Black Dog LED grow, hydro

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Wow they look super lush. Thanks a lot for taking the time to answer my questions I think I will really give this unit a go.

 

[siddhartha]

Hey LOB,
yes i have used HPS for 5 years. I use a Black Dog Platinum XL. It use 685 watts measured by a kill-a-watt. And, Yes I feel I save money. Uses 300 + watts less electricity with the same yield. And a lot less heat which lets me keep my lights on during the summer.

JackFlash,
I run my light 18 inches high. It is way more powerful then a blackstar though. If it looks like you are burning your leaves raise your light. New LEDs can and will bleach leaves. Are your leaves bleaching or becoming crispy on the edges? Crispy edges is over fertilized. does this help?


40Amp,
Sweet. Sour D is a favorite, what are you going to cross with it? You plan on sharing those genetics or keeping on lock down?
Sidd

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Hey LOB,

40Amp,
Sweet. Sour D is a favorite, what are you going to cross with it? You plan on sharing those genetics or keeping on lock down?
Sidd

Got a thread in strains/hybrids called satellite fuel about crosses and stuff I have been doing will definitely be working with it more.

 

[GP73LPC]

Wow they look super lush.

what 40 said +1

 

[siddhartha]

Update 6-18 day 13 of 12

Update 6-18 day 13 of 12

It is super hot here in CO, glad i have LED no way could i be running my HPS. Things look good. The Ghost really stretched out more than I thought it would. I will folair with neem and silica tonight. and drop ice in the res. I tried to get a photo with the tape measure in the grow to help capture scale. Looking at the pics everything looked smaller than it really was.

Sidd

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Hoping for a perfect finish looks very good so far. The light pattern is just as advertised for flowering 4x4 thanks a lot for showing. I hope the veg one is 6x6 as it states although I wouldn't even care if it wasn't heh. It does not seem your perimeter plants are suffering like my hps ones do sometimes.

If your yield and finished product are up to par I am sold on trying one for my self to see performance vs. my hid and growing skills with my own mothers of which I know very well. The amount of replacement lights I need is substantial so this is a most interesting grow thread for me as it would be a hefty investment and need to last a few years. @$2k a light it is just tough to swallow no matter how you look at it regardless of the savings research$.

 

[Dickkhead]

hey sid nice looking run with BD looking forward to your final results! you using a light rail? I find light rails and leds are a mean combo, without them led are good but with them Its a whole new ball game. and ive noticed your talkimg about sour d im on the hunt for the best sour d out their Im pissed I never got to order any reservoir sdibl seeds but I do have his chem X sourd cross going now im trying to hunt out a sour D phenO! wheres your sour D from? I have a 4x4 fd table with a solar storm an a 900 watt bs over it now but prob go with the solar storm on a lite rail to lower energy consuption. or add a mini split and some co2 lol

 

[Bionic]

Wow Sidd, your grow looks fantastic! That light is crazy spendy, though. I see that Blackstar makes a 900 watter for about half of the Black Dog. Damn. Decisions, decisions.

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Wow Sidd, your grow looks fantastic! That light is crazy spendy, though. I see that Blackstar makes a 900 watter for about half of the Black Dog. Damn. Decisions, decisions.

Yea that is much more manageable price wise especially if you are buying 5+. Thing is I would think they will have performance differences in the grow room, because of different LED wattage's as the Blackdog has some 5 watt instead of all 3 watt and more colors.

The exclusive Black Dog LED Phyto-genesis Spectrum™ utilizes more than 15 beneficial spectrums that include not only multiple wavelengths targeting crucial absorption peaks in the red, orange, violet, and blue spectrum, but also IR, UV, and warm and cool white light.

vs.

- Red: 630, 660nm
- Blue: 425nm
- Infrared: 730nm
- Ultraviolet: 380nm
- White: 12000k

No violet or orange and one spectrum of white, or lifetime warranty, but the price warrants looking into imo. Non-standard light pattern as well.

Coverage Area: 4.5' x 3.5'

EDIT 1: Forgot a bonus with the blackdog led's is that you can also choose lights for strictly veg use, strictly flowering, and an in between. This could be a huge difference because I am seeing Light House Blackstar grow right now and the T5 plant that is vegging is significantly more stout. Grower even made sure plants were similar size.

Edit 2: Found a superb thread on another site with a fantastic multi LED comparison as well as hid and flouro. It is very clear to me that Lighthouse is not very honest with its specs. I went to compare and do the math for my self and I agree with everyone in the thread I read about Lighthouse. Here is a good post after the first grow round:

Wow, the thread has picked up since I last checked! The plants seem to be moving along nicely too. It is now day 35 since going to 12/12. As I mentioned before it seems like the plants are much easier to keep happy now that they are fully flowering.

I am definitely seeing subtle differences between the lights. The GLH pineapple express is ever so slightly fuller along with being a little frostier. Hard to say on the Star Treks though. I have never gone this far with the StarTrek strain as it was too short to hang with the other plants. Not sure what to expect here.

I see there has been some confusion about the lights and companies selling them, so here is a quick recap of my experience:

- Grow LED Hydro (purchased 240W panel in this journal). Mike surprised me from the beginning by actually reading all of the questions I sent him via email and then sent back a detailed response. I later called and to see what was in stock and ended up buying my light for $599 with free shipping for mentioning Irishboy. The light came very quickly and tested to be pulling 240+ watts from the wall. There was a very, very small cosmetic issue on my light that I asked Mike about. He responded by saying it was unusual and that he would send me an upgrade to resolve and in appreciation of doing a grow journal. I am still waiting on the upgrade light but am not in a hurry and have complete confidence in Mike. At one point we did have a little public "discussion" on the 420 forum but the cause was a simple mistake that was quickly resolved. I trust Mike at GLH now more then ever and feel his light to be a good value despite higher initial cost. No other seller has offered to send me an upgrade. He is also the only one here on the forum with us.

- The "240W" Blackstar in this journal was purchased from Gotham Hydro via Amazon for $259.00 + $11.00 shipping. It was shipped very quickly but took some time getting here as it came from NY to Oregon via ground. The light is made by Lighthouse Hydro whose marketing and specifications have proven to be misleading at best. Actual power draw tested to be 135 watts. My memory is hazy on this and I am too lazy to check, but I recall seeing some second hand comments from Lighthouse Hydro early in my thread. My opinion is that this information was also misleading and twisted as an attack. My frustration grew further when I tried to email Gotham Hydro three times and never got a response. At the same time other growers were having success with this light and mentioned Gotham did answer calls. I could see the light was working and was gaining confidence after talking with Vic at Gotham so I ordered another one. The new light arrived and is a bit different then the first but seems very similar and is pulling the same amount of power. These lights are working well so far but I feel like I am on my own with them. I really don't know if there is a warranty nor do I trust Lighthouse - their marketing and specifications are complete BS. With all that said, I really like the light. Just hope it keeps working....

- Then came a ProGrow 260 from HH - the "darkest days" of my LED purchases. This light was $389.00 and advertised to pull 180 watts but tested out around 150 watts. I emailed the owner/manager of HH with questions about this and got blasted with attitude. I designate this guy as extra creepy since he acted so nice pre-purchase only to turn and get really weird with me. Last I heard he "requested" that I return the light immediately and issued me an RMA number. Heh, heh... perhaps this was reverse psych as I kept the light and threw it over a Pineapple Express plant in flower. Funny enough this light is working very, very well. I still get kind of angry every time I look at it though. May send it back yet and test the 90 day return policy - no light is worth the BS this guy said to me. With that said, he did later go and change his webpage to show the correct power draw from the light.

So there is most of my LED experience so far. All of the lights are doing well but there are drastic differences in the sellers. Wow, the thread has picked up since I last checked! The plants seem to be moving along nicely too. It is now day 35 since going to 12/12. As I mentioned before it seems like the plants are much easier to keep happy now that they are fully flowering.

I am definitely seeing subtle differences between the lights. The GLH pineapple express is ever so slightly fuller along with being a little frostier. Hard to say on the Star Treks though. I have never gone this far with the StarTrek strain as it was too short to hang with the other plants. Not sure what to expect here.

Leaning blackdog still they seemed very honest in their math and verbiage when detailing their light on their website also the huge warranty difference and being more of an American company...lifetime vs 1 yer. Has to be a reason for the 1 year it is a Chinese company you know they did the math on risk and profitability...

 

[siddhartha]

Hey Dickhead,
My Sour D was a cut i got from a local dispensary here in town that just went out of business. It is a great cut, dont know the origins of it more than that though. Yes light rails are awesome when used properly. Most people try and run them to far and get disapointed. But moving 6 to 10 inches makes a huge difference.

Hey 40amps,
I actually veg under the BD360 "flower" when i talked to the guys this is what they said they started using. We talked for a while and had similar thoughts on why it was working. It worked for me, my plants staid short and had great branching. My veg room not very professonal. I dont have light contanament with black and white poly like i do in flower. I was very impressed by my personal results with veg. I rotated the plants on time and as you can see everything vegged to the same height. And i only vegg about a month. I have a degree in Hort, and one of the classes we had to take was advanced plant physiology. You learn more about photosynthesis then you will ever care to know. My buddy got two units first which helped me decide, but the 15 spectrum is why i am certain BD will work better than any other led. the auxilary pigments play a huge role in rapid growth. I dont mind paying for quality products, hell i just spent more upgrading the exhaust on my car.
Sidd

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

My buddy got two units first which helped me decide, but the 15 spectrum is why i am certain BD will work better than any other led. the auxilary pigments play a huge role in rapid growth. I dont mind paying for quality products, hell i just spent more upgrading the exhaust on my car.
Sidd

Yea, this is my hunch so far as well and I don't mind paying either, but only 10 lights cost as much as 20 grand so it has to work 100% as good as hid or better for me to go for it. I can't wait to see your grow 50 days in.

I want to email them and ask them how their 700 watt veg units veg compared to t5 surely they must have done a side by side.

 

[Dickkhead]

Hey LOB,
yes i have used HPS for 5 years. I use a Black Dog Platinum XL. It use 685 watts measured by a kill-a-watt. And, Yes I feel I save money. Uses 300 + watts less electricity with the same yield. And a lot less heat which lets me keep my lights on during the summer.

JackFlash,
I run my light 18 inches high. It is way more powerful then a blackstar though. If it looks like you are burning your leaves raise your light. New LEDs can and will bleach leaves. Are your leaves bleaching or becoming crispy on the edges? Crispy edges is over fertilized. does this help?




40Amp,
Sweet. Sour D is a favorite, what are you going to cross with it? You plan on sharing those genetics or keeping on lock down?
Sidd

what if the leaves are curling up and are crispy? 60 days into flower on sour deisel which can go 77-85 days

 

[40AmpstoFreedom]

Off the top of my head could be phosphorus deficiency or lockout hit the sticky in the infirmary sections that stitch made should be able to narrow it down harder for us to help you when you have the visuals.

 

[Dickkhead]

Hey Dickhead,
My Sour D was a cut i got from a local dispensary here in town that just went out of business. It is a great cut, dont know the origins of it more than that though. Yes light rails are awesome when used properly. Most people try and run them to far and get disapointed. But moving 6 to 10 inches makes a huge difference.

Hey 40amps,
I actually veg under the BD360 "flower" when i talked to the guys this is what they said they started using. We talked for a while and had similar thoughts on why it was working. It worked for me, my plants staid short and had great branching. My veg room not very professonal. I dont have light contanament with black and white poly like i do in flower. I was very impressed by my personal results with veg. I rotated the plants on time and as you can see everything vegged to the same height. And i only vegg about a month. I have a degree in Hort, and one of the classes we had to take was advanced plant physiology. You learn more about photosynthesis then you will ever care to know. My buddy got two units first which helped me decide, but the 15 spectrum is why i am certain BD will work better than any other led. the auxilary pigments play a huge role in rapid growth. I dont mind paying for quality products, hell i just spent more upgrading the exhaust on my car.
Sidd

when you say 6-10'' thats how high yours are off the canopy? vic from LH told me feild studys show best results 10-12'' so i put my 900 and 500 that close and it bleached the leaves so I backed it off to 20'' also my lights were stationary and not on rails. maybe you mean if you run them on rails to run them closer to the canopy right?

 

[Dickkhead]

thanks 40 amp ill look into it im running dyna gro which is super conetrated and sour d is a lite feeder but who knows maybe i need a lil more food

 

[siddhartha]

Hey Dickhead
My lights are 18 inches above the canopy and move 10 inches on the light rail. I would also think the crispy edges with leaf curl is lockout over nute. can you flush with "drip clean"? When it is really hot and dry you need to back off your EC a bit

40amps,
Tell BD you are commerical and see if they hook you up. That is way bigger then me and i asked for a discount and they knocked a few off for me.
Sidd

 

[Granger2]

Sidd,
How loud are the Black Dog fans?
Thanks. -granger

 

[siddhartha]

Hey granger2,
The fans are quite. why do you ask? It is about the same as having my computer on. Maybe a pinch louder, but if there is any other background noise you would not be able to hear them. When i first got it i plugged it in my living room, you would not be able to hear the fans over the sound of the fish tank.
Sidd

 

[siddhartha]

So this was a big week. Two nights ago the all three Ghost got top heavy and fell over. Did an emergency tie up to keep them upright over night and then last night i got a screen to kinda of support them with a scrog. I took lots of pictures so you can see what I am talking about.

I also snapped a few photos of the other side of my room where I am doing a soil grow under a different Platinum XL. The soil side is one week ahead and looking great. They where done in a true scrog.

Pics coming later today

Sidd

 

[siddhartha]

These are some pics from the other half of my grow room. These are also grown under a Black Dog Platinum XL. If anyone every wants to see more pics of these just let me know. They are soil grown. 2 Ghost Kush, 1 Sour D, 5 Bubba Kush.

Sidd