Maxspect LED owners!!!

[Adam_T]

Wow! Just came across this thread, and although I don't want to read through all 24 pages...I'm already amazed by the first 3! Haha. Question...

I just got a 34 gallon cube (Current-USA Solana) tank, and was wondering which Maxspect lighting option would be best suited for this tank. I definitely want to go with LED's for this tank, but don't know which model or LED (cree or semi) to go with.

Also, where is the best place to order one of these? I am located in the US and the only place I can find online is in Asia, haha.

 

[wec]

Finally got a chance to add these optics to my maxspect unit. I just added them to the outside LEDs. Maybe someone can tell me if the way I mounted them will be ok. This is my first time messing with LEDs or optics.
I tried to figure out an easy way to mount these optics. The optics came with a white plastic case around the optics. I could not add them to the LEDs without cutting the reflector. So I removed the lense from the plastic case. Does anyone know if this will effect the lense, if so by how much? I then placed the lense directly on the led The seem to sit flat on the LEDs. I added all the lenses and then placed the splash guard directly over the lense. The lenses did not seem to move when I placed the splash guard back on. So the splash guard is holding the lenses in place. It holds them fairly snug and they did not move after I had the splash guard secured. Can anyone tell me if it is alright to place the splash guard directly on the lense? Will the lense eventually melt the splash guard.? Do the lenses get hot at all? This is my first time. So any suggestions are appreciated. Here are some pics.

 

[wec]

Here are some pics of the maxspect over my tank. It seems like I can place the unit higher up and the coverage is good. Not sure about par levels. But I like it so far. I'm just starting my tank. So don't have any corals except for what came on the rock. There is a brain coral that came on the rock. At least I think it's a brain. I have it close to the bottom of the tank. And seems to be doing good. Maybe someone can tell me if it looks good?

http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0823.jpg

http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0826.jpg

just the 3w whites
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0827.jpg

just the 3w blues
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0828.jpg

here's a pic of the brain. I think?
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0825.jpg

 

[bqwertpl]

Here are some pics of the maxspect over my tank. It seems like I can place the unit higher up and the coverage is good. Not sure about par levels. But I like it so far. I'm just starting my tank. So don't have any corals except for what came on the rock. There is a brain coral that came on the rock. At least I think it's a brain. I have it close to the bottom of the tank. And seems to be doing good. Maybe someone can tell me if it looks good?

http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0823.jpg

http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0826.jpg

just the 3w whites
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0827.jpg

just the 3w blues
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0828.jpg

here's a pic of the brain. I think?
http://i889.photobucket.com/albums/ac95/whaevclever/optics/IMG_0825.jpg

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU...

I am so glad You are the first one to do this mod.. I am going be getting Maxspect myself.. I also have Oceanic Illuminata rimless... I am not going be getting the one with 30W leds.. I figure out I wont need it and all I heard that it doesnt good really good.. my next idea was to upgrade LEDs to some of the Cree's and get some lenses as well.. I think, if I go that route, it should all work great.. wish U had some PAR meter to check before and after U added those lenses..

 

[bqwertpl]

Finally got a chance to add these optics to my maxspect unit. I just added them to the outside LEDs. Maybe someone can tell me if the way I mounted them will be ok. This is my first time messing with LEDs or optics.
I tried to figure out an easy way to mount these optics. The optics came with a white plastic case around the optics. I could not add them to the LEDs without cutting the reflector. So I removed the lense from the plastic case. Does anyone know if this will effect the lense, if so by how much? I then placed the lense directly on the led The seem to sit flat on the LEDs. I added all the lenses and then placed the splash guard directly over the lense. The lenses did not seem to move when I placed the splash guard back on. So the splash guard is holding the lenses in place. It holds them fairly snug and they did not move after I had the splash guard secured. Can anyone tell me if it is alright to place the splash guard directly on the lense? Will the lense eventually melt the splash guard.? Do the lenses get hot at all? This is my first time. So any suggestions are appreciated. Here are some pics.

what brand are these lenses and what is the beam width degree ??

thank You.

 

[Skerp]

Hey can someone please hook me up with a web site? I would love to order one of these fixtures for a nano I'm setting up.

Thanks!
~Skerp~

 

[wec]

I got the optics, I put on my unit, from a guy on nano-reef that was doing a group buy for semileds. The same leds in the maxspect unit. The optics were made for the semileds. But I think the semileds he ordered were a different bin letter then the semileds in the maxspect. The optics fit perfectly over the leds on the maxspect if you remove the reflector. But I removed the plastic case around the optics because I didn't want to cut the reflector. If someone tells me that the way I mounted them is not a good idea. I will probably put the plastic case back on the lenses and try and cut the holes on the reflector to fit better. Hopefully someone with a lot of led experience can let me know. Thanks

I added 30 lenses to my unit, at $1 a piece, plus $5 shipping. The mod cost me about $35. Not to bad. I think

 

[Adam_T]

Wow! Just came across this thread, and although I don't want to read through all 24 pages...I'm already amazed by the first 3! Haha. Question...

I just got a 34 gallon cube (Current-USA Solana) tank, and was wondering which Maxspect lighting option would be best suited for this tank. I definitely want to go with LED's for this tank, but don't know which model or LED (cree or semi) to go with.

Also, where is the best place to order one of these? I am located in the US and the only place I can find online is in Asia, haha.

 

[swannking]

I got the optics, I put on my unit, from a guy on nano-reef that was doing a group buy for semileds. The same leds in the maxspect unit. The optics were made for the semileds. But I think the semileds he ordered were a different bin letter then the semileds in the maxspect. The optics fit perfectly over the leds on the maxspect if you remove the reflector. But I removed the plastic case around the optics because I didn't want to cut the reflector. If someone tells me that the way I mounted them is not a good idea. I will probably put the plastic case back on the lenses and try and cut the holes on the reflector to fit better. Hopefully someone with a lot of led experience can let me know. Thanks

I added 30 lenses to my unit, at $1 a piece, plus $5 shipping. The mod cost me about $35. Not to bad. I think

Those optics look more like a diffuser type. As far as I can see, there is no reflective materials inside the optics to re-direct/focus the light. Did they mention what degree?

 

[wec]

I was told they were 60 degree optics. As I'm not very knowledgable with leds. I toke his word for it. I don't see any reflective marerial in them either. The lenses are cone shaped smaller where they fit on the led and angle out. Not knowing much about leds. I figured it directed the light out through the cone. Correct me if I'm wrong.

 

[esco]

Wanted to post some pics of my G2 (160w). Been a month now since I ditched the G1 (110w), and I'm loving the G2 so far. It's hard to capture EXACTLY what I see with my eyes with photographs, but these are as close as it gets. The pics below were taken with all 3 channels lit up. The only modification that I have is that the "middle" channel that is supposed to be 3w WHITES, have been tweaked with more blue LEDs. I switched out 6 White 3w LEDs and replaced them with 4x 3w Violet and 2x 3w blue LEDs (bulbs were extras purchased from Maxspect). With this switch, I was able to get a very nice color as you can see in the photos. With all 3 channels on, I get a ~13K look, with 2 channels on (the 30w LEDs OFF), I get a very very nice 20K look, and of course actinics are actinics (last channel).

This is one of my favorite shots:

Simple pic of the tank from a corner view:

Side View:

FTS of my ELOS Mini for May 2010

 

[Adam_T]

Anyone have opinions or reviews on the KEY LED Lighting that fish-street sells?

It sucks because I am coming across a bunch of problems with the Maxspect on different websites including this one, and they can't be upgraded to CREE LED (or so I have read).

The KEY LED comes with CREE LED, and is half the price. The only difference I am noticing is that the KEY LED systems don't have built on timers or temp control. Hmmm...now that I look at it, it seems that the KEY LED systems are MUCH lower wattage. The only one that would fit my tank only has 34 total watts?!

Anyway...I have a 34 gallon Solana (20x20x20in cube), and was most likely going to purchase the G2-110w Maxspect. Should I? Should I not?

 

[finksmart]

Wanted to post some pics of my G2 (160w). Been a month now since I ditched the G1 (110w), and I'm loving the G2 so far. It's hard to capture EXACTLY what I see with my eyes with photographs, but these are as close as it gets. The pics below were taken with all 3 channels lit up. The only modification that I have is that the "middle" channel that is supposed to be 3w WHITES, have been tweaked with more blue LEDs. I switched out 6 White 3w LEDs and replaced them with 4x 3w Violet and 2x 3w blue LEDs (bulbs were extras purchased from Maxspect). With this switch, I was able to get a very nice color as you can see in the photos. With all 3 channels on, I get a ~13K look, with 2 channels on (the 30w LEDs OFF), I get a very very nice 20K look, and of course actinics are actinics (last channel).

This is one of my favorite shots:

Simple pic of the tank from a corner view:

Side View:

FTS of my ELOS Mini for May 2010

Very nice. Where did you get the lamp tree?

 

[esco]

Very nice. Where did you get the lamp tree?

Thank you, the bars are just regular conduit, bent at 90 degree angles and cut to size. I measured the maxspect unit to match up screw holes and I drilled 4 holes to mount the light. Light bar was sprayed with matte grey paint, matches the fixture and stand perfectly! :rollface:

I've never done conduit work before in the past so this was a fun project for me. I think the entire project including conduit and mounting brackets + screws, some cheap spraypaint cost me less than $10. It took me about 6 hours from start to finish (might seem slow to others, but it was hard work!). Tip: I bent the conduit at the store so taht I didn't have to buy the bender, in fact... the store employees were rather helpful when I was doing this :lmao:

 

[sammy113]

I got the optics, I put on my unit, from a guy on But I think the semileds he ordered were a different bin letter then the semileds in the maxspect.

That's right. I ordered also in that same group buy. The LEDs we got are Q Bin while maxpect fixtures have a P Bin i think. Q's are supposed to be slightly brighter though

Those optics look more like a diffuser type. As far as I can see, there is no reflective materials inside the optics to re-direct/focus the light. Did they mention what degree?

All the lenses available doesn't have any reflective material. What makes it redirect the light in a closer beam is the angle of the acrylic itself inside the cover. Since LEDs are not omni lights (as metal halides) they emit the light output downwards so there is no need for a reflective material. As you may notice they do have an acrylic dome which is the factory lens with a 90~110 degree.
If you got to play with some optics and spare LEDs you can see the difference between having them and not using them. The light spread broadly vs a spot light depending the lens degree.

I'm gonna take some pics as I have a few LEDs and lenses around to show side by side what they make

 

[sammy113]

Tip: I bent the conduit at the store so taht I didn't have to buy the bender, in fact... the store employees were rather helpful when I was doing this :lmao:

:lol: I had to play dirty to Home Depot cause they didn't wanted to help bending the tube in store. I had to buy it, use it and returned it :lol: that's what they get

 

[esco]

LOL Sammy, I went to Lowes YMMV!

 

[CalmSeasQuest]

I'd love to hear more about the optics including a manufacturer and source. If WEC's solution works, it could dramatically improve the performance of the Maxspect units (and potentially solve my coverage problem )

I'd gladly purchase the optics and take PAR readings to share with all.

 

[Adam_T]

Still tryin to get somewhat of a response here....lol

Anyone have opinions or reviews on the KEY LED Lighting that fish-street sells?

It sucks because I am coming across a bunch of problems with the Maxspect on different websites including this one, and they can't be upgraded to CREE LED (or so I have read).

The KEY LED comes with CREE LED, and is half the price. The only difference I am noticing is that the KEY LED systems don't have built on timers or temp control. Hmmm...now that I look at it, it seems that the KEY LED systems are MUCH lower wattage. The only one that would fit my tank only has 34 total watts?!

Anyway...I have a 34 gallon Solana (20x20x20in cube), and was most likely going to purchase the G2-110w Maxspect. Should I? Should I not?

 

[canesfan44]

Anyone have opinions or reviews on the KEY LED Lighting that fish-street sells?

It sucks because I am coming across a bunch of problems with the Maxspect on different websites including this one, and they can't be upgraded to CREE LED (or so I have read).

The KEY LED comes with CREE LED, and is half the price. The only difference I am noticing is that the KEY LED systems don't have built on timers or temp control. Hmmm...now that I look at it, it seems that the KEY LED systems are MUCH lower wattage. The only one that would fit my tank only has 34 total watts?!

Anyway...I have a 34 gallon Solana (20x20x20in cube), and was most likely going to purchase the G2-110w Maxspect. Should I? Should I not?

I don't know much about the KEY Led, so I can't make a comparison.

What are all the problems you have come across, because I don't think there has been too many major problems. I've read about the timers slipping a little and the occasional ballast problems, that most likely happened ffrom shipping, but MaxSpect has been quick to try and fix all the problems. To this point, most people agree that their customer service has been pretty good. The only common problem I've seen is that the units that have the 30w bulbs are too yellow for some. It doesn't bother me too much, but you can do what most have done, just switch a couple whites to blues, you can use Cree blues for this. Cree led's can be used, you can buy a unit that uses Cree led's instead of the semileds, but it costs almost double.

I cannot tell you that the MaxSpect is better than the KEY, or vice versa, because I have never even seen the KEY, but the MaxSpect is very good. It appears to me from the photos on fish street that the build quality of the KEY fixture isn't so great, but I could be wrong. It might come down to a recurring phrase in reefing, "you get what you pay for," which is a generally true statement.

Until the KEY led becomes more popular, it's going to be tough for anyone to make a nonbiased comparison. That being said, you might have to be the person to buy the KEY and let us know about it.