MaxSpect G2-160W LED

[NYreefNoob]

i posted what the lense and reflector kit's cost

 

[BYU]

i have the g2 160s on my 220
lights look great
im happy with the growth coverage
keep in mind one annoying thing is they are not linked and the clocks are off by a little bit no matter how you try to sync the clock so they may turn on and off slightly off sync
also not controllable and cant dim.
if you can deal with this you cant beat the price
got mine shipped from overseas came in 1 week

 

[Hefe-Weizen]

< has owned both AI and the maxspect, if $ wasnt a issue id say the AI cause of the controllability,, as for maxspect there really wasnt issue's some wire's loose upon shipping 2 g2160 will cover a 4' tank and even if you add the reflectors and lense's your $1400 fins and reef i do believe is the u.s distributor, personally id the the g2 110w, only thing boosting the 160 is the 2 30w led chips so if you dropped to the 110w version at $430 apiece and a $100 apiece for the lense and reflector kit your only $1060 into the fixtures

Have they fixed the timer issue with the Maxspects?

I hear that the timers are off by a few seconds a day and the lights, over time, go on later and later.

 

[Hefe-Weizen]

i posted what the lense and reflector kit's cost

Sorry I posted to Batt600's post.

 

[regal]

I find it hard to believe that they will add optics and dimmers for the same price. I read that the price will go up 30% for the G3.

As far as I know, the dimming feature of the G3 is not programmable, ie. it is a POT that you turn manually. No programmable sunrise/sunset capability, although you can still use the dimming to dial in the color temp that you want or the overall intensity of the fixture for acclaimmation purposes.

 

[Hefe-Weizen]

As far as I know, the dimming feature of the G3 is not programmable, ie. it is a POT that you turn manually. No programmable sunrise/sunset capability, although you can still use the dimming to dial in the color temp that you want or the overall intensity of the fixture for acclaimmation purposes.

I never said they were programmable, just dimmable, manually. However, the new feature will cost the company more and I doubt it will be for free. After adding in all the extra costs(dimming, lenses,and CREE LEDs), the MS will be just behind AI in cost.

I am not trying to bash Maxspect. They appear to be well made and a lot of thought has been put into interchanging and replacing LEDs. I do feel that AI is a far better product. The controllability and upgradablilty of the unit is great. I am sure AI will at some point make different pucks to customize their units. The extra cost for AI units IMO are worth it. I do not own these units and have no attachment to AI. I do, in fact, use PAR38 LEDs on my tank. If I had the $ I would have gone AI. JMHO.

 

[michaelchen]

Did anyone check the new 160 extreme from finsreef?
Intead of 2x 30w white, they replaced with 4x 15w.
Not sure if that justifiy their new price tag.

 

[NYreefNoob]

110w version at $430 apiece and a $100 apiece for the lense and reflector kit your only $1060 into the fixtures

not even close to the $2100 for AI's even if they change to a dimmibe puck and add another $200 your still half the price, as stated i have owned both fixture's, and you dont get the full control of the AI's unless you have a profilux of similar controller, the one that comes with the AI's in no more then a time and it lets you dial up to max intensity that you pre-set has 1 hr worth of ramping up and down, don't get me wrong the AI is very nice but for the money id take the maxspect

 

[Hefe-Weizen]

But now you are comparing apples to oranges. 2x110 watt G2's are not anywhere near as powerful as an AI. Plus the AI's ramping up an hour at a time, with the stock controller, is still more advanced than the dimmable capabilities of the Maxspect. We all know that you are getting more with the AI unit and it is obvious that you will pay more for the better capabilities. Comparing AI to Maxspect is like comparing a Vortech/Tunze to a Koralia/MaxiMod.

Using a Profilux is also another advantage of the AI.

JMO

 

[NYreefNoob]

< likes tunze better and have owned vortech and tunze, how do you figure that a 75w led is brighter then a 110w led fixture ? twice as much isn't worth it, i cant dim or raise my t5 or mh when i had it o thats not a selling point, oh wait i can dim my ati t5 if i want to drop $500 in dimmable ballast, then add a grand to that light for the profilux and price went to 3k for a 4' tank atleast with the pacsun's it has all that built in for it's price tag

 

[bmarkus]

Sorry But I have just 3 words for the MaxSpect P.O.S.. I have a MaxSpect, an AI, and a Pacific Sun and I must say the MaxSpect would not be worth the Money if it was $50

 

[NYreefNoob]

bmarkus for what reason would you say that ?

 

[bmarkus]

The light spread is okay, the color temp is poor, the penetration in a deep tank is poor, Brian at FinsReef who is the main importer of the fixtures has no clue what he is doing and lies through his teeth. Sorry for the money on a small tank AI on bigger tank pacific sun however they have some software issues so I am still looking. Reef tech should be coming out with some interesting news and the end of the year I hope. The only thing good that I can say about the MaxSpect is coverage to $ ratio they are the cheapest. But when we spend so much money on setup and then coral is cheap what we are looking for?

 

[Hefe-Weizen]

< likes tunze better and have owned vortech and tunze, how do you figure that a 75w led is brighter then a 110w led fixture ? twice as much isn't worth it, i cant dim or raise my t5 or mh when i had it o thats not a selling point, oh wait i can dim my ati t5 if i want to drop $500 in dimmable ballast, then add a grand to that light for the profilux and price went to 3k for a 4' tank atleast with the pacsun's it has all that built in for it's price tag

You are comparing a ferrari to hyundai. I was not comparing pumps. But was using an anology. Tunze and Vortech, despite their differences, are high end pumps. Whereas, Korallias and MaxiMods are the cheaper pumps that are less reliable(I have and do own all mentioned).

I have yet to see a soul post a PAR reading from a Maxspect 110 that rivals an AI. Now you are adding in PacSuns, they seem to be a great choice as well. I would choose them over a Maxspect as well. I have also seen many positive posts on them and their Customer Service. The CS of Maxspect may be OK, although I have seen some negative reviews. Plus the wait time for repairs and replacement are still an issue, even with an American distributor. I also have issue with a product that cannot even keep time correctly, especially when dealing with such a technical device.

 

[Hefe-Weizen]

The light spread is okay, the color temp is poor, the penetration in a deep tank is poor, Brian at FinsReef who is the main importer of the fixtures has no clue what he is doing and lies through his teeth. Sorry for the money on a small tank AI on bigger tank pacific sun however they have some software issues so I am still looking. Reef tech should be coming out with some interesting news and the end of the year I hope. The only thing good that I can say about the MaxSpect is coverage to $ ratio they are the cheapest. But when we spend so much money on setup and then coral is cheap what we are looking for?

Please enlighten us about your comment on Brian. I do not really like a smear of someone and their business without a credible gripe/complaint. Please specify what the problem was.

 

[bmarkus]

The short version he held onto my money and did not ship merchandise for more then a month, kept on giving me reasons but no results. At the end when I told him I was going to resolve it with my credit card he turned around and said there is nothing he could do to please me and he would just credit my card back. The problem was, that all he need to please me with was just to send my what I paid for without giving me BS.

 

[Hefe-Weizen]

So you never actually owned a MaxSpect?

 

[NYreefNoob]

the color on the maxspects is really nice, maybe a little more on the blue side then some like but was around a 18k temp

 

[greenstreet.1]

bmarkus u still did not tell us why maxspect is no good you sound like you just repeating what you read somewhere or someone told you the info . my max 2x160g2 is 5in away from water tank is 19in deep have sps from high to low point in the tank spead for me is great but if you have one then thats just your opinion. But like i said have it love.

 

[InfernoST]

I have the AI Sol Super Blue and am loving it. The system has been in the tank for a week and am already seeing more growth than I had with my MH/T5VHO setup. Firmware updates are a snap (AI controller only) and they can be controlled by Apex, RKE & Profilux system controllers and naturally the AI controller. I have a version of the Beta firmware that allows you to set timers throughout the day.