SANlight EVO 4-120 vs Mars Hydro, Vivosun and Hortitek: Which LED Grow Light Is Right for a 120x120cm Tent

If you are researching LED grow lights for a 120x120cm tent, you have almost certainly come across Mars Hydro, Vivosun, and Hortitek. All three are widely stocked across Australian hydroponic retailers and heavily present in search results and marketplace advertising. The SANlight EVO 4-120 sits in a different category entirely. It costs more upfront and is not trying to compete on price. What it competes on is efficacy, build quality, and what those two things mean for your electricity bill and grow room heat load over multiple cycles. If you are coming from hardware store lighting, our grow lights vs Bunnings guide covers why consumer grow lights cannot support a productive hydroponic system before you get into brand comparisons at this level. If you want the SANlight compared against Medic instead, our best grow lights guide covers that ground, and our SANlight vs Spider Farmer comparison covers that brand specifically.

This is a straightforward breakdown of how the EVO 4-120 differs from Mars Hydro, Vivosun, and Hortitek on real published specifications, what those differences mean in practice, and which fixture makes sense depending on your budget and how seriously you are treating the grow.

The Fixtures Compared

The SANlight EVO 4-120 draws 265W and produces 725 µmol/s PPF at above 3.0 µmol/J efficacy. It uses Osram red and far-red diodes and Seoul Semiconductor WICOP white diodes, is passively cooled with no internal fans, carries an IP65 rating, and is backed by a 3 year manufacturer warranty. It is designed and manufactured in Vorarlberg, Austria and is purpose-engineered for a 120x120cm footprint as a single fixture.

The Mars Hydro FC-E3000 draws 300W and produces 840 µmol/s PPF at 2.8 µmol/J efficacy using Bridgelux diodes. It is passively cooled, IP65 rated, with a 3 year warranty, manufactured in China. Its rated coverage is 90x90cm for flowering and 100x100cm for vegetative growth, which puts it a size class below the EVO 4-120 for a true 120x120cm canopy.

The Vivosun VSFL4300 draws 430W and produces its output at 2.8 µmol/J efficacy using Samsung 3030 and Osram 3535 diodes with an Inventronics driver. It is passively cooled, IP66 rated, and carries a 5 year warranty, manufactured in China. Coverage is rated for 120x120cm, matching the EVO 4-120's footprint directly.

The Hortitek GrowBoard 440W draws 440W and produces 1100 µmol/s PPF at 2.45 µmol/J efficacy. It is Australian certified through Western Electrical Australia, IP65 rated, with a 3 year warranty, and is sized to replace a 600W HPS across a comparable footprint.

Efficacy: the Number That Actually Matters

Photosynthetic Photon Efficacy measures how efficiently a fixture converts electricity into usable plant light, expressed in µmol/J. This is the single most important number when comparing grow lights because it directly determines your electricity cost per gram of yield over the life of the fixture, not the wattage printed on the box.

The EVO 4-120 sits above 3.0 µmol/J. The Mars Hydro FC-E3000 and Vivosun VSFL4300 both sit at 2.8 µmol/J. The Hortitek GrowBoard sits at 2.45 µmol/J. The gap between 3.0 and 2.8 looks small written down. Compounded across a 12-hour daily cycle over a 10-week flowering run, and then across multiple cycles a year, it becomes a real number on your power bill, not a rounding error on a spec sheet.

Wattage and Running Cost

This is where the EVO 4-120 separates itself most clearly. It draws 265W to cover 120x120cm. The Vivosun draws 430W for the same footprint. The Hortitek draws 440W. The Mars Hydro at 300W is rated for a smaller 90x90cm to 100x100cm space, meaning it is not actually a direct competitor for a true 120x120cm canopy without running two units.

At Australian electricity rates of 30 to 35 cents per kWh, running the EVO 4-120 at 265W versus the Vivosun at 430W across 12 hours a day for a 10-week flowering cycle costs roughly $50 to $60 less per cycle. Across three cycles a year that is $150 to $180 saved annually from wattage alone, before the efficacy gap is even factored in. Our hydroponic power usage and running costs guide breaks down the full calculation by state if you want to run your own numbers against your local tariff.

Cooling and Build

All four fixtures in this comparison use passive cooling, so the fan failure risk that applies when comparing against actively cooled lights does not apply here. Where they differ is heatsink engineering and lifespan rating. SANlight rates the EVO series at 90,000 hours to L90, meaning it retains 90 percent of its original output after 90,000 hours, which at 18 hours a day is over 13 years of use. Neither Mars Hydro nor Vivosun publish an equivalent L90 lifespan figure for these models.

The EVO 4-120 carries IP65 protection using Osram and Seoul Semiconductor WICOP diodes, which place the LED chip directly on the board without a secondary dome, reducing optical loss. The Vivosun VSFL4300 actually carries a higher IP66 rating with Samsung 3030 and Osram 3535 diodes, a genuinely solid combination for its price point. The Mars Hydro uses Bridgelux diodes, a legitimate but lower cost component than Samsung or Osram. The Hortitek is the only fixture in this group with Australian third party certification through Western Electrical Australia, which matters specifically if you need local compliance documentation.

Light Distribution Across the Canopy

The EVO 4-120 uses asymmetric secondary optics at 90 to 112 degrees that direct light toward the canopy edges as well as straight down, and SANlight publishes full PPFD maps at multiple hanging heights showing that distribution. This is what determines whether the corners of your tent perform the same as the centre. The Vivosun and Mars Hydro both use bar style layouts which generally distribute more evenly than a single quantum board, but neither publishes the same level of PPFD mapping detail as SANlight. The Hortitek GrowBoard uses a board style layout, which typically shows more centre to edge variation at a given hanging height than a bar style or optic directed fixture.

Which One Makes Sense for Your Setup

The Mars Hydro FC-E3000 is a reasonable choice if your tent is closer to 90x90cm or 100x100cm and your budget is the primary constraint. It is not a true 120x120cm fixture on its own, and buying it for a 120x120cm tent without running two units will leave the canopy edges underlit.

The Vivosun VSFL4300 is a genuinely direct competitor to the EVO 4-120 on footprint, since both are rated for 120x120cm. The trade-off is 165W more draw for the same efficacy, which is a real ongoing cost. The Vivosun's 5 year warranty is longer than SANlight's 3 years, which is worth weighing if warranty length matters more to you than running cost.

The Hortitek GrowBoard is worth considering specifically if you need Australian third party certification for compliance reasons. Outside of that specific requirement, its 2.45 µmol/J efficacy and 440W draw make it the least efficient option in this comparison.

The SANlight EVO 4-120 is the right choice if you are treating your indoor grow as an ongoing practice rather than a one off, if the corners of a 120x120cm canopy performing the same as the centre matters to your yield consistency, and if the running cost saving over the Vivosun or Hortitek is worth more to you over multiple cycles than saving on the upfront price.

Which One to Actually Buy

If your tent is genuinely 90x90cm to 100x100cm rather than a full 120x120cm, the Mars Hydro FC-E3000 is correctly sized and the cheapest way to get there.

If you have a true 120x120cm tent and running cost matters more to you than warranty length, the SANlight EVO 4-120 draws 165W less than the Vivosun for the same footprint, and that difference pays for a meaningful part of the price gap within two to three cycles.

If warranty length is your priority over running cost and you are comfortable with the higher wattage, the Vivosun VSFL4300's 5 year warranty and IP66 rating make it a solid direct alternative at the same footprint.

If you specifically need Australian third party certification for compliance documentation, the Hortitek GrowBoard is the only fixture here that carries it, and that requirement should override the efficacy difference for your decision.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is the Mars Hydro FC-E3000 big enough for a 120x120cm tent?
Not as a single fixture. The FC-E3000 is rated for 90x90cm flowering coverage and 100x100cm vegetative coverage. Covering a true 120x120cm canopy properly requires either a larger Mars Hydro model or two FC-E3000 units, at which point the running cost comparison against a single EVO 4-120 changes significantly.

Is the Vivosun VSFL4300 a good alternative to the SANlight EVO 4-120?
Yes, on footprint they are direct competitors, both rated for 120x120cm. The difference is 265W versus 430W for similar efficacy, meaning the Vivosun costs more to run every cycle. The Vivosun's 5 year warranty is longer than the SANlight's 3 years, so the right choice depends on whether running cost or warranty length matters more to you.

Why does the Hortitek GrowBoard have lower efficacy than the others?
The Hortitek GrowBoard uses a quantum board design at 2.45 µmol/J, which is lower than the bar-style Mars Hydro and Vivosun fixtures at 2.8 µmol/J and well below the EVO 4-120 at above 3.0 µmol/J. Its main advantage is Australian third-party certification through Western Electrical Australia, which the other three fixtures in this comparison do not carry.

How much does the efficacy difference actually save on electricity?
At Australian rates of 30 to 35 cents per kWh, the EVO 4-120's 265W draw versus the Vivosun's 430W for the same footprint saves approximately $50 to $60 in electricity per 10-week flowering cycle. Running three cycles a year that is $150 to $180 saved annually from wattage difference alone, on top of any yield differences from more even canopy distribution.

Does the SANlight EVO 4-120 need a separate light for propagation?
The EVO 4-120 covers the full grow cycle from seedling through to late flower with the dimming accessory reducing intensity for younger plants. For a dedicated lower-intensity propagation setup, the SANlight FLEX II propagation bars are sized and priced specifically for seedlings and clones before moving plants under the EVO 4-120 for veg and flower.

Where can I buy the SANlight EVO 4-120 in Australia?
The SANlight EVO 4-120 is available through Apex Grow with fast tracked shipping Australia-wide from our Melbourne warehouse. For the full EVO range and sizing advice for your specific tent, browse the SANlight collection.