Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED Cannabis Grow Setup & Tutorial

by Nebula Haze

See Other Examples of Cannabis Growing Setups

Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED Grow Setup for Growing Cannabis

  • Average Yields: 7-13 oz ounces
  • Plants: Recommended 2-6 plants
  • Optimal grow space is a 3’x3’x6′ grow tent
  • Actual Power Consumption: About 300W at full power, and can be dimmed down for younger plants or if the temperature is getting too high
  • How Far to Keep from Plants: 24″ from the top of plants in the vegetative stage, and 18-24″ away in the flowering stage (watch plants for signs of light stress)

Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED grow light – great seed-to-harvest cannabis grow light

 

About the Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED Setup for Growing Weed Indoors

Pros: The Mars Hydro FC-E3000 is reasonably priced with a great spectrum for growing cannabis. It gets much better results with weed plants than many LEDs in its price range.

Cons: Comes in pieces so you have to snap everything together at home. It’s straightforward and only needs to be done once, but more expensive LEDs like the HLG 350R typically come fully assembled.

Setup Cost Estimates

Estimated Cost: $475+ plus the cost of seeds

  • Ultra budget (no smell filtering): $475
  • Ultra budget + smell filtering: $575
  • Premium equipment plus optional extras: $750

Summary of what’s needed for this Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED cannabis grow light setup

 

 

Complete Grow Supply List

This cannabis grow room setup guide with shopping list includes all the supplies you need to get to harvest.

Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED Grow Light (300 watts)

Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED grow light (designed to be used from seed to harvest)

  • Yields: 7-13 oz per harvest
  • Simple to use and hang. Works exactly as you’d expect.
  • Only uses 300 watts of electricity (can be turned down if necessary)

Cost: $270

The Mars Hydro FC-E3000 can produce up to 13 oz of weed when used as directed

 

Grow Tent (recommended sizes)

Just about any grow tent brand works great, but I’ve had good luck with the CoolGrows tents and they’re pretty reasonably priced. A grow tent is an easy and cheap way to instantly create a perfect cannabis grow space that can deal with water, light, heat, and smells. Learn more about grow tents.

Cost: $70

This 3x3x6 Cool Grows tent is a good fit for the Mars Hydro FC-E3000 LED grow light.

6″ Exhaust Fan 

An exhaust fan vents hot air and can be combined with a carbon filter to stop all smells from leaving the grow space. The 6″ size is more than enough for a 2’x4’x6′ grow tent.

  • Recommended:  6″ AC Infinity CLOUDLINE series of inline exhaust fans. These are quiet at top speed and completely silent at lower speeds.
    • S6 is the cheaper, simpler version which works well and gives you basic fan speed controls
    • The programmable T6 version has handy extras like a Temperature/Humidity Probe and Display Screen
    • I picked the 6″ fans because their 4″ fan struggles to keep this size tent cool if the grow room gets warm, though it could get the job done in a pinch.
  • Budget choice (Cheap but loud): 6″ Vivosun fan

Cost: $60+ ($60-160)

The AC Infinity CLOUDLINE S6 6″ exhaust fan uses less electricity and runs quieter than most other exhaust fans of similar power. It is silent on the lower settings.

(Optional) Carbon Filter – For smell filtering

When set up properly, a carbon filter removes 100% of odors but it must be attached to a good exhaust fan (like the AC Infinity above) to work. Learn more about controlling odors

Cost: $100

I’ve had great smell filtering with the above 6″ Cloudline fan attached to this Terrabloom 6″ carbon filter with 6″ ducting.

Plant Pots

I prefer fabric pots or air pots because cannabis plants grow faster but need to be watered more often than standard hard-sided plant pots. Both types work great for growing cannabis indoors. Often the best plant pot is whatever is cheap and easy for you to get.

  • Recommended: Fabric pots between 2-7 gallons (any fabric pots work great so I pick whatever is cheap or looks the best to me)

Cost: $20

These 5-gallon fabric pots work great in this setup

VIVOSUN 5-Pack 3 Gallon Plant Grow Bags Heavy Duty Thickened Nonwoven Fabric Pots with Handles

 

Grow Medium (Soil, Coco, Hydro)

Grow mediums can include coco coir or soil (hydroponics for more advanced growers) but if you’re not sure, a coco-based soil like Coco Loco is perfect for beginnners.

Cost: $35

Coco Loco is a coco-based rich airy soil that cannabis plants thrive in

Nutrients

Many nutrient systems have a nutrient schedule so you give your plants the right ratios for each stage of life. Basically, you use a “vegetative” or all-purpose plant nutrient for the first part of your plant’s life and a “bloom” or low-nitrogen nutrients when buds are forming. Tip: Always start at half-strength with a new base nutrient system since the recommended amount can be too high for cannabis plants.

Recommended Beginner Nutrients: Dyna-Gro Grow + Bloom nutrient combo is excellent, cheap, and easy to use for growing cannabis indoors.

  • Dyna-Gro “Grow”: Give 1 tsp per gallon of water during the vegetative stage.
  • Dyna-Gro “Bloom”: Give 1 tsp/gallon of water after buds start forming.

Learn about other cannabis nutrients we recommend

Cost: $20

Dyna-Gro Grow + Bloom is a cheap and simple nutrient system for newbies. One bottle for veg, one bottle for after buds start forming. 1 tsp/gallon. Super simple!

Seeds

See a list of recommended seed sources here.

Example of feminized cannabis seeds - every one grew into a female plant!

Other Nice-to-Have Stuff

Learn about other cool growing tools

Estimated Cost: $475-$750 plus the cost of seeds

  • Ultra budget (no smell filtering): $475
  • Ultra budget + smell filtering: $575
  • Premium equipment plus optional extras: $750

Learn how to grow weed in 10 easy steps

 

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