Mars Hydro 300w or Viparspectra 300w

Ok so I'm looking to know which one YOU guys think is better. I want to upgrade in the near future and both lights cost the same. I'm not here to argue with anyone give me your honest opinion of which one would be better. Thanks !

Mars has good customer service but mediocre lights, viparspectra same I'd just save up a bit longer, they'll do the job but they are pretty much same results mediocre. The optic one would do a much better job for you and you can add to it as you go instead of throwing you panel away when u get a new one. You get what you pay for honestly.
https://opticledgrowlights.com/products/optic-1-cree-cxb3590-132w-standalone-cob

redeyedfrog said:

Mars has good customer service but mediocre lights, viparspectra same I'd just save up a bit longer, they'll do the job but they are pretty much same results mediocre. The optic one would do a much better job for you and you can add to it as you go instead of throwing you panel away when u get a new one. You get what you pay for honestly.
https://opticledgrowlights.com/products/optic-1-cree-cxb3590-132w-standalone-cob

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Ooof how many of those would you need as they are 54w

3x3 veg 2x2 flower depends on the size of tent but much better value for money.

If you buy them make sure u buy the $10 lens

if you want honesty both those lights are crap.... save more and get a real upgrade by DIY or buy from a decent light company.
cob or quantum board. etc

I own 2 vipars, a 900 and a 300. I couldn't agree more with the above posts. I've already upgraded to an autocob from cobshop.net and I am eyeballing the optic one that was mentioned earlier for my next light.

Either of those lights will grow one plant.

Wont grow it as well as a optic one guaranteed, same kinda money better value better quality at 2 grams per watt they cant keep up. I'd use a cob over diode panels any day of the week and so would anyone who knows anything about LED's. What hes not saying is how well it will grow one plant. Again you get what you pay for. You'll want to upgrade either one of those panels out after one grow and see the results, you'll end up buying a better light which means you'll spend 3 times what your budgeting now, with the optic range you'll just add more, it's a no brainer.

The Mars 300 is a 100w light. Claims to replace a 150w HPS, Claims to cover a 1.7x1.7ft space
The vipar 300 is a 134w light. Claims to replace 250w HPS Claims to cover a 1.5 x 1.5ft space.

The mars uses the same diodes as the vipar so I don't know why the mars says it covers more space yet at the same time is equal to less HPS than the vipar claims. I don't take much notice of either claims to be honest but the vipar is a slightly more powerful light.

I agree with everyone else though, save more and buy better lights. It depends on what your wanting to cover as to what would be best.

CODEE_420Grows said:

Ooof how many of those would you need as they are 54w

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I'm not using the optic yet, but I am using a pretty comparable cob from www.cobshop.net. I can tell you that my one 54 wat cob produces double the flower of my 300w(125 actual watt) viparspectra. The cob's cover 1 plant. But that is all your are getting out of a viparspectra 300 as well. I think they say it's a 2x2 area. 3 cobs would stomp all over my Viparspectra 900 with half the power draw.

Edit: It's only fair I mention I do have one of the mars 100w cobs. But I think it's a bit over priced. I've only completed the last half of a grow with it and well , it did do a pretty good job.

I would love to see someone test it against a Optic 1 XL

Just a question for you guys. I have one of these lights and I was wondering, whats the actual preformance and output of this light?

MR.NICE.GUY.1990 said:

Just a question for you guys. I have one of these lights and I was wondering, whats the actual preformance and output of this light?

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390 actual watts I could be wrong but It says avg watts is 390w

Codee is correct. Actual watts at the wall is what you want to be paying attention to. All the cheap chinese grow light manufactures live to label their products as a 1000 watts plus, when in reality its typically a few hundred watts of actual power. Actual watts and the spectrum are what matters. At 390 watts i wouldn't run that light in anything bigger than a 3x3 ft space or a 4x4 if you are just going to veg under it.

Thanks guys, much appreciated. I got a 5×5×8 flowering space. Thinking of utilizing this with a 1000watt HPS for flower and see what happens‍

MR.NICE.GUY.1990 said:

Thinking of utilizing this with a 1000watt HPS for flower and see what happens‍

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Maybe get a big power bill ?

These be my babies right meow. 2 gold lemons, 2 nebulas, white widow, Jack herer, and a BlueBerry

Zogs said:

Maybe get a big power bill ?

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Trust me. If I had an alternative light I would use it. It's what i have for right now. Been looking at a Fatty VS from timber grow lights. Looks pretty badass

Hey - I'm still a new grower, within my first year. I've got one harvest under my belt with the Mars 300W, though mine is different from the one in your picture. Not sure why.

I pulled 3.38oz from a single plant in a 7gal bucket so I'm not entirely sure why so many people seem to think these things are incapable of growing. Imho there are MANY things that go into having a successful grow, it isn't all about the light like a lot of people believe. As fast as these plants grow, my curiosity grows faster so I've been making good use of it and reading Ed Rosenthal's Grower's Handbook. I cannot recommend it enough, his chapter on light is top notch.

There are TONS of companies out there putting out bunk product to sucker people into splurging thousands, but you can also find value if you're just looking to get yourself a decent supply while you slowly build up. I get really tired of everyone just shitting on this stuff and saying "just wait buy a better light" because this is medicine for people and not everyone is in the position where they can wait. Spending $300-$400 on a decent DIY/COB setup for a 2x4 like I have was STILL double or triple what I paid for the Mars light. AND I got a good harvest.

If you do your research, pay attention to your plants, and take care of your environment, you can make up for the lack of strength in the light by just giving it a little more time. That's what I did.

I'm NOT saying that you're not better off saving if you can manage. By all means, if it won't leave you without necessities to drop the few hundred go for it. You won't regret it.

I took a chance because I was desperate and my medical situation means that I'd have been saving for months just to get started. This was a much easier option and I'm well on my way to harvest #2 with two plants. They're doing even better than the first grow too, so I'm not unhappy.