Mars Hydro TS1000W vs HLG 135rspec Comparison Grow 2020

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Ok here we go, got the free light coming from mars and going to do a comparison grow to help people decide which lighting to go with.

Constantly people are asking what light to get for LED. This will be a comparison in my 2x4 tent, split into two 2x2 parts with a foam board (separating the light). The lights power draw will be measured and adjusted with a multimeter. I will take LUX reading before and after the grow, and go with recommended distances for each light from the manufacturer

At first, I will be cutting clones. After clones are taken these will all be potted into small pots. Medium will be Coco Coir DTW, Feed will be GH trio with some other additives.

The goal is to grow two plants basically exactly the same (I am wondering if I should keep the partition down until ready to flip) About 2-3 weeks before "flip" I will take the two most similar cuttings and transplant them, once they are ready for flip I was thinking put the partition up and see what happens...

Or I could use the two best cuts and keep the lights separate for the vegetative cycle as well.
I was thinking of doing a few toppings and a SCROG frame to make sure things are very even for this comparison so the experiment is very controlled.. Any thoughts or comments are very welcome here!

The mother plant is very compact growing and I need to make it stretch to take some nice clones. It is a Mother of Berries plant from TH seeds. This plant seems like it will be a nice scrog and stay small and manageable for the comparison

pics left to right.. Just transplanted 10 plants , mother of berries mother that isn't quite ready to give clones (very compact plant!), My 2x4 tent filled with all my work tools (disabled at the moment, had to turn in my work truck and this was the only spot I have right now to keep them), and a pic of my oxy cloner
 

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B_the_s

Well-Known Member
Yes b'. Very interested because these are the two lights I didn't buy. We went with the new sf1000. The best canadian prices i could find put the TS1000 $20 lower, and the HLG135 $135 higher than I paid.
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Cost of light analysis per Watt.
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TS 1000w 139.99 free shipping 150w total is 93-94 cents per watt Dimmable
HLG 135w Rspec kit 197.50 -10% discount (RIU10) free shipping 150w total is $177.75 thats $1.18-$1.19 per watt Dimmable

I will be dimming both of these down to give 30w per square foot. in a 2x2 area this means 2x2x30 so 120w in each 2x2 area. I will use a multimeter when I get the tent setup. It is known that LED boards run softer will have a higher efficiency and longer life time. Maybe once in full flower I will turn them up to 100% to really see if there is any big difference.
I will be doing a temp test and light intensity test as well in the beginning and ends of each grow.
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Lets do this Nizza...;)
LMFAO bob!!!! Hopefully buying a truck to put all my tools in this week.. a 91 f150
@stealthfader508 how do you think the MOB will work with scrogging? The stems seem very hard to bend and woody. Do I remember you telling me it doesn't like LST or was that supercropping you said I shouldn't do?
 

Wazzy

Well-Known Member
Can't wait to see how this ends up. Will be a great comparison grow. I think you should separate the 2 sides right from the start. Then you can really see which is best on the whole. Looks great
 

Bigdaddy76

Well-Known Member
Hopefully they’re smart enough to stay away from Mars! WAY better lights out there for cheaper! Absolutely a waste of money! At least you got your for free. That’s the only way I’d take one. Then I’d give it away cause I want better! Although, I like the competition but Mars is overpriced for what it is!
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Got the light yesterday, cleaned up the tent today which fucking sucked lol.. all my work tools are out of it so now I just need to switch my hlg 135 rspec board onto my single slate heat sync so I can mess with the dimmers and take some lux reading to get a start of grow comparison @18" away @ the same power. I will run them at 30w per sq ft so 120w each even though they can run at 150.

I noticed half of the red diodes on either side are a little dim I wonder why @MarsHydrofactory is this normal operation?

I will set these up with normal air flow for this tent and let each one run at 120w for an hour and take a few temp readings of the boards as well.
I like the dimmer knob, it is a nice feature and the way they made the driver removable is pretty cool too.

I appreciate the free light mars hydro and I am excited to see this compare next to horticultural lighting groups R Spec quantum board
20200708_152613.jpgscreenshot (2).jpg

Tomorrow I will try to get the 135w R spec board set up to take some readings, then set up my cloner. I might choose a little lankier of a strain because the MOB is a very short tight noded plant
 

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ebcrew

Well-Known Member
Bunch of analog gauges in there. You an HVAC tech? Me too. On another note this will be fun to watch. I have the HLG 135 v2 rspec so this will be interesting.
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Bunch of analog gauges in there. You an HVAC tech? Me too. On another note this will be fun to watch. I have the HLG 135 v2 rspec so this will be interesting.
yep I do mainly HVAC install and a little bit of service work
Great to see some HVAC people out there lol! I will get digital gauges this year, can't go wrong with the analogs though--they get the job done and are simple.
I appreciate yall following along and any suggestions please let me know!
 

Nizza

Well-Known Member
Is that a partially working mars light ?..if so I can guess the winner now :lol:
Haha it could be something else I’m not sure maybe it is a little faulty or it may be normal when it’s dimmed low to do that I want to check with Marsand we will see what they say

who knows we may be surprised at how close they perform, and it may give people an idea of how they compare

I want to think of it as a comparison , not a Contest between the two for people to see the differences

I want to add in this ts-1000w version uses epistar 3030 chips and the hlg uses Samsung 301b diodes with Osram reds. The ts1000w looks like it uses two different color whites and I can’t find what reds they use for this model
 
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PadawanWarrior

Well-Known Member
Got the light yesterday, cleaned up the tent today which fucking sucked lol.. all my work tools are out of it so now I just need to switch my hlg 135 rspec board onto my single slate heat sync so I can mess with the dimmers and take some lux reading to get a start of grow comparison @18" away @ the same power. I will run them at 30w per sq ft so 120w each even though they can run at 150.

I noticed half of the red diodes on either side are a little dim I wonder why @MarsHydrofactory is this normal operation?

I will set these up with normal air flow for this tent and let each one run at 120w for an hour and take a few temp readings of the boards as well.
I like the dimmer knob, it is a nice feature and the way they made the driver removable is pretty cool too.

I appreciate the free light mars hydro and I am excited to see this compare next to horticultural lighting groups R Spec quantum board
View attachment 4618189View attachment 4618192

Tomorrow I will try to get the 135w R spec board set up to take some readings, then set up my cloner. I might choose a little lankier of a strain because the MOB is a very short tight noded plant
The Mars isn't off to a great start.
 

quirk

Well-Known Member
I purchased a TS1000 Janurary of this year, mainly to get a jump start on tomatoes. Then I decided to try a comparison grow. When the TS 1000 plant, which was 11 hours older, started falling behind at the 2-3 week mark, I bailed out and put it under my other big light where it caught up and surpassed it's little sister in 30 days. That being said I'll continue to use the Ts1000 for seedlings and young plants. Very functional dimming capability as well. Good luck and I will be following your scientific comparison. Auto grower
 

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