Mary's hydro led 300w Question

I am going to buy two Mars hydro 300w lights. How many plants would someone recommend in a 3 x 3 space?

Hi new member - please don't buy Mars hydro

What other cheap light options are there

How much are you spending on the Mars?

They're $65 each. For the 60x5 eBay model.

Nothing wrong with these LEDs for the price. I'd go with 4 in that space, the spread is garbage.

Don't bother with mars300 in a 3x3.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B004YXDHX6/ref=s9_simh_gw_g86_i2_r?pf_rd_m=ATVPDKIKX0DER&pf_rd_s=desktop-1&pf_rd_r=18PHXX926J7Z2984XFVW&pf_rd_t=36701&pf_rd_p=2079475242&pf_rd_i=desktop

There yea go. Perfect low cost setup for a 3x3.

Atulip said:

They're $65 each. For the 60x5 eBay model.

Nothing wrong with these LEDs for the price. I'd go with 4 in that space, the spread is garbage.

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"Nothing wrong" if you need extra heat and a light for veg only.

Heat could be a concern also, I tried running the same space(grow tent) with 400w hps and couldn't manage the heat with a 4" inline in an air cooled hood. That's why I went for mars 300s. I seed to harvested my first grow under 2 of them. 3 autos, 80days, 5oz in a shared 10gal Dec. That's .5gpw from a noob grower, it's definitely fine to veg and flower with at 12" height.



Plus they come with free drivers and fans and housings for Cree conversions later.



But I'd agree, if you can manage the heat from hps go with it instead. It's better bang for your buck.

Those look like 2x 60x"5" watt (actual 120 watts per 60x5.)
You could have easily fixed the 400 watt HPS heat issues by using a 250 watt HPS.

Dropping to 250w HPS will get you less in a 3x3 than 2 x Mars300(60x5) also, calculated using HPS hanging at 18" and mars at 12" height spaced evenly. Lux vs lux values, not par, and the Mars would be pulling more at the wall(+~20w). I know everyone here hates Mars, but if you can space them out, watt for watt they compare pretty evenly with hps, without the added heat to deal with.

I ran into temp issues at 50% of a 400w ballast. Now summer is brutal here, but nonetheless, couldn't get rid of heat. I guess I didn't try running an ac vent directly to the tent. I'll save the next guy from having to suggest that one. I have trouble running my now 600w HPS in a larger space, 3x5, with a 6" inline running at 100%. 24" high I'm 88℉ at the center canopy, with intake temps at 72℉. HPS spits out a lot of heat.

They're 50w Cree x2 now.

How are the Mars 2 400 watt compared to the Mars hydro 300w

FunnyManSam said:

How are the Mars 2 400 watt compared to the Mars hydro 300w

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About 50-60 more wattage for a much higher cost.

I tried using a mars 2 400w in the same space for the grow seen above(now crees). The spread was about enough for a 2'x2' at 12". They're not finished yet but it's looking like 4oz total. Similar results as my first grow(2 mars300), but like 180w used for one mars2 400 vs 280w for two mars 300. Different strains and grow style though, but I'd say the Mars300 are just as good but way cheaper. I'd rather have 3 of them than 1 Mars2 400 for the same price.

Both seem to be the same leds, the Mars2 is just heavy as @$!# Bud size/density is similar for both. I have seen experienced growers running Mars2 1200w in the same 3x3 and getting 600g+. That's big yielding automatics and far more experienced growers than me. But that's still just the ~1gpw area, not as efficient as the same amount of light in a larger area.

I currently have a lush lighting dominater 2x and want some cheap lights that I can get some more plants out of I don't know what else is cheap