Mars II 400w ×6 or Mars II 1200w ×2 Opinions

[AKsteel]

I own a 1200 mars II myself and also and old style 200x3 mars. To b honest I wish I had purchased a couple 400 or 700 just because of the flexibility. I love my 1200 and haven't really tested its foot print out to see its fullest potential. Things are looking great so I like the height but only have 4 plants in a4x4 under it. Next round moving in I will b putting 6 in there to see how it does. This is my first led grow but I wish I had went with the more smaller ones route. Still learning to use this thing though. Will b raising it up higher to see if I can get more coverage without too much stretch.

Thanks for the input @Discretepete2676. I tend to agree that the flexibility of being able to move and adjust lights will be important as I will be doing a perpetual grow and will have plants at different stages.

 

[Marshydro]

The entire structure is 8'×10'. I am thinking that after putting in some shelving and other items I think the actual grow space will shrink to about 6'×6'. Thanks for your input. So with a foot print of 36 square feet what would you think @MarshydroTina ?

I recommend 9pcs of Mars II 400, you can put around 6~7 lights during veg, then add another 3~2 during flower stage.

 

[woody]

If i was using a 6footx 6foot space and was going led i would be looking at 4 600w units.
600w over every 3foot square should be more than plenty.
9 400w units for a 6x6? Major overkill

 

[Marshydro]

If i was using a 6footx 6foot space and was going led i would be looking at 4 600w units.
600w over every 3foot square should be more than plenty.
9 400w units for a 6x6? Major overkill

Hi sanguine, usually we need around 30~35w/sft during veg, and 35~50w/sft during flower. If only 4 of the lights, you will get only 20w/sft in total. But with 9 of them, you will get 46w/sft in total, of course you don't need that much during veg, so I recommend just use 6~7 lights during veg and add the rest during flower

 

[woody]

@MarshydroTina i see what you mean. Is the actual wattage draw of a 400w panel 184w then?
Also do you do any lights between the 400w and 700w range. I see 600w ones on ebay but not sure if they are genuine

 

[AKsteel]

So if my math is correct. Mars II 700w×6, or 1200w×4 would give me more than enough.

 

[Marshydro]

@MarshydroTina i see what you mean. Is the actual wattage draw of a 400w panel 184w then?
Also do you do any lights between the 400w and 700w range. I see 600w ones on ebay but not sure if they are genuine

Yes, the average wattage of each diodes is 2.3~2.5w, so the wattage of the Mars II 400 is around 184w+/- 10w;
Between Mars II 400 and 700, we have reflector 96, but it is a rectangle panel as you know.
The old series 600 can take into consideration, but that is a panel we don't recommend any more. The material we use is not as good as the Mars II and Reflector series

 

[Marshydro]

So if my math is correct. Mars II 700w×6, or 1200w×4 would give me more than enough.

Yes, for a typical 6x6 area.

 

[AKsteel]

Yes, for a typical 6x6 area.

Thanks Tina for your advice. I will probably go with the 700w just for the flexibility. It will be a little more money but I think will work better. I'll let you know when we are ready to put the order in. Thanks again