Mars Hydro SP3000 grow light review 2023

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Quick Overview of the SP3000

Mars Hydro SP3000 review is a rectangular 300w LED grow light fitted with 960 high-quality Samsung LM301B diodes and a broad spectrum of boosted red light. Designed for high penetration in greenhouse environments, this LED works perfectly in 2×4 grow tents. The PPE of 2.8μmol/j can increase your yields to an incredible 2.5 g/w on average.

Rectangular grow lights

If you own a 2×4 tent, you probably noticed that there are not very many options when it comes to high quality LEDs. For some reason, rectangular lights only seem to be offered with lower tier diodes. Thankfully, there is a light that bucks that trend, offering Samsung LM 301B diodes in the familiar rectangular form factor.

The Mars Hydro SP3000 Review

The SP3000 from Mars Hydro is designed to be used as main or supplemental lighting in greenhouse applications, but its design makes it perfect for use inside a 2×4 tent. It features a fanless design that operates with no noise, instead opting for a full-length finned aluminum heat sink.

Offering flower coverage of 2×4 feet (3×5 Veg), the SP3000 is arguable the current king of the hill in this form factor. The 960 diodes offer a full spectrum of light ranging from 650-665nm, 2800-3000K and 4800-5000K. The SP3000 also has the highest ratio of red light among Mars Hydro LED grow lights, which contribute to flower forming and dense bud creation.

Features

Like most modern LED grow lights, the SP3000 is both dimmable and able to be daisy chained together with up to 30 lights in a chain. Having dimmable lights are important, as your plants don’t always need 100% light output.

Daisy-chaining your lights is really not something you will do too much of in a grow tent, unless you have one of those monster 8’ tents. However, in a greenhouse application being able to dim your entire grow space with a single dial is a lifesaver.

The driver is detachable and cab be placed away from the light if needed. The cable probably will allow for about 6 feet of separation. That being said, the heat management on these is excellent and you should have no issue leaving the driver attached.

The SP3000 is great for supplemental greenhouse lighting as well, its thin profile design makes it fit perfectly under the trusses. This ideal location ensures that the light fixtures themselves don’t block any of the natural light coming in.

Warranty

The SP3000 comes with a 5-year warranty and excellent after-sales service. The use of quality Samsung LM301B diodes provides over 50,000 hours of lighting during its lifespan. Being that this LED grow light uses quality top-tier LEDs, chances are that you will never have to take advantage of that warranty.

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Overall Impression

The SP3000 came well packaged and was very easy to setup. The long rectangular shape fits perfectly in a 2×4 tent with a few inches to spare on each side. The SP3000 is much thinner than the Mars-Hydro TS2000 LED that I usually have hanging in that tent and puts out noticeably brighter light. The TS2000 and its BridgeLux diodes has served me well over the years, and it is definitely a great light, but the SP3000 simply outperforms it. Besides being half the thickness, SP3000 provides more light with slightly less power draw.

Heat dissipation is always an issue with lighting, and the SP3000 handles this very well. Featuring a full-length aluminum heat sink, the fanless design keeps everything running cool with zero noise. The heat sink works very well, as the temperature in my tent dropped about 5 degrees after installing the SP3000 versus the TS2000.

Time will tell how much greater a yield over the TS2000 I will have, we’ll know better in about 8 more weeks. So far though, I have been greatly impressed with this LED. This winter I will be building a small greenhouse and I will definitely get a few more of these for that. I will also be replacing my other three TS2000 lights; they will be moved over to the indoor veggie garden.

The Downsides

The only thing that I do not care for is the hanging brackets. While they are perfectly adequate for the job, putting one of them on took considerably more effort than the other one. The issue is with the Mars Hydro logo cut into one side. The placement of the metal shield makes attaching the hanging bracket more difficult.

Granted, this is not that big a deal, and once you get the bracket on there is no reason to remove it, but I would have liked to maybe have a hole in the shielding in which to facilitate easier bracket attachment. Would this stop me from buying this again? Hell no, this light is amazing!

The Verdict

The Mars Hydro SP3000 LED grow light is the best brow light for a 2×4 tent available on the market today. It is one of the only 2×4 coverage LEDs to utilize Samsung LM301B diodes, making this a far superior light to all others. The additional 6% umol/s with slightly less power draw over the TS2000 makes this one a no brainer.

If you have a 2×4 grow tent and are not happy with the performance of your lighting, you really need to take a hard look at the SP3000. It has everything that you will ever need for growing in a 2×4 tent, and most likely would perform admirably in a 3×5 as well. The SP3000 is a great alternative to the quantum board style of lighting that has been available until now.

Done with your Grow? Freeze Dry it!

Freeze drying can save weeks off your drying and curing time, allowing you to enjoy your product much faster. Freeze dried cannabis retains all the delicious flavors and colors, giving your stash bag appeal forever. Want to learn more? Check out our article The best method to Freeze Dry Cannabis at Home with a canna freeze dryer.