Maxspect G2-160W

[roscoe]

Anyone else heard of this LED fixture?

http://reefbuilders.com/2010/01/22/maxspect-g2-aquarium-led-light/

Seems like there will be quite a few different LED lighting fixture coming out. this one looks pretty sweet too. Thanks Jeremy for the heads up.

 

[moto826]

ya me i ordered one 510 shipped on a group buy

 

[roscoe]

Yeah I know. there are a couple group buys going on for it. You can't beat $510 bucks shipped to your door. I'm reading some reviews on it right now and for now looks to be a positive feed back on them.

 

[moto826]

they are sweet but dont have storms and stuff like that
but you can dim them 3 ways

 

[Shane and John]

Wow..I want LED badly!!But with so many new fixtures,and my lack of knowlege on them I just dont know which One to buy!!

 

[roscoe]

Wow..I want LED badly!!But with so many new fixtures,and my lack of knowlege on them I just dont know which One to buy!!

I hear ya Shane!!! I think it is best for me at least to wait until next year. I'm sure there will be alot more options this time next year as LEDs are the new big thing and hopefully with all the competition the prices will be more affordable for us.

 

[Shane and John]

Yeah..its time for me to replace my bulbs...iI would like to just put that money towards a new fixture.But..It seems more are hitting the market and i dont want any buyers remorse!!You know what I mean!

 

[roscoe]

It seems more are hitting the market and i dont want any buyers remorse!!You know what I mean!

I know exactly what you mean. That is why I am going to wait it out until sometime next year. I like to keep my options open.

 

[Shane and John]

Yeah...That looks like the direction I am heading!

 

[moto826]

i know some one with one of thies and he is verry happy with it it is older but the new ones have more dimming options and half the price as the pacific sun so i went this way and the cool thing is i can put better leds when they go out

 

[roscoe]

Yeah...That looks like the direction I am heading!

Remember when cone skimmers came out. The price tag was rediculously expensive. Now they are less than half the cost of what they were going for a couple years ago.

 

[roblou]

they are sweet but dont have storms and stuff like that
but you can dim them 3 ways

Hmm, IIRC I do not believe the Maxspect units are dimmable, but you can control blue & white power separately. I believe the G2-160W has 3 power switches, 1 for 30w white, 1 for 3w white & 1 for 3w blue.

I have been very tempted to get the exact same unit G2-160W. There's a big thread on RC about them, and for the most part the reviews have been good. A couple/few people posted about repair issues that required the units to be sent back to China, and from what I read you have to pay for shipping 1 way & they pay for shipping the other way back. I think the biggest thing holding me back is the inability to dim the intensity of white & blue. That seems like a huge advantage, since you'd be able to adjust the color to your personal taste...

There's a 10% off coupon code on the fish-street website right now, so if you order, remember to use that code!

HTH,

Rob

 

[moto826]

the g2 has independent controllable light groups 3

 

[Shane and John]

That fish street has halide bulbs for cheap...Have you used any of them?I have not seen that sight before..!

 

[roblou]

the g2 has independent controllable light groups 3

yeah, I read that in their description also, but I'm pretty sure by 'independent controllable' they mean on/off and not dim (english grammar on the website is pretty poor).

I can't say 100% since I don't own it, but that's what I've read anyways. It's mentioned a few times in some RC threads (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1817995&page=6)

Rob

 

[mfinn]

ya me i ordered one 510 shipped on a group buy

call me when it comes in. I gotta see this in person.

 

[roscoe]

call me when it comes in. I gotta see this in person.

Me too!!!!!

 

[moto826]

i will let you know when it gets here they take a few weeks to get here for some reason

 

[roscoe]

I thought I would post some more info on these SEMI LED degradation period. I'm trying to find some info on the cree bulbs but no luck yet.

Luminous decay on Semi LED bulbs:
• 3W White LED bulb - Luminous decay at 3% every 1000 hours, running 10 hours a day at 50 C (120 F), luminous decay at about 11% a year.
• 30W White LED bulb - Luminous decay at 5% every 1000 hours, running 10 hours a day at 50 C (120 F), luminous decay at about 18% a year.
• 3W Blue LED bulb - Luminous decay is estimated at about 1.5% every 1000 hours, running 10 hours a day at 50 C (120 F), luminous decay at about 5.5% a year.

Recommended replacement time frame:
• 3w White LED bulb - every 24-28 months
• 30w White LED bulbs - every 18-20 months
• 3w Blue LED bulbs - every 36-40 months

LED Prices:
3w White SemiLED US$5.40
3w Blue SemiLED US$5.40
3w Red SemiLED US$5.40
3w Green SemiLED US$5.40
3w Pink SemiLED US$5.40
3w Violet US$8.10
30w White SemiLED US$43.20
3w White Cree XP-G R3 US$12.60
15w Blue SemiLED US$25.20

 

[roscoe]

It looks like this particular LED needs to be replaced ever 2-3 years. So here is my thoughts on this. OK so lets do some basic math here. For my system I run 3 400w halides and replace the bulbs once a year at $80/bulb= $240/year. So for 3 years it would be $720. So now if I go with thier 160w fixture I would need at least 3 fixture. Each fixture consist of 2 30w whites, 14 3w whites, 14 3w blues and 4 3w violet. Now times everything by 3 that needs to be replaced. So you will have a total of 6 30w whites, 42 3w whites, 42 3w bluesand 12 3w violets. The cost to replace these LEDs after 3 years is $810 vrs halides for 3 years is $720. So as far as replacement goes at least for this brand of LED it is $90 cheaper for me to replace the halides but cost much more on energy consumption with the LEDs having a bit more savings in the power department. It is easier to replace the halide bulbs as oppose to replaceing the led bulbs would be more of a chore.