I'm building a stealth box for an indoor grow. It is an old file cabinet measuring 36" wide x 55"tall x 18" deep. I'm planning on using LED but not sure if a 900w is too much light.
If it's literally 900 watt "draw" then it's wayyyy too much. But, knowing the lights most users on here use... it's a blurple type led with some sort of watt rating based on how many LEDs at 100% current draw... which is basically ridiculous. I suggest you go to YouTube, search for GROWMAU5 and watch his basic videos on led lighting, learn about PAR value, PPFD. Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
The mars 900 is 363 watts @ 120 volts with bloom and veg on. 18" x 36" is 4.5 square feet. That's 80.6 watts per square foot. Pretty much overkill. If you really wanted to use mars the 600 or something of similar power output of around 200-276 watts would be better. That is about twice as much power as you need. That's a pretty small space. 30-50 watts per square for bloom is rule of thumb for older 5 watt diode led panels. More efficient newer led's only require 25-35 watts per square. This light is cheaper then a mars900 which is about 4 years old tech. It's the oldest led's that mars still sells. They will be discontinued soon. It was a decent light but the led tech has leaped ahead since the 900 was a good light to buy. 260W QB LED Kit 285 watts max but it's at least 50% more efficient then then mars light so it doesn't need as much wattage. It's also dimmable so if it's a little too much for your space you can ramp it back. These are top of the line most advanced led's out that are only a few months old. They use the best in the industry drivers. The old mars II lights had notorious reliability problems with the diodes and drivers. They're both Chinese made. The light I linked is samsung led's and meanwell drivers. There is not a better light for a stealth box. You won't find anything that runs cooler for the power or anywhere near the price. I know they're sold out. New parts in next week. Get on the email list. Worth the wait. If you need to start some seedlings buy a 24" t5 2 bulb grow light to sprout seeds until the light shows up. Mine has taken over 2 weeks to get here.
Thx that gives me a better idea anyway. HPS I feel would run to hot that one of many reasons I'm choosing led.
Thx again for the advice. Decided on the valporspectrum 400w with dual veg/flower. Going with 1 green crack and 1 sour jack seed I picked up from crop king. The other 8 seed in total are out side loving life.