Cheapest grow Round 2
- Thread starter zoic
- Start date
GroErr
Well-Known Member
Looking good, glad you got your tent setup and nice recovery!
whytewidow
Well-Known Member
Do you like the mars led? A lot if people on here say mars are total garbage. But all I've seen picture wise are healthy plants being grown by them. I guess they are way overrated. Like their 300watt systems are only like 150 watts of actual light. And they are about 150 bucks. So that's a buck a watt. So 2 mars 300s in a tent for 300 bucks I bet grows can grow some dank. I think I'm gonna pull the trigger on 2 of them. Found on Amazon for 275 bucks shipped. I think your plants look great man. Keep up the good work man...
Stay green n stay hi
Stay green n stay hi
zoic
Well-Known Member
Thanks whytewidow, I hope your Gorilla seeds all work out well. I wish I could give you feedback but I just set it up in my new grow tent and lights are off until 7PM tomorrow. I know they are not high end per say but they are 3x more power than the light I did my first grow with. For a hobby grow I think they are plenty and I am likely to buy another soon. I am trying to use the KISS approach since that works best for my current situation.
GroErr
Well-Known Member
Are they using 5w diodes in those current Mars lights? As you know, I use them for veg and I think they're great for veg. The higher wattage diodes should do better in flowering but I was disappointed with the flowering output of the older 3w panels. That said, I've tried a lot of lights and spent a hell of a lot on them more so it's relative and they're certainly better than CFL's. Mine veg great at 25w/sq./ft. (actual output).
I just grabbed 3x 70w of these to try in my 2x4' veg tent, 2x 6000k and 1x 3000k. I've used similar (older, like 3 years ago) Chinese COBs in my breeding tent and got 1 gpw, these in theory should do better on paper and haven't seen anything cheaper, even the Mars are more expensive. Mind you, these are passively cooled by the heat sink on the body and take a hell of a lot more overhead space so you need some height available. Heat output will be more (than the Mars, much less than HID/hps) being passively cooled but I need some extra heat in my veg tent so not a problem for me.
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Foxanon-Aluminum-Floodlight-LED-lamp-COB-Chip-30W-50W-70W-100W-Outdoor-Lighting-110-220V-IP66/32796837498.html?spm=2114.13010608.0.0.FWCbj9
Love Headies
Member
Yes you are correct the Mars 300 uses the 60 of the 5w diodes. I just got my light not too long ago and it is awesome. It only increases the temperature in my closet by like 3 degrees.
I did see a couple reviews were people said half the panel went out on them. I think the big thing to keep in mind is that it is a inexpensive model and you should follow the manufacturers guidelines.
For example it says only run it for a max of 18 hours.
Love Headies
Member
Wow it sure did make an amazing recovery thank goodness. Like you new tent BTW. Your plants look much happier in there.
Is that the 2x4 tent? I want one so badly. If you have the money it would be worth investing in another light for when they really get flowering good. The manufacturer is actually realistic compared to others. They say that it is good for a 2'x2' during veg in a 1.5'x1.5' and I believe that is about right.
I guess if you can just keep your plants in that 1.5'x1.5' area for flowering you will be good. Check out the par chart that comes with the light as well. I noticed at first that I could control different growth by just moving around the plants a little.
zoic
Well-Known Member
I made sure to buy one with 5w diodes. I have done a lot of reading and I learned that they work much better than 1w or 3w diodes. The passively cooled look very enticing, well at least the one with lower profile heat sinks. Like you, I could use a little heat in my basement. My wife revealed she ordered another one for me, ssshhhh, it is a secret. 
When I told her I just need 2 more after that for the grow closet she did not even raise an eyebrow. Me thinks she is finally warming up to the idea of growing our own.
Thanks for the link, going to have a look now. Cheers!
When I told her I just need 2 more after that for the grow closet she did not even raise an eyebrow. Me thinks she is finally warming up to the idea of growing our own.
Thanks for the link, going to have a look now. Cheers!
zoic
Well-Known Member
That is a 2x4 and 5ft high. Very good construction according to my wife, the professional seamstress. I found it easy to put together all things considered. Looking at the light hung in the tent I can see realism in their assessment of coverage. I am going to invest in more to get better coverage for PAR.
Your plants look nice, how many days now?
GroErr
Well-Known Member
Yeah thanks thought they were using the 5 watters, you probably want to run 35-40w per sq. ft. In flowering, the more the better. They do well in veg at low wattage but in flowering any of the diode based panels need a little more. I found that when I tried a couple of rounds for flowering a few years back.
I wouldn't worry about their 18 hour reccommendation. They'd last longer but I have a couple of panels that are 4 years old running 20/4 in veg for that long.
One recently went blank and I grabbed and extra driver and fixed it in like 30 minutes. Typically if a whole section goes it's the driver not the diodes and you can get no name drivers (same as they use) for like $20-$30, cheaper to fix than shipping them back.
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Love Headies
Member
Thanks bud,
The picture was taken on day 29.
This is day 32
She is now up to day 44 and I need to get some pics. I know she is a monster and I love it. Now she is in a scrog that sits 10" above the pot.
GroErr
Well-Known Member
Very nice, that's what you want, nice healthy plants going into flowering. They'll start to blow up (stretch) in 4-6 days and fill that space up quick in the next couple of weeks. On your way to your first full cabinet of home grown dankLights when on at 7PM for the beginning of flowering. No sign of pistils yet but it has only been an hour.
The plants look absolutely beautiful, much better than Round 1 preflower.
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GroErr
Well-Known Member
You should have plenty of height, what's the tent 5 or 6 ft.? If needed you can get within a few inches with those blurples without harm, only thing you lose with getting too close is overall coverage.
whytewidow
Well-Known Member
Yeah me too. 2 felonies and tons in fines.
ttystikk
Well-Known Member
So the lesson is, check your equipment regularly, especially before the first time it's to be used.I took some pics tonight (Day 21) and discovered the new light was unplugged. So that is a whole week with a 2nd light not being used. No wonder the tall plant was leaning towards the other light.
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