Hi its been a while but recently I have wanted to grow again and I have some more time in my life so why not get back at it. I did an auto grow and my mars hydro 150w light was just not enough and left me with fluffy light buds and I know that I had a reduced yield. Mars Hydro has a nice sale going on but it seems like now when I look up reviews most people are saying to just buy better quality lights. I’m looking for around 300 watts and would like it to be under $250 any recommendations would be great. thanks in advance.
This is what I was thinking about personally
Mars Hydro FC3000-EVO or Mars Hydro FC-E3000 Bridgelux 300W LED not sure the difference between Bridgelux or Samsung is but the price is much lower on the Bridgelux No IR
Mars Hydro TSW 2000 which is the 300w version of what I have now and is cheaper than the light bar versions. Has IR
Spider Farmer®SE3000 300W but supposedly has the same diodes as the MH FC3000-evo but more expensive or Spider Farmer® G3000 300W again same difference Bridgelux vs Samsung with Bridgelux being cheaper. No IR
Again I appreciate your time and help deciding.
I have the FC3000-evo. its been a excellent light for my 3x3.
as for the difference in Diodes. Bridgelux is American made, Samsungs diodes are made in China. LM301H EVO diodes in the FC3000-EVO will be slightly more efficient than the bridgelux variant.
This is true though the the FC-E has more LEDs to make up the difference, thus driving the individual LEDs with less voltage, so not working them as hard.
I have this one in my 3x3.
Works great. It was just under $300 when I got it.
I love this one and highly recommend it:
VIPARSPECTRA KS3000 LED Grow Light 320 watt with Samsung LM301H Osram Diodes
Light levels are extremely even all the way out to the edges. I checked their claims myself with an Apogee light meter and found them to be accurate. On sale right now on Amazon for $290.
You could use the smaller version of the light i use.
The 480w version is only 70 more and should fit a 3x3 but might be a bit overkill plus heat. Both have a 3 year warranty
I run AC infinity 300watt chef’s kiss
I got hooked on HLG lights but I’d be hard pressed not to look seriously at AC Infinity lights now. They are building lights with the best of the best diodes. Plus you can connect to their controller and have full controll thru your phone. Just for general knowledge ACI controllers can be connected. To HLG lights the same way with a little mod.
I’m hooked on the Ac Infinity systems and being able to control everything from my phone. Make sure you “you Tube” whatever light you decide on because you will most likely get an extra 15% off code from the You Tube reviewer/creator.
I have four(4) 100W Vivosun LEDs that I can raise and lower individually. I grow up to 4 plants at a time that each may need slightly different intensity.
They work great for me.
Alright since I personally never had problems with mars hydro I just got the Mars Hydro FC3000-EVO 300W should be just what I need and I bought directly from mars hydro so if I have any problems it should be easy to get resolved hopefully. My old light did well where it could it just always felt a little underpowered during flower. Again thank you all for the help. I will be gathering more supplies and hope to start end of December beginning of January and see where I go from there. <3 happy growing yall.
Well done!
I thought about it but decided that the removable driver and better diodes was worth the extra money. It was hard though since the sales on mars hydro are nice atm and I like saving money . Like somebody here said don’t forget to add coupon code too it does stack with the sale.
Mine should come in on Thursday pretty fast shipping and FedEx which is nice since most “Cheap” companies will just ship usps and its slow as can be.
Another thing I’m not 100% sure but the ts1000 I have supposedly has IR(infrared) and the new FC-3000Evo will not have IR. I tried to look some up about IR but honestly the additional lighting seems to be quite expensive for such a small improvement. So truly I know I don’t NEED IR but if anybody here recommends it and thinks it will actually improve my quality or yield a noticeable amount id be more willing to spend the extra money.