Mars-Hydro LED Grow Light Discussion

[Zooie]

I have a TS3000 in the box, vegging some plants at the moment under some blurple lights. My plants are 6" high and wonder when I can put the TS3000 over them?

 

[Mars Hydro]

Just finished 5th week of Flower under my TSW2000. A nice sea of buds are swellin up!

good job Very beautiful buds sea, looking forward to the harvest day

 

[Deivid]

Continuous adjustment would be best.

We have also considered the inconvenience of customer dimming the light, so we are considering adding an additional dimmer to the lights of TS and SP. As for the dimming scale, which one do you think is good?
Option 1: 25% 50% 75% 100%
Option 2: 40% 80% 100%

Additional dimmer would be a great option

No, you can't add an additional dimmer to the light. Your best option would be moving the drivers out of the tent. You'll need an extension cable for this.

There are two ways to balance the LED panels. You can use a light meter, or a power meter such as the Kill-A-Watt.

For a power meter, to get maximum intensity:

• remove the protective caps from the adjustment holes in the drivers;
• ensure both LED panels are connected to their drivers;
• connect the power to the light;
• turn down the intensity to the lowest setting on both drivers;
• note the power used P0;
• turn up the intensity to the maximum for one LED panel;
• note the power used P1;
• turn up the intensity to the maximum for the other LED panel;
• note the power used P2;
• P(LED1) = P1 - P0;
• P(LED2) = P2 - P1;
• if P(LED1) does not equal P(LED2), turn down the power for the higher LED to match the lower

You can use a similar process to set the power anywhere you want.

Using a light meter is fairly straight forward. Just let me know if you want me to walk you through it.

Thank you for your replay. I'm thinking to get a power meter but also interested in light meter. How exactly to use light meter? Which one would be easier and more optional to use ?
Is there are way to count power and distance from the plants at different grow stages ? I have some just sprouted seedlings in 2x4x6 tent

 

[Mars Hydro]

Thank you for fast reply. How far the light have to be from seedlings and on what power ?
I will get a meter as you said to be sure if both ballasts works at the same power.
I have no extension cables for light. I got the light from AliExpress. It's my first grow. All plants are autoflowers.
Is there are ways to calculate what distance and light power has to be between light and plants depending on different grow stages?

Recommended Hanging Distance Above Plants: Seedling: 30'' Germination: 24''-30'' Veg: 18''-24'' Flower: 12''-18''
Maybe aliexpress's TSL2000 doesn't upgrade the power cord. The TSL2000 on our official website has upgraded the power cord. You can consider adding a piece of power cord yourself.

 

[Mars Hydro]

I have a TS3000 in the box, vegging some plants at the moment under some blurple lights. My plants are 6" high and wonder when I can put the TS3000 over them?

Do you want to use the TS3000 as a flower light? TS3000 is full-spectrum, it can be both used for veg and flower.

 

[Deivid]

Recommended Hanging Distance Above Plants: Seedling: 30'' Germination: 24''-30'' Veg: 18''-24'' Flower: 12''-18''
Maybe aliexpress's TSL2000 doesn't upgrade the power cord. The TSL2000 on our official website has upgraded the power cord. You can consider adding a piece of power cord yourself.

For seedlings 30" for Veg 18-24" but i've seen somewhere recommended tent size for this light and it was for grow stage 3x5 and mine is 2x4 for the optimal results for flowering. Is that means I have to hang it even higher than 30" at seedling stage?
Should I use it with max power at 30" with seedlings?
How long extension cable should be ? Where I can order it?

 

[Mars Hydro]

For seedlings 30" for Veg 18-24" but i've seen somewhere recommended tent size for this light and it was for grow stage 3x5 and mine is 2x4 for the optimal results for flowering. Is that means I have to hang it even higher than 30" at seedling stage?
Should I use it with max power at 30" with seedlings?
How long extension cable should be ? Where I can order it?

The recommended hanging height is according to the Par value of the light needed by the plant at different stages, when the plant needs less light intensity at the growth stage, the hanging height of the led is higher, so the coverage area of the led will be bigger. We buy the lights based on the area covered by the lights during the flowering stage unless you buy the lights just for the veg stage

 

[Mars Hydro]

Should I use it with max power at 30" with seedlings?
How long extension cable should be? Where I can order it?

I recommend you hang the light at 30'' with seedlings. Two meters of extension cable is usually enough, I do not recommend you to buy from us, because we need to ship from China, the freight is not cheap, you can buy from your local hardware store, I can send you the parameters of the power cord.

 

[Deivid]

I recommend you hang the light at 30'' with seedlings. Two meters of extension cable is usually enough, I do not recommend you to buy from us, because we need to ship from China, the freight is not cheap, you can buy from your local hardware store, I can send you the parameters of the power cord.

Thanks, parameters for the cable would be great.
Should I use the light with full power at 30" in seedling stage?

 

[Mars Hydro]

Thanks, parameters for the cable would be great.
Should I use the light with full power at 30" in seedling stage?

I suggest you use the light with full power, if you think the light is too bright, you can raise the hanging height of your light or lower the wattage

 

[Mars Hydro]

Thanks, parameters for the cable would be great.
Should I use the light with full power at 30" in seedling stage?

parameters for the cable:

The minimum outer diameter：7MM 3*18AWG 300V 105℃ SJT VW-1
Conductor： Pure copper insulation、PEPteflon
Color：white、black、green
And add a waterproof connector

 

[Old Salt]

Thank you for fast reply. How far the light have to be from seedlings and on what power ?
I will get a meter as you said to be sure if both ballasts works at the same power.
I have no extension cables for light. I got the light from AliExpress. It's my first grow. All plants are autoflowers.
Is there are ways to calculate what distance and light power has to be between light and plants depending on different grow stages?

parameters for the cable:

The minimum outer diameter：7MM 3*18AWG 300V 105℃ SJT VW-1
Conductor： Pure copper insulation、PEPteflon
Color：white、black、green
And add a waterproof connector

Here is what you need to make your own extension cable:

Parts to Make Extension Cable​

All parts can be sourced through e-Bay. I chose 18/4 for the main length of the cable to keep the outputs of the drivers separate. A length of 18/2 is used at each end of the 18/4 for the final run to the drivers and LED panels. I'll solder all connections, use heat shrink tubing for insulation, and to pretty it up. The parts arrived yesterday, so I have to make a run to town to get more heat shrink of the appropriate sizes.

 

[Old Salt]

There are two ways to change the intensity at the canopy. The first, and traditional, method is to vary the height of the light above the canopy. The figures @SmokeSara gave above are for this method.

The second method is to keep the light at a constant distance above the canopy throughout the grow, and adjust the intensity of the light itself. This is becoming more popular since you can realize substantial power savings. A light meter is used to set the intensity at the canopy. You can buy one for about $30 USD through the big on-line malls, or you can get an app for your cell phone. If you want to use power, you can do that, but first you need to measure how much is required for each stage of growth. The figures are usually given as PAR values, but with white light such as the Mars Hydro SP and TS series of lights emit, you can use Lux. The conversion is 1 PAR ≈ 67 Lux. Here are the values for the stages of growth:

Stage:       PAR            Lux
Seedlings 150 = 200   10,000 - 13,500
veg:      200 - 500   13,500 - 33,500  increase level over 3 weeks
Flip      450 - 800   30,000 - 54,000  increase level over 2 weeks
flower    750 - 950   50,000 - 63,500  increase level so max at 1/2 flowering time

Note: As these measurements are taken at the canopy, they are not dependent on the height of the light.

 

[Deivid]

I recommend you hang the light at 30'' with seedlings. Two meters of extension cable is usually enough, I do not recommend you to buy from us, because we need to ship from China, the freight is not cheap, you can buy from your local hardware store, I can send you the parameters of the power cord.

DO I HAVE TO USE IT ON FULL POWER AT SEEDELING STAGE? 30" HIGH FROM PLANTS ?

 

[Preston9mm]

We have also considered the inconvenience of customer dimming the light, so we are considering adding an additional dimmer to the lights of TS and SP. As for the dimming scale, which one do you think is good?
Option 1: 25% 50% 75% 100%
Option 2: 40% 80% 100%

Option 1 would be awesome!

 

[Old Salt]

DO I HAVE TO USE IT ON FULL POWER AT SEEDELING STAGE? 30" HIGH FROM PLANTS ?

No need to shout. Yes at 30" you need full power for your seedlings. Sara stated this earlier.

Recommended Hanging Distance Above Plants: Seedling: 30'' Germination: 24''-30'' Veg: 18''-24'' Flower: 12''-18''
Maybe aliexpress's TSL2000 doesn't upgrade the power cord. The TSL2000 on our official website has upgraded the power cord. You can consider adding a piece of power cord yourself.

I recommend you hang the light at 30'' with seedlings. Two meters of extension cable is usually enough, I do not recommend you to buy from us, because we need to ship from China, the freight is not cheap, you can buy from your local hardware store, I can send you the parameters of the power cord.

 

[Zooie]

Wonder how long the cables are on the TS3000 that feed from the drivers to the power input?

 

[HigherTheHigh]

I think 50-75-100 would be enough I think dimming some of these Led lights to 25% would probably be pointless even in veg, will the dimmers be available for previous SP range as an add on?

 

[Old Salt]

Wonder how long the cables are on the TS3000 that feed from the drivers to the power input?

They are about 330mm or 13" long from the driver to the base of the plugs.

 

[DeeCee112]

There is a weird bud in the lower left of your 2nd pix. I had a skunk bud do that once, it was totally crowded and overgrown, then rotted on the branch in the last week of flower, I think because it was so dense.

NIK_9784sknksml.jpg

• buzz62
• Apr 30, 2018
• skunk

Skunk Double Flower 91 days, 4 weeks into flower

Yeah I call it Hulkbud. @Pennywise has informed me it is a genetic mutation called Fascination. Thanks for the heads up maybe I will trim it up in a week or two to make sure it gets enough air, I really want to see it make it to harvest and smoke it lol!