Runtz and Dosido - Test Grow - Mars Hydro FC4800

Thanks to @MarsHydrofactory for letting me test out of of their newest bar type fixtures on this grow. I've been growing with HLG QB96 fixtures for the past year and half (many years of HID prior to that), but have been interested in trying these new bay type fixtures. I received the light about a week and a half ago, and took it out of the box a couple of days later. Upon opening, I found the light to be generally built, and definitely a big step up from Mars' previous "cookie-sheet" type of LED boards.

I already had plants vegging and ready to go for flowering, so decided to put the new FC4800 in the tent for this new flowering cycle. Once the light was hung, I was real happy with the spread and quality of the fixture.

The plants I'm growing are Runtz (pre64 cut) and Dosido (Norcal Cut), 2 plants in a 4x4 tent, with a modified scrog type setup, coco, drain-to-waste. Jacks 321, plus Silica, Fulvic, and Kelp. Usually I grow 4-plants in a 4x4, but these two got over-vegged, so I decided to tie them down and flower them. After the light was hung I vegged for 3-more days, then flipped to 12/12 and have been in flower for 4-days now. Here's a few pics (Runtz on the left, Dosido on the right):







I've never flowered either of these strains, so not sure how much stretch to expect from either one, but one thing I like about these bar lights compared to my QB96's is that I don't need as much headroom between the plants and the lights, so I can grow my plants a bit taller without worry.

In a week or so, I'll do a bit of moderate pruning, and then in another week, do a moderate leaf removal (nothing crazy) just to keep good air circulation in the canopy. With a thick scrog like this in a small enclosed 4x4, airflow is crucial to inhibit molds and mildew.

If anyone's interested in checking these lights out, you can find them on Ebay at these links:
US：https://ebay.to/3kzJV21
UK: https://ebay.to/2Jt6Q1u
AU： https://ebay.to/2TQmkON
EU: https://ebay.to/2Gjeryl
CA: https://ebay.to/325VE14

Nice. Looks awesome. I'm on board.

PadawanWarrior said:

Nice. Looks awesome. I'm on board.

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Thanks man. In all honestly I'm super happy with this new light. Don't get me wrong, I love my HLG QB96s which these are replacing, but I'm really loving the even spread and and how close I can get the fc4800 to the canopy too. Also that #MedicgrowEz8 which @MedicGrow is giving away looks pretty badass too. There's lots of competition on the market these days, but the fc4800 is definitely solid so far. I'm gonna throw another net over my scrog just for good measure tonight, and will post an update pic.

PJ Diaz said:

Thanks man. In all honestly I'm super happy with this new light. Don't get me wrong, I love my HLG QB96s which these are replacing, but I'm really loving the even spread and and how close I can get the fc4800 to the canopy too. Also that #MedicgrowEz8 which @MedicGrow is giving away looks pretty badass too. There's lots of competition on the market these days, but the fc4800 is definitely solid so far. I'm gonna throw another net over my scrog just for good measure tonight, and will post an update pic.

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Glad to hear that!
Join our giveaway by posting your story in the thread and tag #MedicgrowEz8. Get the best chance to win the light

I threw another net over the scrog, just for support. I've been using trellis netting (3-inch squares) for my modified scrogs lately. I use the first net really more as a lst type training device to bend down plants which had been vegging vertically. Then a few days later I throw another net real close to the first one, so that I can start training and directing the lateral branching shoots. Then around a week into 12/12 (around now) I put up the third net for extra training and support. Around half-way through flowering I will likely put up one final net for support to keep the branches from flopping over, but since I've been using Silica, I find this to be less necessary. Anyway, here's where we are now..

Today marks day 12 of 12/12 lighting, so I decided to do a bit of pruning, as it was getting a bit messy in the undercarriage. Mold and mildew are the death of what would otherwise be high quality buds, so I prune selectively to prevent that, by making sure there is good airflow throughout the canopy.

This grow is a bit different than what I've been doing in this tent lately, because I'm only growing two plants, instead of the usual 4. I'm growing them in larger pots than usual, and also decided to skip the perlite, so it's pure coco. The main stalk is looking real strong and happy on both plants Runtz on the left, dosido on the right):





Oh, and that's just some mosquito bits sprinkled on the top to kill gnat larvae.

Here's a few pics of the canopy also at day 12 after I did my pruning:









I'm really digging this fc4800 from @MarsHydrofactory -- thanks for letting me test this out!

Here's a 2-weeks flowering (since flip to 12/12) update. Things are trucking right along, and I'm having to raise the light every day.

Looks like I'm gonna need to do a bit of leaf removal here in a few days. Things are getting bushy. I don't do any crazy major leaf strips or anything, but I do remove a good amount of leaves around day 21, and then I may remove some more again around day 45. It's not a dogmatic thing for me, but just a general schedule which has worked for me. I don't do it to get bigger buds or anything like that, but for my scrog situation in such a small space, it's really important to have good airflow throughout the canopy in order to avoid molds and mildew. If I don't do a bit of leaf removal it will just become a mess.

I did a bit of leaf removal yesterday and then put a 4th net on for extra stability as a couple of shoots are really going for it. So much for my canopy management lol.

Here's some pics from yesterday. 4-weeks of 12/12 update..

5-weeks 12/12..

6 weeks 12/12 update..



This is my first time growing either of these strains. I'm loving the Runtz, but the Dosido seems a bit meh in comparison.

7-week update..

nice sharing, cannot wait to see the further update