tom_in_sa

Sorry, I just read your following comment: “Unfortunately I don't speak / write very well in English, I have to use a translator ...” I'm afraid I have overwhelmed both you and the translator with my comment. I should have, and will, start a general question to the community regarding experiences with the Mars 600 light.

Texas Cockroaches - Different Type of Roaches in Texas Most commonly and incorrectly called " water bugs " or " palmetto bugs," they are known as the American Cockroaches. This roach has the longest lifespan as compared to the other roaches. The adult American cockroach can live up to 2 years and measures in the range of one to three inches. Saw one in my spare/storage room as I was setting up the tent. White Widow #3 disappeared without a trace during lites-out on day 3 and I quickly threw WW4 into a shot glass to soak, and made nightie caps for WW1 & 2. Roaches don't like the light (I think especially coming from a Mars 600 search-light) & so far I haven't had any additional problems from it. My 3 plants are now 9 (#1&2) and 3 (#4) days old, and the reason I (the real Newbie) am reaching out to you (now the pro), is because you are running the Mars 600 on all your grows, and could help me out regarding the lite. I bought it directly from Mars USA (NJ), think it may have been a return, and it may be defective. This is my 1st grow, so I thought if you didn't mind, I'd run a few worries by you: The top of my light gets extremely hot. Mars explains those complaints in Amazon reviews saying that they get mildly hot in summer but are nice and toasty in winter. I haven't set up a heat exhaust system yet, so am I unduly worried that there may be a problem? Mars, and others, recommend that the light be set at 24” above seedlings. I had read that if it was too hot to place your hand over the plants, then the light was too close. Potential problem #2 is that I can put my hand right under the light at 1” distance, and it is not too hot. Since my sprouts were already stretching after a couple of days, I lowered the light to 18”. I then lowered it again to 13”. The stretching seems to have stopped, they've opened up several new sets of leaves and seem healthy enough. Am I just being a paranoid new dad? Potential problem #3 – a timer for the light. A number of Amazon reviewers had timer problems when adding one to the 600. Have you had any? They may just be complaining about an $80 light when the problem is an $8 timer. I still plug and unplug daily. I saw that ¼ of your Mars light is out. Is it more than a year old? Finally, I wanted to say that I hope to grow some plants as nice as some of yours. Sorry this turned out to be so long winded, and I'm not even stoned, but I am worried.