Any long term Mar's Hydro users?

I was originally planning on a quantum 400 watt HPS for a 3x3 tent, but I'm reconsidering that and thinking about going LED since heat may be a concern. Basically the only LED within my budget is Mar's Hydro and I keep hearing that name.

Problem is, some people say their amazon reviews are bogus, others claim their tech support is god awful which is troubling for a light that supposedly stops working with a quarter of it's lights out. Seems like the mars hydro units are a lot like the cheap APOLLO/I Power and that they are either hit or miss.

Is this a good brand to start with?

If all you can afford is epi-whatever lights like those found on Amazon/eBay (Mars Hydro, et. al.) you're better off buying HPS. If you could afford CMH, a LEC315 would fit your tent nicely at about 40w/sq ft.

The problem with those epi-whatever LED lights is that you have to run HPS-like watts (or, get airy buds if run at what you think are LED levels; the coverage they're sold at will give you air buds.).

At least a HID fixture is serviceable using commoditized parts. You'll be able to sell it on Craigslist five years from now.

I ran mars 2
I'm diy Cree Cob Fan Boi now
Burple Killz ! Stop Burple Use Now !

I run a lot of cheap mars hydro leds. The 300w(140w) found on eBay for $65. I like HPS and started with 250w hps in a 2'7"x2'7" tent but I ran into heat problems and it got replaced with cheap leds. Nothing wrong with the cheapo $65 leds, but the spread is garbage, at a foot high they're good for about a sq ft. I run 4 in a 2'7" tent, so I wouldn't consider them very efficient at all, but the heat stays down and 4 of them are around the price of an HPS setup.

As for Mars Hydro 2 model, I'd pass. They appear to be the exact same 5w leds, cheap drivers, just more crammed in each box with an on/off switch added. 1 Mars Hydro II 400, 80x5w leds = $200, 3 Mars 300w, 180x5w total = $195.


As for warranty, haven't had to deal with them yet, but I've heard they're very slow to deal with and get anything repaired back to you.

buy a 315 LEC it will more than pay for itself on first cycle