An honest review of the Illumagic Blaze X

ReefNerd

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Hey everyone!

New video, this one is my thoughts and review of the Illumagic Blaze X which I have been running on my tank for 1 year. As always, subscribe for more content!



Pros
  • best price to performance ratio I am aware of
  • great spread
  • multi led puck design
  • good shimmer
  • solid aluminium frame and construction
  • modular design with easily user swappable parts
  • controllable spectrum across whites, blues and UV
  • absolutely capable of delivering amazing growth and color for SPS (and LPS and softies). My tank and many other tanks are proof of this.
  • great visual pop and appeal which can be tuned to your tastes
Cons
  • the light is very heavy, consider your mounting solution with care
  • the fans are kind of loud under certain conditions (but could be easily user replaced with something quieter)
  • the app is garbage for 2019 and severely needs updating
  • the instructions are poor, weren't included for me, and are difficult to track down online
Major Con
  • there are no manufacturer supported programs, settings and guidance for how to use this light for success under common reefing scenarios (SPS, LPS and Mixed etc...) your totally on your own to do research, testing, and the 'mad scientist' approach to have success with this light

For those wondering, my personal lighting and program schedule for the Blaze is below. Note I consider this to be pushing the limits of what many of my LPS will handle light wise, and is possibly too strong for some of them (I have noticed some of my Acans deteriorating lately and too much light could be the cause but I am unsure at this time). I did a long ramp up over multiple months to get to this point and my T5 bank is only on the back of the tank and mostly only covers the SPS in my tank. Your results may vary and I am not endorsing my program as the best for anyone's tank (even my own) ... use at your own risk, I am not a lighting expert and this is the exact reason we need guidance in the hobby from the manufacturers on how to use their products for success rather than just throwing us the keys and hoping for the best!

11:00AM A- 5 B- 25 C- 25
11:30AM A- 20 B- 50 C- 40
1:00PM A- 40 B- 80 C- 50 T5- 100
4:00PM A- 60 B- 100 C- 65 T5- 100
6:30PM A- 10 B- 120 C- 60 T5- 100
8:30PM A- 5 B- 60 C- 30 T5- 100
10:30PM A- 0 B- 0 C- 0


For reference here are some pictures of my tank

dB8NouU.jpg


RDS1nHM.jpg
 

P-Dub

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Marcus, pretty much hit the nail on the head. I have the BlazeX mini and I concur with pretty much all you have to say. Thanks for the writeup and video.
 

bckey

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Best review out there for the illumagic blaze x! You nailed it. Pretty much agree with you on all points. I appreciate you posting your settings. I will be running 2 of the 3 footers on my 112 lagoon which is currently cycling. Right now, I only have one of them setup until the cycle finishes. I only have turned it on to take pictures and to play with the software. Thanks again for the review.
 
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ReefNerd

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Best review out there for the illumagic blaze x! You nailed it. Pretty much agree with you on all points. I appreciate you posting your settings. I will be running 2 of the 3 footers on my 112 lagoon which is currently cycling. Right now, I only have one of them setup until the cycle finishes. I only have turned it on to take pictures and to play with the software. Thanks again for the review.

Thanks for the feedback, really appreciate it! All the best with the new tank! Take your time with the cycle, now is the time to play with gear, get things setup and plan out your livestock choices!
 

Choppy813

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I just bought the 50w mini to light my 32g cube. It will be replacing stock biocube LEDs. What do you recommend I have the highest settings of the day set to?
 
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ReefNerd

ReefNerd

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I just bought the 50w mini to light my 32g cube. It will be replacing stock biocube LEDs. What do you recommend I have the highest settings of the day set to?

hard to say, depends on what type of coral you have. I would go on the side of caution. And at the peak of the day probably not go over 50 in white, 70 in blue and 30 in UV. For now anyway at least until you can slowly acclimate the corals to stronger light. But again it depends on your coral...

If you have an android their new app is avaliable that has presets for various tank types. I hear the iOS version is coming soon
 

Choppy813

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hard to say, depends on what type of coral you have. I would go on the side of caution. And at the peak of the day probably not go over 50 in white, 70 in blue and 30 in UV. For now anyway at least until you can slowly acclimate the corals to stronger light. But again it depends on your coral...

If you have an android their new app is avaliable that has presets for various tank types. I hear the iOS version is coming soon
Cool.. thanks for the reply! Mainly a mixed reef with hammers, torches, Favia, zoa, and some easy sps rn. I plan on adding acros tho. I get the light tomorrow. I’ll let you know how I set it up!!

I’m an iOS user as well, so I’ll have to wait. I don’t think programming it should be too hard tho
 
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ReefNerd

ReefNerd

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Hey All,

I have finally been able to revisit the Illumagic Blaze X which has finally seen some updates with the recent release of its new app. Check it out below and don't forget to subscribe!

 

Fishtankphil78

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Hey All,

I have finally been able to revisit the Illumagic Blaze X which has finally seen some updates with the recent release of its new app. Check it out below and don't forget to subscribe!


I got a pr of the blaze mini x. I plugged them in and after an hr of trying i could not get them to connect to my phone app with Bluetooth. Unfortunately the seller has no clue of what to do so i am hoping someone on here can help me out. I pushed the power button 5 sec 10 sec 30 sec and on and on..unplugged and plugged back in, nothing...the app searched and searched with no connection. I gave up since no one has a clue about this. Has anyone else had this issue? Please advise!!!!
 

Dule T&T

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Could anyone please give me a small guidance where can these lights be ordered? They don't seems to be available on sites that I usually use to order stuff.
And also would you get 2 x X-120 (4ft) fixtures or 2 x X-150 (5ft) fixtures for 10 feet long tank.
Thanks
 

oreo54

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Could anyone please give me a small guidance where can these lights be ordered? They don't seems to be available on sites that I usually use to order stuff.
And also would you get 2 x X-120 (4ft) fixtures or 2 x X-150 (5ft) fixtures for 10 feet long tank.
Thanks
 

Tropical83

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Great review! And fabulous tank!! I recently purchased a x mini series light but am having huge issues getting it to connect through the app. Other than that a very bright light suitable for Marine or Tropical FW setup.
 

Hurricane Aquatics

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Great review! And fabulous tank!! I recently purchased a x mini series light but am having huge issues getting it to connect through the app. Other than that a very bright light suitable for Marine or Tropical FW setup.

The Bluetooth goes to sleep after a while. It's a pain, but simple to unplug and replug and the app should find it right away.
 

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