what do you mean
pretty impressive already!
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No this is the one in the small tent. Once the new tent gets here (12/22-12/28) I will put together the new light and tent and start a new journal for that one 
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lol, i would like to try some ATF, you say it is a big girl huh?
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Youāll be bending and tucking within a few days. Nice job buddy! She looks awesome.
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I grew 2 outdoors this summer and even with being fimmed/topped multiple times they still got over 5ā! I love the fruity smell these particular seeds came from too
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Thanks bud! Iām ready to tuck cuz I wanna flower her already!
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@dbrn32 my bad about tagging you over to that other journal about the lights. If I were you Iād get tired of explaining everything over and over lol. You should have a thread all about what you think the best set up for each grow space is and have a low, mid, and high cost set up and that way people can just reference your thread for their lighting needs lol.
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No problem at all. I understand that different people have different knowledge levels and understanding, so I try to be patient and find as many different ways to explain or suggest something that it takes. Sometimes it even benefits me some, so I donāt mind. But I donāt always have the time to give everyone the same amount of attention at their convenience. When Iām not busy, Iāll shoot the shit about anything. Other times, Iāll drop whatever pertinent information I have at the time and have to go through whatever little by little. It sucks and I feel bad sometimes. Other times, sure it can be a little frustrating. But Iām sure weāve all been there at some point.
Thatās a really good idea about laying out the basics. I tried to do some of that in my diy thread. Unfortunately, itās really difficult to say the one specific way is best way to go. I have what I like, what I have grown with, and what I know. I like to recommend that naturally, because I can comfortably say hereās where youāre at. But there are cheaper options, so if someone needs to save a few bucks Iād much rather point them in that direction. Others will want a specific led because thatās what some particular guy on YouTube uses. Thatās fine with me too. I like to be flexible more or less.
We were looking at 50 watt cobs for @Bogleg just yesterday and stumbled across some citi 1212ās for $9 lol. Theyāre better at 40 watts, and he understood that and opted for the same 200 watt bar using 5 of the citi cobs vs 4 of bridgelux or cree. Heās gonna get a little better spread for probably less money. If I was a bandwagon die hard Cree guy that wouldnāt have ever happened. In a different situation, he couldāve easily said he wasnāt comfortable going away from what he seen somewhere else. Iām assuming he did at least a quick google search and looked at some grows with them. Which probably saved me a ton of time comparing data sheets and what not.
Just like you, seemed a little skeptical at first. But I linked video, and once you seen. It was a whole different game. Iām sure you poked around a little before you placed order? Thatās much appreciated.
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Yeah I think itās cool you give as much of your time that you do trying to help people. Glad you were able to help @Bogleg out too . I did do some research before I bought and Iām glad I talked to you before ordering another Amazon light, even though it serves its purpose, too. I donāt think most people can grasp what the real difference is between the higher rated lights vs the LEDs we see on Amazon all the time.
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Thatās definitely part of it. You canāt blame people for not knowing. And I havenāt found a person yet that has liked being told to just save up their money for a little bit. Itās going to be a while, but Iām going to buy a cheap led panel at some point. And weāre going to do a side by side with a build of the same power consumption. I just need to get somewhere I can build another room and get a feel for it. We may even do a cree vs citizen vs bridgelux. I donāt care, whatever everyone wants. Iād also like to do an sog vs scrog grow too.
Iām beyond the point of needing a grow to be successful or pulling a huge yield. I do it for fun, and I have just as much or sometimes more fun messing with the lights. Iāve done enough favors that I can always get a bag, and most of that the wife and friends smoke. To be honest, weed was never my thing. I started just to see if I could do it, and my indulging is more of a victory lap than anything. Like the ph meter thingā¦ Iām really not that lazy, and I value the $50 probably just as much as anyone. But rather than being pissed about having to buy a new meter, Iād be more likely to try and get a grow through without checking ph. And then Iād get pissed and end up buying one halfway through anyways lol.
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Hereās my two cents given that I am one who bought too many cheap LEDās before finding this site, the knowledge of @dbrn32 and many others, and I quickly became envious of those with much more state of the art lighting systems.
But hereās the rub for me, I started out to grow buds for my bucket. To have stock and supply the same way I would for household necessities.
My very first scrog of two plants yielded, if I recall correctly, roughly 9 ounces of dry bud. The buds were dense and tight and well formed and plentiful. So in my general opinion, my cheap LEDās accomplished what I set out expecting them to do.
In all honesty, had I harvested 2-4 ounces vs the 9 I would already have an upgraded light. Can I produce 10-20% more with $1000+ dollar rigs? Perhaps. Will by resin development be more consistent, heavier and result in stronger meds? Perhaps. Not to sound contrite but the weed is plenty potent and if two plants resulted in 12-14 ounces with improved lights, is that something I need to do.
I realize there are a number of other important factors to consider such as electricity use, cost per gram etc but my goal was to put buds in my bucket, enough to last until the next harvest. Accomplished. LED investment $240.00 plus electricity.
I am just starting out so my goals were simple, basic. Down the road I can see myself going for more efficient, more economical, better results but my entire grow set up including two carbon filter set ups, dehumidifier humidifier autopot system and nutes and extraneous items cost me about $1200 and that included my LEDās. For me (and I suspect some others) itās like going to the hardware store and drewling over all the power tools when you canāt justify the expense and you have tools that accomplish the same means.
Just me, and I appreciated and will again appreciate the guidance and assistance provided to me by dbrn32 and others with awesome knowledge and experience. Thanks very much.
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Youāre absolutely correct. You are using the galaxy hydro lights right, which model?
If you watch, Iām very careful to bash on any of the lights. Theyāre all gonna grow weed as long as they fire up. And terp profile, thc content, and yield quantity are all stuff that come into play. But letās take it a step beyond that. As in my opinion, this is where youāre going the biggest justification to getting into some higher performance lighting.
9oz dry indoors is a nice pull regardless of the metrics of your room. The difference will come in the gram per watt, gram per square foot, and length of grow. You maximized the yield potential of your lights by running a scrog, but it also costs additional veg time. I know it seems like a trivial point, but the growing method you use has just as much impact. If you had more intense lighting that would provide better penetration, itās possible and likely that you would be able to yield the same amount with less veg time. Couple that with having some far reds to create Emerson effect, and you can usually shave a week or so off your flowering time. Then you can probably fit another harvest into the year.
Those are all hypothetical scenarios, and individual experiences will always vary. Lighting is important, but itās not the only aspect of a grow. In my opinion, itās more about performance potential for your dollar than it is saying I can spend x amount and grow some good weed. You certainly can!
The common scenario is to buy an $80 light thinking youāre good because you donāt know any better. Once you realize, you end up with four of them. For that kind of money youāre flirting with something that will provide more par about the same price. Thatās the scenario I like to try and help people avoid.
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Well, crap! Where were you a year ago lol? 8 Amazon lights laterā¦
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Sorry! You know weāre always trying to do the best we can with what we have. Iām no different. But having come from a similar situation, I Personally wouldnāt ever go back. If I lost everything today, Iād certainly be piecing whatever I could together to start cash cropping. It wouldnāt matter if my budget was $100 or $10,000. There wouldnāt be a single commercially built fixture involved.
Itās part of the problem with qualifying everything by watts and Watts per foot, and everyone wanting to have their results right now. You can usually build a single cob for around $60 or so with discounts and free shipping. I would recommend that or doing something with some strips for seedlings or veg light to get started cheaply. Itās usually all it takes to catch the bug.
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Once again @dbrn32 that logic and reasoning is not something one could easily refute. I am a newbie through and through. Your post here opens my eyes once again, to aspects of a grow that I have admired in other journals yet, have not yet begum to consider as I feel out which method (scrog,sog,lst etc) I want use and experience the growing pains I have had to date (all learning curve stuff I think).
I very much respect and appreciate your input on this, and every topic literally. I may overlook these facts but I am open and receptive.
Veg times, length of grow, penetration to the lower areas of the tent and ability to perhaps, accelerate maturity through the applications you suggest is, without a doubt, where I want to end up. More grows annually, sign me up. Overall cheaper grows, who can say no?
I shy away from sitting down and calculating what reality is, as it pertains the amount of dollars it cost to grow this stash vs acquisition in the market. Inherently, I know for $190 an ounce on the street, I can buy it cheaper but cost has not been an object in this venture thus far. It will become a focus but right now, Iād rather not know, sort of like my weight at the holidays.
Itās an excellent way to learn this stuff and I thank you!!
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@dbrn32 I just got about 250 posts into the over 800 posts on your DIY thread! I didnāt even see that thread for some stupid reason until yesterday. Great read.
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