Help with maxspect spectrum

[Wagonpitt]

Hi
Ive had a 90g tank running a maxspect razor 320w 15000k 120* for 5 years

I recently moved that to a 125g tank and added a 160w maxspect to it. This one was not upgraded to 15000k 120* lens so i just did that.

I programed both to run the same schedule

The 160w is looking alot more violet purple to me then the 320w

Anyone have any ideas what the reason for this could be and what i could do to fix it. Is it just because the leds pads on the 160w are new and over time will look the same as 320w fixture ?



you can see in the pics the light colour on the center/left is different from light colour on right side

 

[oreo54]

It is very possible the violet semi leds have faded over 5 years

The 400, 410, 420's..channel b1,2,3.
You will have to dim each of the above channels on the new one.
Lots of trial and error
Personally I'd start at 50% of the old setting on each of the 3.
Maybe you will get lucky .

Or buy new pucks for the old one

There are people who could probably reflow new semis but that's a whole story in itself.

.Only way to verify is w/ a spectrometer of course.

 

[Wagonpitt]

It is very possible the violet semi leds have faded over 5 years

The 400, 410, 420's..channel b1,2,3.
You will have to dim each of the above channels on the new one.
Lots of trial and error
Personally I'd start at 50% of the old setting on each of the 3.
Maybe you will get lucky .

Or buy new pucks for the old one

There are people who could probably reflow new semis but that's a whole story in itself.

.Only way to verify is w/ a spectrometer of course.

Thanks i tried messing with the setting but cant get anything to match. The new pads are visibly brighter and more violet/white/purple.

Im going to try switching the pads between fixtures to make sure its the new pads and not issue with one of the fixtures somehow putting out different light. I dont know drivers etc i dont know if thats even possible but worth a try

Any guess on the life span of the mentioned leds. 400 410 420nm

 

[Wagonpitt]

Spectrometer to confirm that new pads are putting the right spectrum and then to see how much old ones are off right ?

 

[oreo54]

Spectrometer to confirm that new pads are putting the right spectrum and then to see how much old ones are off right ?

Well sort of yes.
Just to compare the 2 spectrums.

Could be the diodes are slightly nm different.

As to the semi lifespans.. well diodes mostly just fade.
Steve's led lists semi hyper violets at 2500 hours. That would probably be at the 70-80% output level.

Did you shut all the violets off on the new fixture then globally dim the rest ?
Both old and new should probably started at full then adjust as above.

Your photo shows the old w/ very little violet.

 

[Wagonpitt]

Well sort of yes.
Just to compare the 2 spectrums.

Could be the diodes are slightly nm different.

As to the semi lifespans.. well diodes mostly just fade.
Steve's led lists semi hyper violets at 2500 hours. That would probably be at the 70-80% output level.

Did you shut all the violets off on the new fixture then globally dim the rest ?
Both old and new should probably started at full then adjust as above.

Your photo shows the old w/ very little violet.

This unit only has channel a and b so i dont have that much control with it. Turning down the violet turns down everything else on the chanel aswell.

I tried playing with the settings of a and b channel to get the lights to match but no matter what its a noticeae difference.

I was thinking 2500hr must have been a typo but i found steves led and you were right it is 2500hr so only about 6 months of 12 hrs/day. Since my lights dont run at full power for 12 hrs im guessing/hoping in about 1 year the violets should fade out and then the fixtures should match colour output. Tell me if im wrong please

My corals have been doing great under the old light so im not concerned about the spectrum too much, i just wanted it to look even to my eye.

Upgrading all the old pads (70us x 6 + shipping to canada, customs, and exhange rate) isnt possible for me right now

I will try computer repair shops and see if i can find someone to replace the diodes individually, but like you said thats a different story and probably wont find anyone to do it for what i want to pay.

I do like the look of the tank under new pads alot better.

Basically i was hoping it would be something i can mess around with and fix but when it comes to cleanly saudering(?) Led diodes i dont think thats for me.

So im SOL and have to wait it out and hope by the time the new ones fade they will match the old.

If i had known about and considered the spectrum difference on old pads instead of buying the new pads i would have just bought 4 of the nicrew hyper reefs 150w. The cost of upgrading all pads vs new hyperreefs is close enough.

Thanks @oreo5457 for walking me through this.

 

[oreo54]

Yea I wasn't sure about the channels.
Suspected 2... A and B but they had 1, 2, ect.

There isn't a lot of data regarding long term spectrum changes.
Nor par for that matter.

@_AV may be able to help. Those boards are probably one of the easier to to fix AFAICT.

I'm a bit confused on the replacement boards though..
Here is a pic of 2 boards supposedly 150000k
One shows quad core diodes the other doesn't
Also you may want to check your drivers. From what I recall they had issues on burning some of the chokes.
See pic.

Upgrading Maxspect to 15K ... Anyone DIY a fixture with the old LED pods ?

I'm looking into upgrading my 2x 120W Maxspect razors fixtures with the 130W 15K pods. I would like to know if anyone has retrofitted LED pods into another fixture with a off the shelf ballast ? Now first off , I am a big dumb dumb when it comes to electricity :jester: I can weld small wires ...

forums.reefcentral.com

Err new light is 4 channels.

Maxspect Razor 160W - Bulk Reef Supply

Shop Maxspect Razor 160w at Bulk Reef Supply and get rewarded on every purchase with our Preferred Reefer program.

www.bulkreefsupply.com

And diode layout is different including deep red.

This is more of a challenge than I orig. assumed it would be.

for fun, shut ch C off for the new light and dim D to 10%

Upgrading the "old" to new would require new pucks and new driver board. AFAICT.

 

[Wagonpitt]

Lol its a little confusing i dont blame you and its so old not many people talking about it in years.

the orginal maxspect came with 16000k led pads and 90* reflectors. Then maxspect put out an upgrade to 15000k pads and 120* reflectors.
That is the old/new/upgrade that im talking about

In your pictures the white led pad is the old 16000k, but in the picture next to it with the b1 b2 etc that is actually the upgraded 15000k pad.

All of that is for the original "maxspect razor 420r" fixture.


Then they came out with a completly different unit/fixture that goes by the name "maxspect razor" which has more channels and different led layout.

I have 2 of the original fixture that i upgraded to 15000k pad 120* reflector.
But 1 of those i upgraded 5 years ago and used on my 4 foot tank. And the other i just upgraded now and put it up since i have a 6 foot tank

 

[_AV]

The color difference in the second photo appears quite drastic. Can't you take some pictures of the clusters when on? Completely burned LEDs will be noticeable. So will be very dim components.

 

[oreo54]

Sooo all of your lights now have the "new" boards ( one with the 2 quad core LEDs) just one group is 5 yrs older than the other group.

In that case start with just channel A on 100% on both. A photo may be better at "seeing" than your eyes.

See how close those are.

Channel a is mostly white with some blue and most " gently" driven at 650mA.

You may need to slightly dim the new ones but " hopefully" the look is close.

Since it uses reflectors not lenses any browning is less likely esp. if CREE.
Easy to see with the lights off.

Yea there could be ind. dead diodes.
More likely in ch. B.
Many times It does only take one dead to throw off the color.

Not sure why they chose 850mA for the Semis.

https://www.topledlight.com/semileds-3w-3-watt-uv-ultra-violet-395400nm-405410nm-415420nm-420425nm-led-light_p2304.html