If youโre looking for a high-quality, full-spectrum hydroponic grow light, the Mars Hydro LED grow light is one of the best. Containing both veg and bloom switches, itโs perfect for indoor plants and continues to receive tons of praise in the indoor growing community.
Since the Mars Reflector series comes in 300, 600, and 960-wattage options, thereโs something for every type of grow tent or grow room.
Before choosing your next, or first, set of LED grow lights, letโs talk about what makes the Mars Hydro one of the best LED grow lights on the market.
Mars Hydro Reflectors and Coverage
The Mars Hydro reflector series is similar to many other manufacturers. These are set at an off-angle to scatter the light downwards without concentrating them too intently in one spot. Donโt forget that plants can sunburn too!
The coverage varies between each of the Mars Hydro series because of their size. But even with the largest 960 series it only covers a 3.5โ by 3.5โ area. But the coverage has a lot of intensity which is impressive for the variation in size. The same diodes and reflectors are in each model variation of the Mars Hydro series.
This amount of coverage is fairly standard for the size. The reflectors are what significantly impact the coverage area. There is a downside to this coverage area though because the coverage area is standard sized the flowering area is slightly smaller as your canopy fills out.
The Mars Hydro Spectrum
The Mars Hydro Grow Light series packs a punch with itโs full spectrum LED grow light bulbs. The series includes 430-440nm, 620nm, 450nm, 650nm, 660nm, as well as white light and infrared. This wide range of light will help your plants from seeding to blooming, offering the best for every stage in between.
The infrared lights may not show up because infraredโs not visible to our human eye. If you believe a light is out, itโs more likely that it is infrared.
The ECO led grow light uses a cooling fan and aluminum heat sink to improve heat dissipation as well as daisy chain capabilities. Their Mars Eco LED grow lamps consume only about 100W of power and can replace typical 150W hps or HID grow lights, resulting 70% energy savings.
The full spectrum light from the Mars II series is everything you could want for personal growth. It has veg and bloom switches that help during seeding, cloning, the veg and bloom stages. The Mars Hydro series uses a variety of light rays to balance out your plantโs photosynthesis cycles and growth. It is comparable to Cree, Epistar, Bestva, Viparspectra and COB LED lights.
There are plenty of red lights present throughout the Mars Hydro TS LED lights. The red lights can assist inter-nodal spacing through the blooming phase. The idea is that this mimics a summer sun during the day. However, thereโs not a lot of information to support this theory.
Mars Hydro 300w
A Mars Hydro 300 series is a great beginner light. The system is incredibly cheap, and the bulbs last for a decent amount of time. The results are comparable to some of the top competitors when it comes to the smaller lighting system.
With a lifespan of 50,000 to 100,000 hours, you should expect about 10 years of heavy use. The system also comes with a 1-year warranty. If anything does happen, there is a satellite plant based in California, so youโre not waiting weeks for a repair or replacement.
Mars Hydro 600w
Between the 3 Mars Hydro series options, the Mars Hydro 600w is the best bang for your buck. Itโs a mid-priced lighting system that offers all of the benefits of the Mars Hydro 300w but in a slightly larger size. Its also has coverage that is very even with a chip coverage ratio of 1.53 per square inch.
The LEDs used in all of these systems are powerful and last for a long period of time. However, the Mars Hydro 600 watt LED grow light gives you the best chip to size ratio. When you go to the larger Mars Hydro 900 model, itโs important to know that the LED chips per square inch decrease.
Issues with the Mars Hydro series
There are 2 issues that people have with the Mars Hydro series. First is that the products are manufactured in China and quality control can be lacking at times. The second issue is that its customer service center leaves something to be desired. They tend to be unresponsive and many issues remain unresolved.
Although the company is Chinese, thatโs no reason to avoid it altogether. Yes, the customer service is not great, but if you really need something you can contact them. When interacting with them, you should expect long response times, but we havenโt come across many reasons to contact customer service at all.
You can also check out the other recommended LED grow light brands for more reliable options.
Conclusion
If you do choose the Mars Hydro series, weโve found that the 600 is the best option of the 3 sizes because youโre getting the most even light distribution. If you need larger coverage area, youโre better with 2 of the 600 units rather than the larger 900 unit.
The Mars Hydro series works well through the vegging, cloning, and flowering process. However, you might want to consider lights with more intensity from further distances for the seeding phase. An alternative option is lowering the lights the seedlings receive more intensity.
Bad customer service and the fact that these light systems are manufactured in China is no reason to avoid them. Although the Mars Hydro series is not for professional growers, theyโre great for hobbyists who need quality lights without the top tier price.
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