Mars-Hydro LED Grow Light Discussion

[Dave Groomer]

I will be placing an order for 2 tents and a light soon. When I get my tents, I will add my input to Colesdad's review. I will have 2 tents side by side. One will have my 2 400's and the other will have either the 700 or the 900. I know the 700 will cover the area, but I am thinking the 900 will give more light= bigger yield. If I have the money, I am thinking bigger is better.

 

[agrrr]

In the same boat waiting for sara. Festivities should be over today?

long time reader... first time poster

 

[NewBoy420]

alot good information on here. i was also thinking about the led strip lights for lighting under the plans. King John C u say they work. what differences did you see?

 

[Dennise]

I'm not sure if it is over today or not. I looked it up and it says the Chinese Holiday is not over till March 6th... I surely hope it is not that long and she will be back tonight but IDK......

 

[dxfan227]

Hello Everyone,

Glad to be a new member here. I have. grown a few times in my custom cab ( 3 Tall x 2 wide x 1.5 deep) using 8x40truewatt cfl's. I am interested in an LED panel to cut back on heat. I am curious about a few things.

1. Comming from over 300 true watts of cfl, what kind of adverse yield effects will I see dropping to a 300 watt (180 draw) led panel? What about temps...will they drop considerably as well you think?

2. I always use a small scrog, that being said should I be looking at the Original Mars Hydro? Or the 400 watt mars II? Are there any other options I should be aware of? I'd love to stay between 100-150 bucks.

3. Can these LED panels be used for both veg and flower? I do not want to have to swap panels if possible.

4. Is there some kind of discount or advantage to ordering through Sarah on here? Is this a reliable way of ordering?

5. I dont' have much height ( 3 feet but less when you account for carbon filter/fan) I can get my CFL's reasonably close to the plants....is there going to be an issue with led and this height restriction?

Anyone have any insights to my question above?

 

[b.real]

Anyone have any insights to my question above?

my grow area is 3' tall and I couldn't make a 100x3w light work. you should consider a less powerful led light or a 250 watt hps light (if you can keep the plants from growing into it).

 

[Hiker]

Anyone have any insights to my question above?

I agree with b.real

Either lamp will be too powerful in that short a space. With the LEDs you also have the problem of the light being too focused at short distances. You NEED to be 12"+ from the LEDs to get the proper spread of light.

 

[KingJohnC]

alot good information on here. i was also thinking about the led strip lights for lighting under the plans. King John C u say they work. what differences did you see?

When I added more side lighting LED light panels to one of my previous LED grows I noticed that the area illuminated by the side lighting began growing very well by comparison to not having enough coverage. The area side lit by the LED light panels did not mind that the angle of the light was not coming from above the plants and was coming from 90° at its side to flower.

 

[Dave Groomer]

I agree with b.real

Either lamp will be too powerful in that short a space. With the LEDs you also have the problem of the light being too focused at short distances. You NEED to be 12"+ from the LEDs to get the proper spread of light.

Agreed. I have 4' and I am right at the top of my cabinet (my girls are bushy but not too tall).

 

[Dave Groomer]

Hey. Did anyone notice. This thread is pushing 10,000 posts!!

 

[NewBoy420]

King John C what type of led strip did you use bud? i seen some from 200ish watt for about 2-300$ i will be looking more into this. if you can recommend a brand would be great.

 

[agrrr]

Anyone have any insights to my question above?

u need at least 18" of space between your plants and your light. I just lowered mine to 11" with some bad results. If your height limited, I would use the 3w reflectors, as you don't need to penetrate as much.

1. Temps will drop. I had to add a heater to my closet.

2. I would say reflector series.

3. Yes, they can be used for both veg and flower. The reflector series has switches to turn veg and flower ON/OFF.

4. I think either way of ordering should work. I did it through the website for my first 96x3w light. very fast shipping. I just recently bought by sending to paypal@mars-hydro.com, but I didn't realize it was holiday season. I've paid, but still waiting for some kind of response or confirmation/tracking#.

5. Yes huge restrictions. you also need clearence at the top of the light for airflow.

 

[dxfan227]

my grow area is 3' tall and I couldn't make a 100x3w light work. you should consider a less powerful led light or a 250 watt hps light (if you can keep the plants from growing into it).

Really? Even if I am scrogging low? I currently have 320 true watts in the cab and do just fine other than the heat issue.

 

[dxfan227]

Thanks for the insight. This is a bummer as I was very excited to ditch my CFL for LED I will have to measure again but I doubt I can come up with 18 inches of space.

 

[dxfan227]

I agree with b.real

Either lamp will be too powerful in that short a space. With the LEDs you also have the problem of the light being too focused at short distances. You NEED to be 12"+ from the LEDs to get the proper spread of light.

Would the 60x3 make sense then? I feel like dropping to a 90 Watt LED from my 320 watts of CFL doesn't make any sense!

 

[TokeItUp77]

i ordered mine last Wednesday and its in the US just waiting for UPS xD

 

[b.real]

Really? Even if I am scrogging low? I currently have 320 true watts in the cab and do just fine other than the heat issue.

it didn't work for me, but it might work for you. I wouldn't go from 300+ watts of fluorescent lighting to a 60x3w led light. please create a grow journal and send me an invitation.

 

[Tomula]

Hello,
as I can see, there are many ppl with a lot of experience with the LEDs writing to this thread. I have a question: What LED would you recommend for my grow area: 2x2x5? I like the 100x3W because of the power vs. price. Will it be enough or overkill? I am currently using 250w HPS but the temperatures are not good.

 

[TokeItUp77]

Hello,
as I can see, there are many ppl with a lot of experience with the LEDs writing to this thread. I have a question: What LED would you recommend for my grow area: 2x2x5? I like the 100x3W because of the power vs. price. Will it be enough or overkill? I am currently using 250w HPS but the temperatures are not good.

hey dude im working with the same space as you 2'x2'x5' tent and bought the 100x3w led light it will work i just think training will help it alot. im gonna be training my plants with LST, deflo, scrog, to keep them short and bushy running indica only. and it will cover my space and keep temps down. running hps in a size like that is hard unless have cool tube

 

[Hiker]

Would the 60x3 make sense then? I feel like dropping to a 90 Watt LED from my 320 watts of CFL doesn't make any sense!

It's not about how many LEDs you have. They are all 3W LEds in all the reflector series. You need the distance to get the light to spread. If you can manage to keep your canopy very even (like +-2-3"), you might get away with the 12" I said is a minimum.
When you look at the specs for these lights, you see a coverage estimate. That is based on the recommended light height. If you put the lights closer, you reduce that footprint.

The reason we're recommending the reflector series is the 3W diodes don't penetrate as well, but you don't need that with a scrog. Also, the reflectors do an awesome job of spreading the light without a lens which makes them very efficient.

As far as the size of the lamp, I'm an advocate of getting the smallest size lamp you want and then get as many as it takes to cover your area, ie more small lights instead of one large one.

Yours space is 'vertically challenged', so you're going to have to adapt. You need a low profile and wide container for your roots/media. Get your scrog as low as possible. Make as many nodes at the screen as you can, then defoliate early into flower to minimize any stretch. You might be OK.

Hello,
as I can see, there are many ppl with a lot of experience with the LEDs writing to this thread. I have a question: What LED would you recommend for my grow area: 2x2x5? I like the 100x3W because of the power vs. price. Will it be enough or overkill? I am currently using 250w HPS but the temperatures are not good.

A Mars II 400W would do well in that space.