
I grew those last Jock Horrors well past their stinky stage , its Jars have very little odor.

This grew I am going to be a little Hasty and harvest the major top buds at 8 weeks and flower the bottom half of for a week or two longer.

That Purple Haze Auto looks like some Dank sticky looking buds on her , nice !

thank you very much man, I have been slacking a bit lately as well trying to get my lease re signed but glad your back at it.

I agree the dark dragon looks nice and frosty and I will see if I harvest that pheno a bit earlier it keeps more aroma. Has some very good potential though.

And the purple haze auto is looking amazing!! Both frost coverage and smell are looking great so far. I'll hopefully get a good review going

 

[arellanobrian]

heres a preview of the ladys ill be growing under the mars pro series and reflector LEDs hope to see everyone there and ill post a link when i get it going !

 

[David Bowman]

Hope all is well in your world.

Thanks for sharing this grow with us.

Please head over to the 420 Strain Reviews forum and post your smoke report there too.

I’m moving this to Completed Journals now.

Have you started a new grow you would like to share with us?

If so, please feel free to start a new journal here: Journals in Progress

Sending you lots of love and positive energy.