Best light for 2x4 area for $300 and under

Rootbound420

Well-Known Member
Mars has a sale that ends today.
code: Rollitup gets you a discount
I was going to go with the tsl2000 originally but figured id ask on here first. Would that be good enough for 3 flowering autoflowers you think?
 

Rootbound420

Well-Known Member
HLG R Spec V2 kit
HLG 225
Medic Grow mini-sun
Many other white board leds - say no to Blurple.
The medic grow mini sun is really nice never heard of it before. You get a lot for the price. Built in timer is awesome. Have you used one of these before?
 
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OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
Personally i had some bad experience with Mars Hydro, both with their product and customer service so i wouldn't recommend it.
If you search around you'll see plenty of negative comments and reviews about Mars Hydro regarding their quality. Most of the good reviews come from sponsors, or people who got a free light and are obliged to give a good review. Or people who just bought the light, vegged a plant for 1 month and they were so excited and happy they gave a good review. But what about 1, 2 or 3 years later? Very few legit positive reviews, they must be very lucky to have a good experience with Mars Hydro even after few years.
They are really good at marketing, that's where most of their investment goes, not into quality..
And their so called ''5 year warranty'' is basically a clickbait, you only get 1 year free warranty, the rest you have to pay for shipping BOTH WAYS, repairs, parts etc.. And it's highly possible they will try to avoid honoring their warranty, or sending wrong parts, or you just might wait for few months until they send the light back to China for repairs. Overall a bad company with bad customer service and a 50-50% chance of getting a good product, it's a gamble..

If you are going for cheaper lights i'd rather pick Spider Farmer, Maxisun, Bestva, Viparspectra.. Although they are in the same range as Mars, they aren't as risky and they are slightly better.

But i would highly recommend MIGRO, i own his light and it's awesome. Only 300€ just within your budget. Both the light fixture and the driver run extremely cool, it's high efficiency and high quality, 3 years full warranty.. Customer service is excellent as well.
You can order 1 short and 1 long bracket so you can adjust the distance between the light bars as needed. You get 2 fixtures for 2x4 tent so you can hang one fixture lower and the other higher in case you grow 2 strains at once. Distance from canopy is only around 10 inches, it's short on purpose to have an even spread, and it also helps with height.
Now he made some upgrades, i have the older model so i can't wait to try the newer one. Strangely it's a very underrated light even though Migro is popular and many people trust his videos. And don't get mislead by the wattage thinking Mars 300W is better than Migro 250W. His lights are more efficient so they don't need 300W, and Mars lights barely pull the correct wattage anyway, most people get around 280 real wattage.

Amazon:
Official website:
I would second @OM2
if your looking for a light that has an amazing uniformity over a 2x4 and a top build quality with innovative design - Look at the "New" Aray4
Picked one up myself for my CBD tent :peace:


IMG_1595.jpg
 

HydroKid239

Well-Known Member
Mine is a closet but its actually 2.5x4.5 just a weird measurement so i say 2x4. Might even be 3x4.5? Not 100% sure.
Sp6500 May be more fit. I run one in a 3x5 (32”x60” actual size) was the closest I could get. Vivosun was the only manufacturer I knew of with the closest size to what I was looking for.
I yielded over 1gpw in that space. Could probably be better.
 

Drop That Sound

Well-Known Member
Grab a pack of these: https://www.dollartree.com/soft-white-100-watt-equivalent-medium-base-led-lightbulbs/297620 for $50

2 or 3 extension cords (cheaper than buying a roll of wire and comes with free plugs!) https://www.walmart.com/ip/Hyper-Tough-12FT-16AWG-2-Prong-Black-Indoor-Use-Household-Extension-Cord/960469400?athbdg=L1300 $10-15 or free?

And a 50 pack of these https://www.walmart.com/ip/50Pcs-4A-E27-Light-Socket-Screw-Bulb-Pendant-Lamp-Holder-Plastic/102523595
for $36.


Simply cut the extension cords up into smaller 8" lengths (to go between all the bulb sockets), and strip the ends about 1/4".

Wire it all together into like 3 rope lights, and screw in the bulbs. (remove the globes off the bulbs for the best output) Hang the rope lighting by tacking up the wire to a board or something using these:
1657821563707.png


560 actual watt LED grow rope lighting (over 30wpsqft in your 3x4) for + or - $100, that will blow any other LED fixture money could buy on the market away, haha. Hit 1.5 gpw easy.

Then buy a nice air conditioner or dehumidifier with the rest of your 300 instead. Or go ahead and buy an expensive grow light for a few dollars per watt, that is still made out of chineesium at the end of the day and will lose it's brightness in a few years anyway.

Don't listen to me though, no one ever does, haha.
 

Bajamaja

Well-Known Member
Sp6500 May be more fit. I run one in a 3x5 (32”x60” actual size) was the closest I could get. Vivosun was the only manufacturer I knew of with the closest size to what I was looking for.
I yielded over 1gpw in that space. Could probably be better.
that's double the size of a 2x4 It's a beautiful light but overkill imo almost 60w per sq foot
 

Rootbound420

Well-Known Member
Personally i had some bad experience with Mars Hydro, both with their product and customer service so i wouldn't recommend it.
If you search around you'll see plenty of negative comments and reviews about Mars Hydro regarding their quality. Most of the good reviews come from sponsors, or people who got a free light and are obliged to give a good review. Or people who just bought the light, vegged a plant for 1 month and they were so excited and happy they gave a good review. But what about 1, 2 or 3 years later? Very few legit positive reviews, they must be very lucky to have a good experience with Mars Hydro even after few years.
They are really good at marketing, that's where most of their investment goes, not into quality..
And their so called ''5 year warranty'' is basically a clickbait, you only get 1 year free warranty, the rest you have to pay for shipping BOTH WAYS, repairs, parts etc.. And it's highly possible they will try to avoid honoring their warranty, or sending wrong parts, or you just might wait for few months until they send the light back to China for repairs. Overall a bad company with bad customer service and a 50-50% chance of getting a good product, it's a gamble..

If you are going for cheaper lights i'd rather pick Spider Farmer, Maxisun, Bestva, Viparspectra.. Although they are in the same range as Mars, they aren't as risky and they are slightly better.

But i would highly recommend MIGRO, i own his light and it's awesome. Only 300€ just within your budget. Both the light fixture and the driver run extremely cool, it's high efficiency and high quality, 3 years full warranty.. Customer service is excellent as well.
You can order 1 short and 1 long bracket so you can adjust the distance between the light bars as needed. You get 2 fixtures for 2x4 tent so you can hang one fixture lower and the other higher in case you grow 2 strains at once. Distance from canopy is only around 10 inches, it's short on purpose to have an even spread, and it also helps with height.
Now he made some upgrades, i have the older model so i can't wait to try the newer one. Strangely it's a very underrated light even though Migro is popular and many people trust his videos. And don't get mislead by the wattage thinking Mars 300W is better than Migro 250W. His lights are more efficient so they don't need 300W, and Mars lights barely pull the correct wattage anyway, most people get around 280 real wattage.

Amazon:
Official website:
Where can you get one of those in the US? Im thinking this is what i might go with.
 
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OneHitDone

Well-Known Member
Are you in the US? I cant find where to get one at but probably going to go with it.
Yes USA
Straight from Migro website or it looks like they are on amazon. Amazon is handling the USA shipping from what I gather. That is how mine arrived.
Be sure to email them before placing an order. I did and they offered a 10% discount code. Tell them OneHitDone on RIU sent you :peace:
 

Rootbound420

Well-Known Member
Yes USA
Straight from Migro website or it looks like they are on amazon. Amazon is handling the USA shipping from what I gather. That is how mine arrived.
Be sure to email them before placing an order. I did and they offered a 10% discount code. Tell them OneHitDone on RIU sent you :peace:
Thanks man!
 
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