Would hanging the fixture a few inches higher still give decent par and eliminate some of the shadowing?
MIchael
Maxspect LED owners!!!
- Thread starter gambitcobra
- Start date
Would hanging the fixture a few inches higher still give decent par and eliminate some of the shadowing?
MIchael
canesfan44
New member
I hope somebody will make a higher kelvin, like 20k or 22k, 30watt chip soon. I remember somebody on here (I think it was Garage) got one many months ago, but it was the wrong voltage or something.
Man, tough call with these things now with the lenses available. I just can't decide on my 90g to go with a pair of G2-160's or G2-110's with the lens sets.
Extremes are just out of the price range unfortunately.
Looks like everybody is running theirs with the hanging sets. How secure is the mounting rails? I've got to fit them under a hood, and I'd prefer to keep the lid on an not put any more holes into the old plaster ceiling/walls if I can avoid it.
-Hans
Extremes are just out of the price range unfortunately.
Looks like everybody is running theirs with the hanging sets. How secure is the mounting rails? I've got to fit them under a hood, and I'd prefer to keep the lid on an not put any more holes into the old plaster ceiling/walls if I can avoid it.
-Hans
Someone PM'ed for more specific detail on what changes I made. There are much fewer LED's on the 160W compared to the 170W, because of the 30W LED's, so most of my changes were in the front row.
Default is:
RB W UV W RB W UV W RB
I changed it to:
RB W B(Cree) W(60) RB(60) W(60) B(Cree) W RB
and also changed the center white in the 2nd row to red(60), which can be seen looking at the fixture in the after photos.
Looking downward, the pattern looks like this (the 60's in front are hard to see because of the diffused light, but they are there):
I re-read earlier in the thread where someone said the UV LED's put out no visible light and swapped all of them out, so I may change them to RB's as well. However, I don't know if the UV spectrum is possibly contributing to the coloring up of the SPS I'm seeing - Maxspect must have tested in put them in for a reason?
Default is:
RB W UV W RB W UV W RB
I changed it to:
RB W B(Cree) W(60) RB(60) W(60) B(Cree) W RB
and also changed the center white in the 2nd row to red(60), which can be seen looking at the fixture in the after photos.
Looking downward, the pattern looks like this (the 60's in front are hard to see because of the diffused light, but they are there):
I re-read earlier in the thread where someone said the UV LED's put out no visible light and swapped all of them out, so I may change them to RB's as well. However, I don't know if the UV spectrum is possibly contributing to the coloring up of the SPS I'm seeing - Maxspect must have tested in put them in for a reason?
I couldn't tell the dimensions of your 90g from your tank thread, but my 50G cube is roughly one half of your tank, and I usually run my G2-160 with only two channels and have found that to be mostly sufficient for growth and color. I do run the 30W channel about three hours at midday. However, I only run SPS on the top of the tank, I think if you want SPS on the bottom as well you may need the optics.
But even though I didn't need the extra wattage, I sprung for it for flexibility anyway, as I can choose not to run the 30W channel, but you can never add the 30W channel later to the G2-110. I also viewed the 30W as a backup channel, there were a few early reports of people having one channel go off due to loose wiring or a burned-out LED (which were quickly resolved by the vendors).
I'd go with the G2-160's now, as the 120 spread is probably fine with the mounting rails. Based on my experience you may find the optics too narrow or creating hotspots, and you'll have no options to raise the fixture. Also you can choose to add the optics to the G2-160 later when your budget allows.
They are plug and play! i swapped out a bunch yesterday
i swapped out in total:
16 LEDs
2 Red - Put these in Random i think 1 white was taken and 1 Rb
6 Cree Royal Blue - These replaced Violet leaving 3 violet
4 Cree Blue - Replaced 4 White
4 Cree White - Replaced 4 white
Also its not in the instructions but when you are swapping out LEDs, In my opinion you should be wiping off the old thermal mat that is on the fixture. Using rubbing alcohol is perfect for this. This will give you the best thermal bond so you wont have heat issues with the individual leds.
Kolognekoral
New member
Although we cannot see UV light, it does excite certain pigments/colours in corals, which makes them more prominent to our eyes. And is an important part of the spectrum for their (zooxanthellae) photosynthesis. I would put them right back in!
canesfan44
New member
Agreed, even MH's give off a very small amount of UV (the glass/UV filter blocks most of the UV, but not all of it. Same thing with a lot of corals in the wild. Some reefs are deep enough that the water filters out just about all of the UV, but shallow reefs recieve a decent amount of UV. I read a study about corals, UV, and pigmentation which lead me to believe that a small amount of UV can be fairly beneficial). I will be swapping some of the whites and violets for Cree blues & royal blues, but I will be leaving the UV's.
SimonSKL
New member
After you cleaned out the old thermal mat (paste not adhesive, I assume) do you have to apply new thermal paste to the replacement LED base?
When you say you'll take out the violets but leave the UV's, what does that mean? Maybe I was wrong to use the terms interchangeably, I swapped out two violets that gave out no visible light. I don't have the UV-A's that Finsreef has for $40 a piece. Though according to the spectrum chart that stephane posted, the violet does give a little bit of energy at the peak wavelength of the UV-A.
The replacement has a new mat attached to them already..
Yeah, I'm still leaning toward the 160's. The tank dimensions is 48w x 18d x 24h. The only REAL concern I have is the mounting rails and how they secure to the tank. I occasionally have to pull the canopy off for one reason or another, and am worried about knocking the LED's into the tank.
That reminds me, I really need to start updating my tank thread again eventually. Unfortunately, not much has changed in the tank other than a recent skimmer change.
-Hans
bqwertpl
New member
I thought I will share few pics with You.. it is Maxspect 170 over my 57G Illuminata. I did one thing though.. I changed all the SemiLEDs with Cree.. all of them.. got my light used from fellow member. Also when I ordered those CREEs ... I purchased 40 degree optics with it. Light is about 17" above water surface..
Kolognekoral
New member
wwu123,
the violet led is just above the true UV range and is an important part of the PUR spectrum. I would leave these in. I am currently testing these with a friend (at his store) and we have found that there is a considerably better colour development with the violets. This was particularly obvious on disc anemonies, where the spots have become more intense. (turqouise) I would expect that many deeper water corals and inhabitant in general would benefit from UV and violet light as this does penetrate very deeply into the water column.
the violet led is just above the true UV range and is an important part of the PUR spectrum. I would leave these in. I am currently testing these with a friend (at his store) and we have found that there is a considerably better colour development with the violets. This was particularly obvious on disc anemonies, where the spots have become more intense. (turqouise) I would expect that many deeper water corals and inhabitant in general would benefit from UV and violet light as this does penetrate very deeply into the water column.
SimonSKL
New member
I just received my lens kit today for my 230W from Fins Reef but I think I am missing the clear lens from my package. The lens kit comes with 90 degree lens installed in each optic holder. It is my understanding that for those LED locations that I don't want to use the 90 degree lens, I can replace the 90 degree lens with the clear lens. Do all of you who received your lens kit have the clear lens included? The clear lens gives me the flexibility in choosing LED locations that I don't want optics (e.g. the 30W or outside perimeter).
To replace the optic lens in the optic holder, I have to separate the optic ring and the holder which I found was very hard to do. is there any trick in doing that without damaging the holder?
To replace the optic lens in the optic holder, I have to separate the optic ring and the holder which I found was very hard to do. is there any trick in doing that without damaging the holder?
SimonSKL
New member
After talking to Brian at Fins Reef, I now understand the reflector kit does not contain any 90 degree lens. Each reflector cup comes with a clear lens but it is the reflector cup that concentrates the light to 90 degree. Once the reflector kit is installed all LEDs will behave as 90 degree. I cannot have any LED with greater than 90 degree. I can, however, have 60 degree light by replacing the clear lens with a 60 degree lens.
I have a few LEDs that I installed the 60 degree lens and the effect is quite drastic. One nice thing is you can switch the 60 degree reflector cup to any LED location without unplugging the light or remove any cover. This allows me to customize the intensity of the light to specific corals just by switching the reflector cups with the lights on. Very nice.
I also replaced 3 cool white LEDs with royal blue and the process can't be simpler. This is the replacement royal blue Semiled with a thermal adhesive already in place.
The replacement Semiled is definitely nicer than the old star Semileds that came with my unit ordered 7 months ago.
A couple pictures of my tank with the upgraded and improved 230W.
With just two of the 4 channels on (13 white and 17 RB, all 30W are off)
All LEDs are on (13 white, 17 RB, 4x 30W)
The 90 degree reflectors made it quite dark toward the back but I kind of like it as it gives the tank a better depth perception.
Overall I am quite pleased with the result. One main reason I purchased Maxspect is the ability to modify and customize. The possibilities to play with different color leds and optics seem endless!
I have a few LEDs that I installed the 60 degree lens and the effect is quite drastic. One nice thing is you can switch the 60 degree reflector cup to any LED location without unplugging the light or remove any cover. This allows me to customize the intensity of the light to specific corals just by switching the reflector cups with the lights on. Very nice.
I also replaced 3 cool white LEDs with royal blue and the process can't be simpler. This is the replacement royal blue Semiled with a thermal adhesive already in place.
The replacement Semiled is definitely nicer than the old star Semileds that came with my unit ordered 7 months ago.
A couple pictures of my tank with the upgraded and improved 230W.
With just two of the 4 channels on (13 white and 17 RB, all 30W are off)
All LEDs are on (13 white, 17 RB, 4x 30W)
The 90 degree reflectors made it quite dark toward the back but I kind of like it as it gives the tank a better depth perception.
Overall I am quite pleased with the result. One main reason I purchased Maxspect is the ability to modify and customize. The possibilities to play with different color leds and optics seem endless!
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