Maxspect LED owners!!!

[SimonSKL]

I wonder what color do the 15 watt 16k LEDs really are, any ideas? how do they compare to the yellow color from the 30 watt LEDs?

With his permission I am borrowing two pictures from a fellow reefer in Hong Kong who posted these pictures a while back showing the effect of the 4x15W in the G2 160W.

All lights are on

He also posted this picture showing the 160W with 2X30W with optics. Notice the darker contrast from both ends compared with picture above. I am not sure if the optic lens were 90 degree or 60 degree. Both are now available.

 

[SimonSKL]

Here is a better way to compare the two pictures

 

[mordibv]

@ SimonSKL that is very helpful . .The optics definitely focus the light more but at the cost of losing coverage . It definitely shaded the sides more. Colors appear different too .

 

[SimonSKL]

I know some people complain how yellow the 30W are. The first picture with 4x15W is more "yellow" than the second picture with 2x30W with optics. I think the optics concentrate the light beam more and make it more blue. Personally I like the bluish color of the optics.

 

[Jeff]

I just got done hanging a G2 170 over my 57 gallon tank. So far I really like it. I had two problems which made me buy this fixture, shadows and heat. Both problems were solved with the Maxspect. I love the hanging kit, very sleek and easy to use. The timer is kind of goofy but I figured it out. I'll see in an hour if I set it correctly. As far as brightness, I am happy but am planning on buying the optics upgrade. As far as color, it needs a tuneup. I think I would be happier with a tad more blue and perhaps red to bring out some of the coral color. I may switch 4 of the whites with Cree Blues or royal blues and 2 of the whites with Semi reds. I think the light could offer a bit more "pop". What would be the better choice for that, royal blues or regular blues?

 

[Jeff]

Ok, I set the timer up to shut two of the banks of lights off at 1600 hrs and nothing happened. It's 1611 hrs here now and everything is still on. I'm not sure what I did wrong.
I set the current time correctly and then followed the directions to set the 3 banks of lights. I triple checked everything and the timer does not seem to be working.
Any ideas?

 

[SimonSKL]

Jeff,
You have to wait for the timer to cycle. It will work when 1600 cycles back. I don't like that either but that's how it is designed.

 

[Jeff]

Really? So it needs to make an entire one day trip around it's clock before the settings take effect? Is there anything I can do to get around it?

 

[SimonSKL]

You can test your timers by setting your current time to a point before the scheduled start time.

 

[Jeff]

Right, but how do I get them to turn off first?

 

[SimonSKL]

You can manually turn each bank of lights off by pushing on their respective button.

 

[Jeff]

Ahh ok. What about the first bank of lights (far left light)? How do I get it to turn off?

 

[SimonSKL]

On your 170W do you have 4 buttons to control 4 independent sets of lights? On my 230W, I have 4 buttons for 4 sets of lights and I can turn each one of them off manually just by pushing the button.

 

[SimonSKL]

Okay, I just found out the 170W only has 3 buttons. But you still should be able to manually turn off all lights.

Unless it is changed for the new model here is what my user manual said
Timer LED On/Off Cycle
You may programme the Maxspectâ„¢ LED Lighting System to turn on or off a group of LED bulbs. You can only set one timer for each group of LED bulbs.
1. Enter timer setting mode Press and hold the TIMER button down for more than 2 seconds to enter the timer setting mode. By default the first group of LED will be selected, its corresponding colored light will be lit, and an "œON" sign will be displayed on the Controller Unit panel to indicate the user can set the starting time.
2. Set the starting time Press the MODE button and the hour digit begins to blink, you can set the hour by pressing the +/WHITE or -/BLUE buttons. Once the hour has been set, press the TIMER button to switch to the minute digit. You can set the minute by pressing the +/WHITE or -/BLUE buttons.
3. Set the ending time Once the starting time has been set, press the MODE button to enter set the ending time. An "œOFF" sign will be displayed on the panel. Repeat the steps listed in item 2 to set the ending time.
4. Select the next LED group Press the MODE button to switch to the next group of LED, repeat the steps listed in item 2 and 3 to set the timer for this LED group.
5. Save the setting When finished setting the timer for all LED groups, press the TIMER button to save the setting. If you do not press any button for 5 seconds, it will also save the setting automatically.
Notes: Once the timer setting has been saved, it will restore automatically every time the unit is powered on, even after a complete outage of power.

 

[Jeff]

My user manual (a piece of paper) said the same thing. My steps that I had to make on the timer itself were a bit different though. I went through the settings and they are correct. It's now 1725 hrs here and 2 of the banks of lights are still on. Everything should be off by now. I triple checked the settings and current time a bunch of times.

 

[Jeff]

I just got off the phone with Brian at Finsreef. He is taking care of everything. After running me through a few things on the timer it was determined that the timer board is bad. he is sending a new one out.
Great customer service so far.
Thanks for the help Simon .

 

[yot_teddy]

Hello,

I've a 90gal tank, dimensions: 60x16x23'' and want to buy some MS leds.

What's better:

2 G2-160W or
1 G2-230W + 1 G2-160W (isn't too much light?)

Thanks a lot,
ted

 

[gambitcobra]

Pics coming SOON! I just recieved my lense kits for my G2 units. Ill post pics later tonight.

Very EASY and WOW factor

 

[DragonFish]

I'm planning to upgrade my current 2 x 65 watt power compacts on a 38 corner bowfront tank to LED's and I was wondering if the 60W would work? I'm not after any PAR increase over what I have now (but it would be nice) I just like the color, shimmer and long term cost effectiveness. Thanks!

Anybody know?

 

[SimonSKL]

Pics coming SOON! I just recieved my lense kits for my G2 units. Ill post pics later tonight.

Very EASY and WOW factor

Looking forward to the pictures, gambit! I too have just ordered my optics kit for my 230W. From what I read the flexibility of the optics is just amazing. You can pick and choose which LED to have the optics, 90 or 60 degree, clear or blending lens. I can see different color lens in the future. I can't wait!