Should I swap Mars Reflector for 400w HPS?

OriginalGangstaKush

OriginalGangstaKush

Well-Known Member
Hey all, just wondering if anyone knows if a 400w hps magnetic ballast light kit that costs 50 from eBay would be as good or better than my current light set up which is the mars hydro 144 reflector series led actual draw 317 watts which cost 190. I have a 2x4 tent so coverage with the mars is great and the running costs are good. I bought it 6 weeks ago to finish flowering of a few plants and seemed to do the trick albeit it took a bit longer than strain suggests but may not be the light. Yield wasnt bad but not great either. (1 blue cheese plant yielding just shy of 2oz dry which was vegged for 3 months outdoors and less than an z each from 2 autos) if someone could help me as a friend of mine wants to purchase my light which I got a month ago and I'm pretty hard up at the moment. I could go and get the omega 400w hps Magentic ballast kit with reflector and pocket myself a cool 100 and have more wattage covering the ladies in future. I know the led I have has a lot of different spectrums the plants can use but my question is will it be as good or better than the mars and will there be any heat problems in 2x4x5 tent with a 4 inch fan (100cfm) and filter. If anyone has any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks
 
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Huckster79

Huckster79

Well-Known Member
If you could swing it money wise and temp wise use em both! I have 1000w hps along w two mars hydro leds either 300 or 400 watt equivalents... then add some Walmart cfls here and there if I have a shady spot- this is all in a room that’s just shy of 6x6..,
 
OriginalGangstaKush

OriginalGangstaKush

Well-Known Member
Huckster79 said:
If you could swing it money wise and temp wise use em both! I have 1000w hps along w two mars hydro leds either 300 or 400 watt equivalents... then add some Walmart cfls here and there if I have a shady spot- this is all in a room that’s just shy of 6x6..,
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Thanks for the reply man, I would love to but money is tight right now hence why I'm considering downgrading (if it is a downgrade) at least equipment cost wise anyway. I couldn't get this reflector and another light in the tent as it's a 2x4x5 and the reflector I have takes up most of the room. Could probably make that work in a 1.2 x 1.2 with a good exhaust fan and have best of both worlds but right now I'm stuck with the tent I have. Do you think that 400 watt HPS with magnetic ballast would out perform or march a 317 actual draw mars hydro reflector 144 series? Also do those systems make much noise. That reflector led I have now has 3 cooling fans built in and it's quite a lot louder than I thought it would be. Thanks
 
G

Gorillaglue4u

Well-Known Member
I have a few mars leds and they will do the job. However you would probably get a better yield with the hps light. My option would be do it but see what the led growers say.
 
OriginalGangstaKush

OriginalGangstaKush

Well-Known Member
Gorillaglue4u said:
I have a few mars leds and they will do the job. However you would probably get a better yield with the hps light. My option would be do it but see what the led growers say.
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Thanks man so you have a lot of faith in the mars hydro LEDs? I like how they run at a good temperature to keep things nice in my small tent. The buds I got from the one harvest were a little airier than my friends who use hps buy you can't have everything I guess, maybe I harvested a little early though. It's only drawing 317 watts and it should last a long long time. I'm just struggling for cash and could buy a hps and make a 100 profit selling the mars hydro and if that would mean I would get better results also with hps then maybe I should do it. I'm worried a little that it would get far too hot in the 2x4 tent and I may have to upgrade fan and filter size which would negate selling it in the first place to get some money lol any led and hps growers who can guide me in regards to a 317 actual watt mars hydro Vs a 400 hps in terms of quality/yield/heat control. Thanks
 
Rolla J

Rolla J

Well-Known Member
Your watts per sq ft will go up with the hps. 50 watts/sqft is really nice for hps. The mars hydro led light u would want to go par watts per square ft. . if ya need the money and wana help your friend out by helping you out id say go for it. Do it
 
OriginalGangstaKush

OriginalGangstaKush

Well-Known Member
Thanks man so a 400 hps sounds pretty optimum for a 2x4 grow then, of course 600 would be better but heat issues galore probably. Do you know if heat would be a problem in a 2x4 with 400 watts hps, just running a very cheap 4 inch filter and fan around 100cfm if that. If I leave the led on without fan extracting then it can get up to 34 degrees c but with the fan running it usually never gets above 30 usually 28 so that's nice and comfortable. May bite the bullet and go for the hps seeing as times are tight right now, can always go back to led in future when money is better! Thanks for advice
 
Rolla J

Rolla J

Well-Known Member
If u amazon shop u can get a 6inch that runs 240 cfm for 20$. The 100cfm could work well tho
 
Huckster79

Huckster79

Well-Known Member
Yup i concur then, watch the temp and yes i think ull do better w 400 hps than just the led.

Now when it comes time for a new bulb with 400w magnetic hps ballast you could get a ceramic metal halide bulb- they use a hps mag ballast. If its a kit w a bulb run what it comes with one or two rounds for sure. I use CMH in veg and love it, lots of guys do its great light, crazy wide spectrum and the bulbs arent pricey. I use a ge, ill get light number when she turns off for you cant read it while its on...

I would run CMH in flower if someone would make a 1000w bulb... or if i could afford new fixtures and would run two or three to get around or just above 1000w.
 
Tx-Peanutt

Tx-Peanutt

Well-Known Member
I use a 600 watt HPS with two 60 watt led bulbs in a 3 x 3 x 72 I run my in line fan and a clip fan in my tent all day with small dehumidifier and my temps are at 70 degrees with 45-51% humidity
 
nc208

nc208

Well-Known Member
OriginalGangstaKush said:
Hey all, just wondering if anyone knows if a 400w hps magnetic ballast light kit that costs 50 from eBay would be as good or better than my current light set up which is the mars hydro 144 reflector series led actual draw 317 watts which cost 190. I have a 2x4 tent so coverage with the mars is great and the running costs are good. I bought it 6 weeks ago to finish flowering of a few plants and seemed to do the trick albeit it took a bit longer than strain suggests but may not be the light. Yield wasnt bad but not great either. (1 blue cheese plant yielding just shy of 2oz dry which was vegged for 3 months outdoors and less than an z each from 2 autos) if someone could help me as a friend of mine wants to purchase my light which I got a month ago and I'm pretty hard up at the moment. I could go and get the omega 400w hps Magentic ballast kit with reflector and pocket myself a cool 100 and have more wattage covering the ladies in future. I know the led I have has a lot of different spectrums the plants can use but my question is will it be as good or better than the mars and will there be any heat problems in 2x4x5 tent with a 4 inch fan (100cfm) and filter. If anyone has any suggestions would be much appreciated. Thanks
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Ditch the mars hydro and go HPS for sure dude. Electronic ballast would be better IMO but ive used the mag ones and they work fine. Alot louder tho. Please don't take offense but those are very low yields for 3 plants. Sounds like around 100 grams for 300w roughly so like .33 g/w?

Led is awesome and you should hit 1 gram per watt if you know what your doing.

You can get a badass led for your space if you look up quantum boards or cobs. 2 qb boards or 4 cobs at 50-75w each would match your 400w hps and save you electricity and heat.

These two options could work nicely in a 2x4 space if you want some pre made options at an affordable price they are 2x the price of your mars hydro but will give much better yields.



http://timbergrowlights.com/model-2tl/
https://horticulturelightinggroup.com/collections/diy/products/260w-qb-led-kit
 
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