It has been about two years since I have wrote up the quintessential LED Buying Guide. Back then Mars Hydro was producing “blurple” lights that were really no good for growing cannabis. But over the last two years they have jumped into full spectrum LEDS. Today the Mars Hydro FC-6500 offers the best of both worlds- low price of buying direct from China combined with 2-day shipping from Amazon Prime. The value is unbeatable, and if you live in North America there really is not much need to order directly from Alibaba anymore.

Performance of the Mars Hydro FC6500

Setup is as easy as it gets for Full Spectrum LEDs. Everything is pre-wired and there are no exposed wires. Simply unfold the light, plug in the driver via the waterproof connecter and you are good to go. The way the bars fold in on themselves also protects the diodes during transport, which I though was neat. No need to save the box with this light.

I did a spectral analysis using my Pulse Pro. The results are shown below as compared with the Atreum ARA6, and the traditional full spec 240W LED panels that I have been using since I setup my first LED powered grow box.

The power draw varies between 70 – 650 watts. This is nice compared to only being able to adjust from 50-100%.

Flowering Footprint of the FC6500

The FC6500 is a 650-watt light. For a 5’x5′ footprint this provides 24 watts per square foot while in a 4’x4′ area it provides 37.5 watts per square foot. In my opinion the light is perfect for a 5’x5′ of area in regular room/tent and 4’x4′ in a co2 supplemented grow room.

The really nice thing about the FC6500 is the LED spacing. Rather than having uniform spacing, which leads to hot spots in the middle (due to LED overlap) the LED’s are stacked towards the outside, resulting in a more even PPFD distribution.

Hot spots in the centre were a problem for early LED lights, as shown below in the PPFD map generated by my friend LED Gardener (note that this is for the popular SF-4000 light). It is refreshing to see Mars Hydro tackle this problem with their diode spacing approach.

I have made this chart to help you select a light depending on your room size

Driver Used (Voltage Converter)

The driver used for these lights is not the Meanwell Driver that is typically recommended in the LED light buying guide. Instead they use an Inventronics driver. Inventronics is a publicly traded company that was established in 2007. I have tested the driver next to a Meanwell 600W driver (similar wattage) and at 100% power the draw they both run at their rated amperage with the same temperature (measured via IR gun), so I can only assume the efficiency is near identical between the two. Voltage converters have been around forever and there is no reason to believe that only Meanwell can make quality drivers.

The CH1 and CH2 ports (which look like a telephone line) are used for daisy chaining the lights together allowing you to dim them all at once.

Mars Hydro FC6500 vs FCE6500

The main difference between the FC6500 and the FCE6500 is the setup time. The FCE6500 requires much more assembly, hence the cheaper price. The setup is very similar to the Atreum ARA6 Light I reviewed last year. Instead of a fold out frame like on the FC6500 you have to assemble the bars on a sliding aluminum frame. The fold out frame also takes up much less room when the lights are not in use or being transported, and the diodes are better protected as the frame folds in on itself. At the time of writing this the price difference is $200 USD which is a substantial saving for anyone trying to bootstrap their grow.

Is the Mars Hydro FC6500 a Commercial Grow Light?

In my opinion the Mars Hydro can certainly be used for commercial applications. They claim to use SAMSUNG and OSRAM diodes but we really have no way of verifying if this is true. You may not get the same quality customer support as with a North American company, but at half the cost this is something a lot of new business that are cash strapped can justify. I have had Alibaba sellers like Kingbrite warranty lights for me before, so I see no reason why a bigger more established company like Mars Hydro would not do the same. The lights will provide the same amount of PPFD per watt and your plants won’t know the difference.

Overall the Mars Hydro FC6500 provides excellent value and is a light that I recommend for indoor gardening.