Today I will share my review of the Mars Hydro VG80 Seedling LED Grow Light. I use it in my grow tent. There is a rack installed where is grow my chili seedlings. Currently, no sunlight enters the tent. This is why I use multiple grow lights.
I already use two Mars Hydro Grow Lights to run my hydroponics systems. The Mars Hydro TS 1000 and the Mars Hydro FC3000. I have installed a seedling light to prepare my hot peppers for spring.
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Mars Hydro VG80 Seedling LED Grow Light Review
The V80 seedling LED grow light from Mars Hydro is an affordable rack grow light with fantastic light output. It can be fixed above your seedlings and is easy to mount. When seedlings get insufficient light, they will grow leggy. A full spectrum led grow light close to the plants fixes that. It comes with two 40W bars or 80W in total. The light covers 4ftx2ft and is ideal for vegetative growth.
Mars Hydro Led Grow Light Specs
- Spectrum: Full-Spectrum
- LEDs: 432 diodes
- Coverage Area: 2”x4” (61x122cm)
- Chip Brand: Osram
- Spectrum: 455-465nm 650-665nm 4800-5000K
- Voltage: AC100-277V
- Efficacy: 1.98 μmol/J
- Amps: 0.682A@AC120V 0.351A@AC240V 0.315A@AC277V
- Lifespan: 50’000 hours
- Dimensions: 1150 x 50 x 31 mm
- Certificates: ETL, CE, UKCA, RoHS, DLC, IP65
Mars Hydro VG80 Seedling Led Grow Light
Positives About The Indoor Grow Plant Light
Optimized for seedling growth: The lights focus on fard red and blue light. These types of light are ideal for vegetative growth. Blue light is optimal for vegetative growth. The red light supplements the necessary energy for leaf growth and healthy stems.
Made for Small Grow Spaces: This LED light fits small grow spaces.
Ideal for a Rack: The light is a rack lighting solution providing high light intensity. You can easily mount it. The bars are slim enough to fit any rack or growth tent.
IP65 waterproof: It’s great when light panels are waterproof. This is a relief. When you water, it is easy to miss the plant pot or plastic container. Water might drip onto grow lights. Also, these lights will be used in a very wet environment.
Great Plant Grow Light Chips: This light uses high-quality Osram chips. It is a company in Germany with a long history in lighting solutions.
The Price: These are great budget mars hydro LEDs. You get 80w lights for less than $100.
PPE of 1.98μmol/j: As with all Mars Hydro Grow Lights. The Photosynthetic Photon Efficacy is very high. This means less energy goes to waste.
Plug’n’Play: I was amazed at how simple the lights are to set up. It is as the manufacturer says. You stick the power cable onto one of the lights and plug it into the power. The lights are on and ready for service. You can either run one light or daisy chain the two together.
Easy to mount: The grow lights use a simple but ingenious hanging kit. The lights use clips that are easy to attach. Then there is a metal wire attached to the clips.
Daisy chain feature: You can mount up to 20 lights together using the daisy chain feature. The lights themselves are already long at 1150mm. But if you need, you can add additional units.
Negatives About This LED Grow Light Full Spectrum
None so far.
Verdict
If you are looking for an affordable seedling grow light with high efficacy and wattage, look no further. The V80 from Mars Hydro comes as two tubes that can be daisy-chained together. The total wattage is 80W. The blue and red light is optimized for fantastic seedling growth. Sufficient blue light makes sure the plantlings are growing symmetrical. The red light takes care of photosynthesis.
My Test Setup in the Grow Tent
I reserved one entire rack for growing hot chilies for the spring and summer seasons. I planted Carolina Reaper, Trinidad Scorpion, and regular Chili peppers(Capsicum annuum).
All the Chilies will be grown in m grow tent in the winter garden. The temperatures currently are around 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius) in the winter garden. The additional heating unit heats the tent to 70°F or (21°C).
I placed a seedling tray with a lid onto a regular metal rack from Amazon. The seeds are in rock wool. Three seeds have been added per pod. I used a water sprayer to wet the rock wool.
The VG80 is installed above. Since hanging the lights is so easy, it didn’t take more than 2 minutes for the whole setup.
The lights come with clips and a metal wire hanging unit. You can wrap the wire around the metal staff of your tent or rack.
Adjusting the height is easy and important. Because you want the light to be very close to the seedlings.
How to grow seedlings using a grow light
When I started growing plants from seeds, I made the mistake of providing insufficient light. I always put the light units too high. This will result in leggy growth. The big problem is that the plantlets become so unstable and flimsy that they break or fall over.
You cannot use these seedlings. Seedlings need a strong light from day one to grow strong and compact.
Also, once the plants grow their first true leaves, you can prune the second pair of true leaves. This will ensure bushier growth. This is true for most vegetables.
When to start growing seedlings
Start growing seedlings of tomatoes, chilies, and such early in the year when the temperatures are still too low outside.
This way, you have strong plantlets that you can plant outside. Usually, March to April is ideal for outside planting once the soil temperature stays above 60 degrees Fahrenheit (15.5 degrees Celsius).
Test Results
The results of using Mars Hydro VG80 Seedling LED Grow Light are astounding. Not only did almost all of my extremely hot chili seeds sprout, but they also started very healthily.
All of the seedlings have a healthy dark green color. They did not grow tall and leggy. They are growing healthy leaves.
I cannot wait to plant them outside in my raised beds in spring. What I liked most was that the Mars Hydro Grow Lights for seedlings are affordable and extremely easy to mount. Within a minute or two, you are ready to use them. Also, they do not break the bank. These lights are very affordable.
A seedling growth light was the missing light in my repertoire. I recommend the Mars Hydro VG80 Seedling LED Grow Light to anyone who wants to grow clones or grow plants from seeds.
Daniel has been a plant enthusiast for over 20 years. He owns hundreds of houseplants and prepares for the chili growing seasons yearly with great anticipation. His favorite plants are plant species in the Araceae family, such as Monstera, Philodendron, and Anthurium. He also loves gardening and is growing hot peppers, tomatoes, and many more vegetables.