Maxspect LED owners!!!

gambitcobra · 03/20/2010, 12:32 AM

Hey everyone,

I would like to go ahead and start a fresh Maxspect LED thread and hopefully we can keep this one going for a while.

currently I have th G1 160w units on my bow tank and you can check out my profile to see all the pics I have loaded.

also can we please just post your tank pics and questions and garage if you can please repost your setup and testing you did the other day.

gary504504 · 03/20/2010, 01:08 AM

i was gonna go with the pacific sun led because you can control the spectrum between 14,000k and 21,000k but i like the design of the maxspect better but can you control the color spectrum of the maxspect and between what kelvin

dragoneggs · 03/20/2010, 03:34 AM

Nice FTS Gambit!

I just picked up two G2 - 160w. Tried them out to be sure everything was okay before hauling home. Wow they are bright! Build quality is pretty darn good. Can't wait to get them on my tank build. I think the selling point is they are simple, sexy, and priced right. They don't have all the bells and whistles (like infinite adjustability, bluetooth, etc) but that means less things to go wrong!

Wijic · 03/20/2010, 05:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gary504504

i was gonna go with the pacific sun led because you can control the spectrum between 14,000k and 21,000k but i like the design of the maxspect better but can you control the color spectrum of the maxspect and between what kelvin

There's no dimming and you can't adjust color between Kelvins, but you can turn the 30w white, 3w white and 3w blue lights on and off independently of each other (or for the 110s that have no 30w, you can turn the white and blue on independently of one another) for different looks and for sunrise/sunset effects.

The Maxspect also has the option of a rail mounting system so you're not required to jimmy up some kind of hanging system if you don't want to stick the thing into your ceiling.

mhurley · 03/22/2010, 10:10 AM

Open.

For anyone participating or planning to participate in this thread, if you have any connection to a vendor, manufacturer, distributor, etc, please review the User Agreement. If we find "interested" parties posting in equipment threads, their posts will be removed and perhaps additional measures taken.

Enjoy the discussion.

wydchr · 03/22/2010, 02:48 PM

After following the old thread which has now been deleted due to one member being a vendor of these lamps can we still be sure that the (extensive) info he gave was accurate, true and not just a sales pitch... in short are they still worth buying. I would be interested to hear views from guys who have already purchased them as I've been here before buying stuff after following a thread like that with all the excitement and buzz it created only to be let down when I actually bought the kit

cheers, David.

gambitcobra · 03/22/2010, 03:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mhurley

Open.

For anyone participating or planning to participate in this thread, if you have any connection to a vendor, manufacturer, distributor, etc, please review the User Agreement. If we find "interested" parties posting in equipment threads, their posts will be removed and perhaps additional measures taken.

Enjoy the discussion.

HOLLY COW! thank you!!

gambitcobra · 03/22/2010, 03:11 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wydchr

After following the old thread which has now been deleted due to one member being a vendor of these lamps can we still be sure that the (extensive) info he gave was accurate, true and not just a sales pitch... in short are they still worth buying. I would be interested to hear views from guys who have already purchased them as I've been here before buying stuff after following a thread like that with all the excitement and buzz it created only to be let down when I actually bought the kit

cheers, David.

David, Yes I have no real serious complaints with my units. Like everything that is electronic it will break but you have to accept that with anything. I have had a few problems with my units but also I knew how to fix them right away. If you are looking for a nice above entry level LED system this is the one for you. Also its very user friendly.

wydchr · 03/22/2010, 04:38 PM

@gambitcobra: Thanks for that, I am using 12 TMC Aquaray LEDs presently but the downfall with those is all the wires and plugs that are associated with them which does my head in, I don't think they are as good as the Maxspects either if all the hype that they have been getting on the last thread can be believed. I have been ready to pull the trigger on the Maxspects for about a month now but as the UK pound is getting weaker and weaker against the dollar the price has been rising steadily... if only I had bought when I first saw them

Hopefully the pound will slowly gain strength and I do intend to get the lights as soon as their price gets back to something like it was when I originally looked at them... doh!!

David.

Ycore · 03/22/2010, 05:19 PM

I have a Maxspect G2 160W and think it's great. It is unfortunate that the previous 12 page thread was summarily deleted (or hidden) rather than the offending posts culled from the thread. There was a plethora of useful information posted concerning usage, programming , purchase, light output, etc.

In any case, I think my unit is great. I have to mount it high above the tank so I would like to add optics, just not sure if I can. I believe there was mention of that in the previous thread.

wydchr · 03/22/2010, 05:49 PM

@Ycore: what do you mean by adding optics, are you talking about some kind of lens cover over the LEDs. What are the LEDs covered with anyhow?

Wijic · 03/22/2010, 06:33 PM

Woo! It's back!

In one of the deleted posts, folks were talking about the way the LEDs were mounted and that they were soldered to the stars beneath them. So, if the LEDs are soldered in... how do you change them when they decay or if one burns out?

wydchr · 03/22/2010, 07:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Wijic

Woo! It's back!

In one of the deleted posts, folks were talking about the way the LEDs were mounted and that they were soldered to the stars beneath them. So, if the LEDs are soldered in... how do you change them when they decay or if one burns out?

As you can see from the picture below the LEDs are soldered to the star plate but that plate is connected by a couple connection. I don't know where you would buy the LEDs with the plates and the connections though, probably only Maxspect LOL

David.

billsreef · 03/22/2010, 07:25 PM

The plate is the heat sink for the LED, they come attached to each other from the manufacturer such as Cree

Bouncer · 03/22/2010, 07:28 PM

To all Maxspect owners:
Please post tank dims as well.
Thanks!

kmu · 03/22/2010, 08:34 PM

where can I get info and prices on this LED fixtures?

Garage1217 · 03/22/2010, 09:04 PM

Wow looks like we can discuss our gear again! I am dead tired / re-post my info and pics of my setups tomorrow. Very cool that the rc mods allowed us to have our discussion in this forum again.

jwilliams860 · 03/22/2010, 09:19 PM

following along, thinking about the g2-160 for my 45g cube setup

wydchr · 03/22/2010, 09:21 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by billsreef

The plate is the heat sink for the LED, they come attached to each other from the manufacturer such as Cree

But do they also have the wires soldered to the plates with the connectors too as in the picture??

galoot · 03/22/2010, 09:32 PM

taking the leap on 2 110's for my setup. now if i can just get my stupid bulkheads to stop leaking!!! =(

billsreef · 03/22/2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wydchr

But do they also have the wires soldered to the plates with the connectors too as in the picture??

The red and black wires you would need to remove from the old ones and resolder onto the new ones.

gambitcobra · 03/22/2010, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wydchr

But do they also have the wires soldered to the plates with the connectors too as in the picture??

the leds are screwed in by 2 screws and they have thermal grease on the back of them. All you do to swap them out is take the screws out and unsolder the wires and make sure you re apply them correctly and put the screws back and wah lah!

Ohh look in my album on my profile and you will see exactly what i am talking about.

kdirk · 03/22/2010, 09:38 PM

The stars are screwed to the heatsink the red and black wires are soldered on to the star. If you wanted to remove the led you would unscrew it and heat the solder with a solder gun till the wires let go, re solder the wires on the new led and screw it back on and plug it in.

kdirk · 03/22/2010, 09:40 PM

Thanks Mods for reconsidering

crank2211 · 03/22/2010, 09:42 PM

Just got my G2 170 in the mail today. Didn't have much time to play around with yet but did run it for a good 30 or so minutes and had no flickering issues and the heatsink fins are all straight and true. The fixture has weight to it and feels pretty solid. Didn't hear any rattling or anything like that. I think the mounting legs are kinda ridiculous. I have the unit laying across my tank in a parallel fashion and smallest the legs can to clamping my tank lip is a good 3" inches hanging over on each side. Either going to have to sport the provided hanging kit which seems nice or modify the legs.

The fixture sits on a 48" long tank and there's shadowing in the corners for sure. Especially up top in the corners where my equipment sits. It naturally hides the powerheads which is fine by me. It's going to take a little getting used to coming from the T5's and a box full of light, and instead going to accented rocks and corals with shadowy corners. However it does make the tank look more natural like something out of the reef I suppose. Fans are super quiet moonlights look good and the shimmer is a very nice bonus since I'm not used to seeing them with the T5's.

The only con I see so far is the mounting rails built into the fixture to accept the legs are bent inwards a bit. This means the legs don't sit totally flat and look pretty stupid. I haven't messed around with it yet but it looks like they can easily be bent out.

Pictures tomorrow night as my camera batt is dead.

03/20/2010, 12:32 AM	#1
gambitcobra Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Riverview, FL Posts: 880	Maxspect LED owners!!! Hey everyone, I would like to go ahead and start a fresh Maxspect LED thread and hopefully we can keep this one going for a while. currently I have th G1 160w units on my bow tank and you can check out my profile to see all the pics I have loaded. also can we please just post your tank pics and questions and garage if you can please repost your setup and testing you did the other day.

03/20/2010, 01:08 AM	#2
gary504504 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2009 Location: metairie, louisiana Posts: 206	i was gonna go with the pacific sun led because you can control the spectrum between 14,000k and 21,000k but i like the design of the maxspect better but can you control the color spectrum of the maxspect and between what kelvin __________________ life is a fish tank,so swim and enjoy Current Tank Info: 130 gal sps tank

03/20/2010, 03:34 AM	#3
dragoneggs Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Seabeck, WA Posts: 76	Nice FTS Gambit! I just picked up two G2 - 160w. Tried them out to be sure everything was okay before hauling home. Wow they are bright! Build quality is pretty darn good. Can't wait to get them on my tank build. I think the selling point is they are simple, sexy, and priced right. They don't have all the bells and whistles (like infinite adjustability, bluetooth, etc) but that means less things to go wrong! __________________ ~Eggy Current Tank Info: 160XL Elos display and fish room (in progress)

03/22/2010, 10:10 AM	#5
mhurley RC Staff Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Illinois'ish Posts: 38,805	Open. For anyone participating or planning to participate in this thread, if you have any connection to a vendor, manufacturer, distributor, etc, please review the User Agreement. If we find "interested" parties posting in equipment threads, their posts will be removed and perhaps additional measures taken. Enjoy the discussion. __________________ Mike Current Tank Info: 60G Cube

03/22/2010, 07:25 PM	#14
billsreef Moderator 10 & Over Club Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Long Island, NY/North Miami Posts: 36,538	The plate is the heat sink for the LED, they come attached to each other from the manufacturer such as Cree __________________ Bill "LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi) Current Tank Info: Far too many tanks according to my wife, LOL.

03/22/2010, 02:48 PM	#6
wydchr Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 24	After following the old thread which has now been deleted due to one member being a vendor of these lamps can we still be sure that the (extensive) info he gave was accurate, true and not just a sales pitch... in short are they still worth buying. I would be interested to hear views from guys who have already purchased them as I've been here before buying stuff after following a thread like that with all the excitement and buzz it created only to be let down when I actually bought the kit cheers, David.

03/22/2010, 04:38 PM	#9
wydchr Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 24	@gambitcobra: Thanks for that, I am using 12 TMC Aquaray LEDs presently but the downfall with those is all the wires and plugs that are associated with them which does my head in, I don't think they are as good as the Maxspects either if all the hype that they have been getting on the last thread can be believed. I have been ready to pull the trigger on the Maxspects for about a month now but as the UK pound is getting weaker and weaker against the dollar the price has been rising steadily... if only I had bought when I first saw them Hopefully the pound will slowly gain strength and I do intend to get the lights as soon as their price gets back to something like it was when I originally looked at them... doh!! David.

03/22/2010, 05:19 PM	#10
Ycore Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Dallas Posts: 315	I have a Maxspect G2 160W and think it's great. It is unfortunate that the previous 12 page thread was summarily deleted (or hidden) rather than the offending posts culled from the thread. There was a plethora of useful information posted concerning usage, programming , purchase, light output, etc. In any case, I think my unit is great. I have to mount it high above the tank so I would like to add optics, just not sure if I can. I believe there was mention of that in the previous thread.

03/22/2010, 05:49 PM	#11
wydchr Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: West Yorkshire, UK Posts: 24	@Ycore: what do you mean by adding optics, are you talking about some kind of lens cover over the LEDs. What are the LEDs covered with anyhow?

03/22/2010, 06:33 PM	#12
Wijic Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 70	Woo! It's back! In one of the deleted posts, folks were talking about the way the LEDs were mounted and that they were soldered to the stars beneath them. So, if the LEDs are soldered in... how do you change them when they decay or if one burns out?

03/22/2010, 07:28 PM	#15
Bouncer Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Posts: 55	To all Maxspect owners: Please post tank dims as well. Thanks!

03/22/2010, 08:34 PM	#16
kmu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2000 Location: In the DESERT Posts: 3,306	where can I get info and prices on this LED fixtures?

03/22/2010, 09:04 PM	#17
Garage1217 GET OFF MY LAWN Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Globally Posts: 5,863	Wow looks like we can discuss our gear again! I am dead tired / re-post my info and pics of my setups tomorrow. Very cool that the rc mods allowed us to have our discussion in this forum again. __________________ No great genius has ever existed without some touch of madness ~ Aristotle If we knew what it was we were doing, it would not be called research, would it? ~ Albert Einstein I'm just as bent as ever. Hellishly so ~ Captain Jack Sparrow Current Tank Info: Systems and goodies by Lee-Mar / Coralvue / Neptune Systems / Jager / Spectrapure / Cree / Meanwell + more!

03/22/2010, 09:19 PM	#18
jwilliams860 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Charlotte NC Posts: 407	following along, thinking about the g2-160 for my 45g cube setup

03/22/2010, 09:32 PM	#20
galoot Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: San Carlos Posts: 559	taking the leap on 2 110's for my setup. now if i can just get my stupid bulkheads to stop leaking!!! =(

03/22/2010, 09:38 PM	#23
kdirk Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bismarck, ND Posts: 234	The stars are screwed to the heatsink the red and black wires are soldered on to the star. If you wanted to remove the led you would unscrew it and heat the solder with a solder gun till the wires let go, re solder the wires on the new led and screw it back on and plug it in.

03/22/2010, 09:40 PM	#24
kdirk Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: Bismarck, ND Posts: 234	Thanks Mods for reconsidering

03/22/2010, 09:42 PM	#25
crank2211 Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 157	Just got my G2 170 in the mail today. Didn't have much time to play around with yet but did run it for a good 30 or so minutes and had no flickering issues and the heatsink fins are all straight and true. The fixture has weight to it and feels pretty solid. Didn't hear any rattling or anything like that. I think the mounting legs are kinda ridiculous. I have the unit laying across my tank in a parallel fashion and smallest the legs can to clamping my tank lip is a good 3" inches hanging over on each side. Either going to have to sport the provided hanging kit which seems nice or modify the legs. The fixture sits on a 48" long tank and there's shadowing in the corners for sure. Especially up top in the corners where my equipment sits. It naturally hides the powerheads which is fine by me. It's going to take a little getting used to coming from the T5's and a box full of light, and instead going to accented rocks and corals with shadowy corners. However it does make the tank look more natural like something out of the reef I suppose. Fans are super quiet moonlights look good and the shimmer is a very nice bonus since I'm not used to seeing them with the T5's. The only con I see so far is the mounting rails built into the fixture to accept the legs are bent inwards a bit. This means the legs don't sit totally flat and look pretty stupid. I haven't messed around with it yet but it looks like they can easily be bent out. Pictures tomorrow night as my camera batt is dead.