Peter Stanley's pepper knowledgebase
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The Mars Hydro TS1000 is a dimmable 150-watt quantum board grow light. It has a full-spectrum mix of 5200-6800K and 3200-4200K diodes, as well as red and IR. This is the newer 2020 version, which has an easier dim knob and can be daisy-chained.
Mars Hydro TS1000 grow light – https://amzn.to/3yLhJ2Y
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The GroBucket is a system developed by GroTech, designed to insert directly into any 5-gallon bucket. It converts the 5-gallon bucket to a self-watering container, aka sub-irrigated planter. It contains the main insert, a fill tube, a water level indicator, and a fill tube cap. I purchased a three-pack, but they also come in a 10-pack.
GroBucket (3-pack) – https://amzn.to/3xzVD3r
GroBucket (10-pack) – https://amzn.to/3ihgPF1
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The Colofrog CF1000 is a dimmable 110-watt quantum board grow light that has a unique cooling system to keep the LEDs cooler during use. This extends the usable life of the grow light by lower the rate of decay, which is accelerated by higher temps. In my tests, I actually got a little more than the 110 watts advertised, around 114 watts.
The quantum board has 240 double-chip Sanan LEDs, with a mix of 5000K and 3000K color temps. It also includes some red, and IR diodes.
Colofrog CF 1000 grow light – https://amzn.to/3k9QtqM
Colofrog CF 1500 (I have not tried this yet, but is 174 watts) – https://amzn.to/3k9QtqM
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through Amazon links in this post.
The Back to the Roots Water Garden is a small, beginners, aquaponics kit. It’s advertised as three gallons but effectively holds two gallons when set up. There is enough space for one Betta or similar fish. It has a small pump that pushes tank water up to the growing media and recirculates back into the tank. The theory is that the roots will help filter/clean the water, and the fish waste helps fertilize the plants.
The kit comes with two types of seeds and everything else you need, except the fish. It is recommended to add a small heater unless it is a strictly cold-water-loving fish.
My take away from using it is it’s a good learning/teaching system, but not effective on any large scale beyond growing microgreens. And microgreens could be grown with no fertilizer anyway. It’s a fun system though, and I’m still using it.
Here are similar products that I have not tried yet:
AquaSprouts Garden – https://amzn.to/3B3cZb9
ECO-Cycle Aquaponics Garden System – https://amzn.to/2UHlIia
Vivosun Aquaponic fish tank – https://amzn.to/3kaWVhs
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Mars Hydro 27″ x 27″x 63″ grow tent.
This is a sweet spot size for one large plant or a few smaller ones. It is much improved over the standard 24″ x 24″ x 48″ tents, offering a few inches of width on each side, and over a foot extra height. This extra head room allows for taller plants, and grow light and ventilation ducting.
In this one, I’m using the Mars Hydro SP150 grow light to grow some Chocolate Rocotos.
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The Viparspectra XS1500 is the newest iteration of their quantum board grow lights for 2020. The light dimmable with max wattage at 150 watts. It has a mixed spectrum of 3000K, 5000K, 660nm red, and 730nm IR. It is attached to a full aluminum heat seat. It is similar to the Pro series, P1500 grow light they came out with, in early 2020 but has upgraded Samsung LM301B diodes and an HLG series Meanwell driver.
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Mars Hydro sent me their SP150 grow light for review. This pulls 129 watts and fits great in a 2 x 2 grow tent. I have mine set up over some germinating Chocolate Rocoto seeds. I’ll post videos of the progress.
Here’s a video showing the unboxing, power test, and set up in the 27″ x 27″ x 63″ grow tent, which they also sent me.
Mars Hydro SP 150 grow light – https://amzn.to/2Edpvw4
Mars Hydro 27″ x 27″ x 63″ grow tent – https://amzn.to/35IGbXx
This is an unboxing and power test of the Viparspectra 2020 Pro Series p1000 led grow light. This light has a mixed spectrum of 3500K, 6500K, 660nm red, and has a variable dimming switch, which I like. This is the first in a series of new quantum board offerings from Viparspectra. This will replace my HLG-100, which only has 3000K. The mixed spectrum on the Viparspectra should be better for plants from seedling, veg, and flower/fruiting.
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through the following link.
Viparspectra p1000 grow light – https://amzn.to/3cDLWpk
Mars Hydro sent the SP 250 LED grow light to me for review. In this video, I show the unboxing and setup, as well as some basic power and light tests.
Some of the links below will direct you to Amazon, as an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases at no additional cost to you.
Mars Hydro SP-250 grow light – https://amzn.to/2MWj9Uz
Killawatt tester – https://amzn.to/2MTX0pN
Video equipment used:
Canon m50 – https://amzn.to/2ZQhdyI
Osmo Pocket – https://amzn.to/2ZL3gSF
Rode SmartLav+ – https://amzn.to/2Lwinu6
Growing setup:
4 x 4 grow tent – https://amzn.to/2NTGu8X
Air pump – https://amzn.to/2ZNakyc
Tubing – https://amzn.to/2ZQs3Vw
Air stones – https://amzn.to/2Lj97dW
3-inch net cups – https://amzn.to/2LuUMdd
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Also, check out Migro’s review of this light:
Migro – https://youtu.be/lcitvJHtnBU
As an Amazon affiliate, I earn commissions from qualifying purchases made through any Amazon links in this article. This is at no extra cost to you.
Greenjoy recently sent me their hydroponic indoor grow box for review. I’ve published two videos, one of the initial unboxing and setup, and the other after 30 days of use. The videos are below. You can find more information about the product here, but as of this writing, it is currently unavailable.
The closest competing product for Greenjoy would be the AeroGarden Bounty. I have used both, and prefer the AeroGarden systems.
Video 1:
Video 2 after 30 days update: