Short version? For most people with a 120cm tent, the Gorilla GEN-III 720W at £119 is the one. Loads of light for the money, and it dims down nicely for a tent that size. Mostly flowering and fancy a bit more red? The Maxibright Varidrive V3 720W is £15 more. Want a light that was actually designed for a 1.2m by 1.2m footprint rather than squeezed into one? That's the Lumatek Zeus 465W, from £389, with a 5-year warranty. Already running AC Infinity fans and controllers? The AC Infinity IonFrame EVO6 plugs straight into all that. And if you're properly watching the pennies, the Photon 720W is £94.94. It's honest about being a budget light, so we will be too. And Solar-Tech have two worth a look: the Solar-Tech 720W Lite (£149.95) for its stepless dimmer, and the Solar-Tech 720W I.D. Split (£159.95) if your space is an awkward shape.
The best LED grow lights for a 120cm tent
Quick word on the 720W lights first. Three of the lights below are rated for a 1.5m by 1.5m area, so in a 120cm tent you've got more light than you need. That's no bad thing. You run them dimmed, they run cooler, and the frames (around 105cm square) still fit inside with a little room to spare. Check your tent's inside measurements though. Some are a touch tighter than the number on the box.
Gorilla GEN-III 720W
1,944 µmol/s out of a six-bar frame with the driver built in. For £119 that's hard to argue with. Hangers are in the box too, which is one less trip back to the counter.
- 720W
- 2.7 µmol/J
- Built-in driver
- 2-year warranty
- Onboard dimming at 25, 50, 75 and 100%, so you can turn it down for a smaller tent or young plants
- 0 to 10V input if you want to run it from a controller later
- Folds up for storage between grows
Maxibright Varidrive V3 720W
Same sort of size as the Gorilla but a bit more punch on paper, 2,160 µmol/s at 3.0 µmol/J. Maxibright have also leaned the spectrum towards red. It'll do a full grow, but flower is where it earns its keep.
- 720W
- 3.0 µmol/J
- Extra red
- Rope ratchets included
- Built-in dimming at 250W, 400W, 600W or Boost, so you can hold it back while the plants are small
- Comes with the RJ12 cable to link it to a controller or another V3
- One person can put it together. No mate needed
Lumatek Zeus 465W Pro
This one was built for a 1.2m by 1.2m footprint from the start, not borrowed from a bigger room. Fewer watts than the 720s, yes. But it turns more of each watt into light, so your electric bill sees less of it.
- 465W
- 2.9 or 3.1 µmol/J
- IP65, fanless
- 5-year warranty
- Two versions. The Pro 2.9 puts out 1,353 µmol/s and the Pro 3.1 does 1,450 µmol/s from the same 465W
- IP65 rated, so a humid tent in late flower doesn't worry it
- Silent. No fans to rattle or die on you
Maxibright Daylight 480W and 480W PRO
A low, ladder-style frame that spreads light evenly over 1.2m by 1.2m without lenses. Handy if your tent's on the short side and every centimetre of headroom counts.
- 480W
- 2.3 or 2.8 µmol/J
- IP65, fanless
- 4-year warranty
- Plug and play with the dimmer included
- Full spectrum with red, far red and UV in the mix
- Bars clip on, and the hanging points are already fitted
AC Infinity IonFrame EVO6 500W
Rated for 4 by 4 foot in flower, which is pretty much a 120cm tent on the nose. Samsung LM301H EVO diodes at 3.14 µmol/J, and a scheduler built in so it'll do sunrise and sunset straight out of the box.
- 500W
- 3.14 µmol/J
- Built-in scheduler
- IP65
- Ten brightness levels, plus sunrise and sunset dimming without buying anything else
- Works with AC Infinity's UIS controllers for app control and grow recipes
- The driver comes off the frame, so you can keep its heat out of the canopy
Photon 720W
The cheapest way into a proper 720W LED we sell. The product page says it straight: it's built to a price. It'll grow plants well. Just don't expect it to feel like the Lumatek.
- 720W
- 2,304 µmol/s claimed
- IP65
- 1-year warranty
- Built-in driver and 0 to 100% dimming
- Rope ratchets, power cord and an RJ11 cable in the box
- Daisy-chains up to 40 lights if you ever go big
Solar-Tech 720W Lite
Solar-Tech list this one as a 1.2m by 1.2m light, and at 1100 by 1065mm it's sized for exactly that. The party trick is the dimmer. It sweeps smoothly from 0 to 100% instead of clicking between fixed steps.
- 720W
- 1,872 PPF
- Up to 2.6 µmol/J
- IP65
- Want 60% for young plants or 85% on a warm day? Set it there and leave it
- IP65 with a silicone coating over the diodes, so a muggy tent is fine
- RJ ports for daisy-chaining, and it takes a 0 to 10V controller
Solar-Tech 720W I.D. Split
Run it as one 720W light, or pull the quick-release pin and you've got two separate 360W lights. Handy in a 120cm tent with a fan or filter in the way. And if you ever move to two smaller tents, it moves with you.
- 720W or 2 x 360W
- 1,949 µmol/s
- 2.72 µmol/J
- 3-year warranty
- Samsung LM281B+ and Sanan diodes, with the spectrum pushed towards near-red for flower
- Driver is built into the frame. Unfold, hang, done
- RJ ports, and it works with the Solar-Tech LED Lighting Controller (£195.00)
At a glance
Efficiency is the number to watch. It's how much light you get for each watt you pay for, so higher means more growing for the same bill.
| Light | Power | Efficiency | Rated area | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Gorilla GEN-III 720W |
720W | 2.7 µmol/J | 1.5 x 1.5m | £119.00 |
 Maxibright Varidrive V3 720W |
720W | 3.0 µmol/J | 1.5 x 1.5m | £134.00 |
 Lumatek Zeus 465W Pro |
465W | 2.9 or 3.1 µmol/J | Up to 1.2 x 1.2m | From £389.00 |
 Maxibright Daylight 480W |
480W | 2.3 or 2.8 µmol/J | 1.2 x 1.2m | From £264.99 |
 AC Infinity IonFrame EVO6 |
500W | 3.14 µmol/J | 4 x 4ft in flower | £559.00 |
 Photon 720W |
720W | 3.2 µmol/J claimed | Not stated | £94.94 |
 Solar-Tech 720W Lite |
720W | Up to 2.6 µmol/J | 1.2 x 1.2m | £149.95 |
 Solar-Tech 720W I.D. Split |
720W or 2 x 360W | 2.72 µmol/J | Not stated | £159.95 |
Prices as at October 2026. Check the product page for the live price.
How to choose
- Just want it sorted for not much? Gorilla GEN-III 720W. Dim it to suit the tent and crack on.
- Mostly about the flower? The Maxibright Varidrive V3, for the extra red.
- Fussy about dimming? The Solar-Tech 720W Lite's stepless dimmer lets you pick any level, not just the usual four.
- Fan, filter or a sloping ceiling in the way? The Solar-Tech I.D. Split comes apart into two lights you can hang where they fit.
- Damp tent, or growing in late autumn when it's all a bit muggy? Go IP65. That's the Lumatek, the Daylight, the AC Infinity, the Solar-Tech Lite or the Photon.
- Paying attention to the electric? Look at efficiency first, wattage second. The Lumatek Pro 3.1 and AC Infinity EVO6 lead here.
- Short tent? The Maxibright Daylight 480W's low frame gives you a bit more room to play with.
- Hanging it? Whatever you buy, a decent pair of heavy-duty rope ratchets (£11.95) makes height changes a two-second job.
Still building the tent itself? Our grow tent setup guide covers the rest, and the 720W LED comparison goes deeper on a few of these.
Quick answers
What size LED do I need for a 120cm tent?
Roughly 450 to 500W of a good efficient light, or a 720W dimmed down. The Lumatek Zeus 465W, Maxibright Daylight 480W and Solar-Tech 720W Lite are rated for 1.2m by 1.2m, and the AC Infinity EVO6 for 4 by 4 foot in flower.
Is a 720W LED too much for a 120cm tent?
Not if it dims. The Gorilla GEN-III, Maxibright Varidrive V3 and Photon 720W are rated for 1.5m by 1.5m, so in a 120cm tent you just run them below full power. Check the frame fits inside your tent first.
How high should I hang an LED in a 120cm tent?
Lumatek suggest starting around 50cm above the plants with the Zeus 465W. Go higher or dim it for young plants, then bring it down or turn it up as they grow and watch the leaves for signs of stress.
Do I need an IP65 grow light?
Not always, but it helps in a humid tent. The Lumatek Zeus 465W, Maxibright Daylight 480W, AC Infinity EVO6, Solar-Tech 720W Lite and Photon 720W are IP65. The Gorilla GEN-III and Maxibright Varidrive V3 are IP20, so keep them dry.
Do I need a separate controller for my LED?
No. Every light here dims without one. A controller just adds schedules, sunrise and sunset, and linking lights together.
Still stuck? Give us a ring on 020 8686 9643 or email info@thehydrobros.com.
Or pop into the shop for a natter: Unit 12, Progress Business Park, Progress Way, Croydon CR0 4XD.
More grow guides
- Best carbon filters for grow tents
- Best pH and EC meters
- Grow tent setup guide
- Grow room extraction: choosing a fan and filter
- How to cool down a grow tent
- LED vs HPS: cost savings explained
The Hydro Bros Team. We sell this kit and talk growers through it every day in our Croydon shop.
