Since this is a Mars Hydro competition, I figured let's talk about the lights a bit.
As mentioned I'm new to growing. I wanted a cost effective setup that wasn't going to compromise on quality. I could always move up down the line if I wanted more. So browsing on Amazon I see the Mars Hydro lights have pretty good reviews. A lot of the negative reviews were people saying two of the RED LED's are dim and burning out. Of course those are the IR lights that are supposed to be exactly like that. So factor out those comments and the reviews are pretty solid for Mars.
So I got a 2x4 tent and two TS600's. Pretty good I thought. Started a photo period grow with four Black Banana Cookies. The plants were doing quite well, couldn't complain. But I think for the size of the tent the two 600's were ok, but not great. So I decided on adding a TS1000. PERFECT!! Once I added that baby in between the 600's my tent lit up. It's super bright in there now. My first grow was a SCROG, very packed in there and the light still penetrated deep into the bush. I had excellent yield and the plants flourished.
I will note the 600's can get a little hot. I run a fan that is aimed across the top of the lights. This keeps the 600 closest to the fan very cool and the one furthest very warm, but not hot. The 1000 doesn't get as hot as the 600's, not even close actually. Must be a much more efficient light/power supply.
Now the 1000 has a dimmer. But with my limited knowledge I don't know why or when to use this. So far I only use it when I have to stick my head under the lights for whatever reason, I dim it so I'm not blinded. Other than that, is there a stage in the grow where I should dim this light? I assume seedling only? IDK, I keep it full blast 100%
Also, love that it comes with all of the adjustable ratchet straps you need. Makes setup super simple. The free stickers are cute, but a tip to Mars, don't bother sticking the ones on the actual light, after a day of running the lights they starting peeling off due to the heat. They come off easy and clean, so no big deal, but I can't imaging they stay on anyone's light very long.
I am running my autos on a 20 on 4 off schedule. Thoughts?
Anyhow, I really like my Mars Hydro lights. There seem to be a fantastic bang for the buck. I'd like to add another tent for seedlings to 6 weeks old so I can cycle plants and get a rhythm of veg / bud going and have harvests more often.
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You can see the fan I run above the lights. And another below aimed at the plants. With this and the exhaust fan I get a lot of air flow going on and it keeps the warm internal air and cold fresh air mixing nicely.
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One more thing I did for my setup was add a HEPA filter to my fresh air intake. You can see below I bought a furnace filter and Gorilla taped it to the side where the fresh air is coming in. I did this on my second grow because of two things.
1) Late stage of my first grow I started battling powder mildew. This was my fault as some trimmings I had off to the side in a bucket started to rot and got moldy. The fresh air sucked that in and then it was a major pain for the last weeks of my grow. So this HEPA filter will help to keep spores out.
2) We seem to have some fungus gnats in the plants in my basement where I have a side room where my tent is. Frickn gnats are brutal to eradicate, but any that get into this side room where it's dark get attracted to the glowing furnace filter. Every time i go in the room I look at the filter and if there are any gnats on it, which often there are 1 or 2 I kill them right there. Bingo, now they don't get into my tent.
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Whoever wins is gonna be one lucky s.o.b. lol. The competition here is real tho for sure!! Watch out. Lol
