Black Dog PhytoMAX 200, 400, 600, 800, & 1000 Watt LED Grow Light Review

Black Dog LED has been a designer and manufacturer of some of the most popular LED grow lights for the last 5+ years. To stay ahead of the curve and improve on their old design, Black Dog recently released their PhytoMAX Series in a few different models – the PM200, PM400, PM600, PM800, and PM1000. Each one is a step up from the other as far as size and coverage goes, but they all utilize Black Dog’s most recent features to outperform the competition with considerable benefits.

High Output Diodes

The Black Dog PhytoMax Series blends a combination of high intensity 5 watt LEDs in a specific pattern that improves their overall effectiveness. The high intensity light it delivers is perfect for fantastic canopy penetration that reaches into the garden’s shadiest spots. This is accomplished without burning the leaves or creating any problematic hot spots.

Footprint and Coverage

Black Dog has made it clear that their new PhytoMAX LED Grow Lights provide the largest footprints available. Because of this, you’ll need less panels in a certain area if you buy the right size in the first place. To give you an idea of the footprint and coverage that these panels provide, take a look at the diagram below.

As you can see, the PM 800 has a 7 ft. x 7 ft. vegetative coverage and a 5 ft. x 5 ft. flowering/blooming coverage. This can be compared to their smallest PhytoMax panel, the PM200, that provides 3.5 ft. x 3.5 ft. of vegetative coverage, and 2.5 ft. x 2.5 ft. of flowering/blooming coverage.

Heat Management and Cooling

Dealing with the heat that’s generated from running a grow light for several continuous hours, days, weeks, or months at a time can be problematic if not designed correctly. Adequate heat management is essential for proper cooling and overall efficiency. Black Dog has tackled this problem head-on with a new and ingenious cooling system that keeps the PhytoMAX panels running smoothly for several years to come. On two sides of each panel there are 3-4 cooling fans (dependent on the model) that are always running and blowing air over the massive thermal heatsinks within. This keeps them running under ideal conditions so overheating is never an issue.

The New “Phyto-Genesis” Spectrum

One of the most recent and innovative advancements we’ve seen from Black Dog is their very own and new “Phyto-Genesis” Spectrum that they’ve developed. It’s the specific spectrum that they use in all of their PhytoMAX panels. They’ve proven it to be the most effective and valuable spectrum for growing plants, hands-down. They’ve spent the last half a decade performing vigorous testing, hypothesizing, and side by side comparisons with high pressure sodium, metal halide, induction, CMH, and fluorescent lighting to determine this new spectrum’s effectiveness.

It’s designed to eliminate any stalls in growth that can diminish harvests by creating a smooth transition from veg to flower. Although there aren’t specific numbers available or provided by Black Dog, they do state that it ranges from UVA to NIR (365 to 750 nanometers). This is an ideal range that is supposed to target ideal photosynthesis but also increase terpenes, flavonoids, pigments, and antioxidants. Additionally, near infrared light or NIR is included to boost efficiency through the Emerson Effect, which is the increase of the rate of photosynthesis after chloroplasts are exposed to the specific wavelengths of 670 to 700 nanometers. Features like this are what make Black Dog stand apart from the competition.

Mounting and Hanging

Included with each fixture is a set of ratchet hangers that enable you to suspend them from the ceiling and adjust the height on the fly. This is a great setup to have when your plants grow quickly so you can raise the lights as time goes on. Since the PhytoMAX panels are equipped uniquely with fans on the sides, rather than on the top, you can mount them flush to the ceiling without any issues. If mounting in this manner, you can dramatically decrease the amount of vertical space that you have to work with, ultimately resulting in taller, larger plants.

No Toxic Mercury

With most light bulbs and growing technologies like metal halide, high pressure sodium, fluorescent or induction lighting, there are dangerous chemicals like Mercury within that are a direct hazard to our environment. Mercury is incredibly dangerous if handled improperly so it’s good to see that Black Dog has taken note and made a point to make sure it isn’t in any of their products.

Lifetime Warranty

Purchasing an LED grow light should be looked at as an investment. An investment that should last much longer than any HID or fluorescent light and perform with top-notch harvests each and every time. Black Dog packages their PhytoMAX LED Grow Lights with “the industry’s best warranty”. They stand by their products and protect them for life. Additionally, there’s a 90 day free return period if you happen to not be happy with your purchase. There’s no hassle involved, just contact Black Dog and let them know.

Overall Thoughts

Black Dog has developed and built a fantastic LED grow light with their PhytoMAX Series. Although we haven’t had the opportunity to use it or run it through an entire flowering cycle yet, we are confident in it’s technology to outperform and excel over just about any other grow light in it’s price range. These grow lights are set to release in August, so check back here at LEDGrowLightGuide.com soon and we’ll release more information as it becomes available.