Maxspect Razor X 200W for SPS?

[SilverCityReef]

I am setting up a 40 Breeder and buying equipment suitable to grow SPS in the future but having trouble picking a light. Does anyone have any knowledge or experience with the Razor X 200w units? They are reasonably priced compared to the more popular options but I could buy 3 AI Primes for about the same price.

 

[Billldg]

I have that exact fixture, it's a good light but feel that their r better options for sps. I plan on upgrading to a t5/led hybrid in a few months as I feel this is the better option for high par.

 

[AdamNC]

Get the RS-150. The 200 will be too much. Here’s my 40br with the RS-150.

 

[CoralsAddiction]

I had a Razor several years ago and liked it. I am also currently running a Prime HD over a 15 gallon rimless tank. It's a tough call but if it were me, I'd probably go with 3 Primes just for a cleaner look and mobile app controller. They can support some of the basic SPS like Monti and Stylophora. The nice thing about Primes is that you could later incorporate them with Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid if you decided to get into hardcore SPS reefing (like Acroporas).
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[luckyazn6]

I dont see much on maxspecs I have a maxspec curve I won but havent set up the tank to go with it

 

[SilverCityReef]

I had a Razor several years ago and liked it. I am also currently running a Prime HD over a 15 gallon rimless tank. It's a tough call but if it were me, I'd probably go with 3 Primes just for a cleaner look and mobile app controller. They can support some of the basic SPS like Monti and Stylophora. The nice thing about Primes is that you could later incorporate them with Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid if you decided to get into hardcore SPS reefing (like Acroporas).
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I heard lighting brings out many different opinions and unfortunately theres no right or wrong answer. I do like the (3) AI Prime idea because I am planning on hardcore SPS in near future.

Get the RS-150. The 200 will be too much. Here’s my 40br with the RS-150.

What corals do you have? I feel like the extra power isnt a bad thing because I can always turn it down. Unless they cant be adjusted.

 

[AdamNC]

What corals do you have? I feel like the extra power isnt a bad thing because I can always turn it down. Unless they cant be adjusted.

ORA Cali Tort, ORA Purple Stylophora, ORA Frogskin, Red Plant, POTO Sunrise Milli, Vivid Life and Death Milli, Valada, Blue Tenuis, POTO Rainbow Shortcake, POTO Blue Ice Tort, Birdsnest, Scroll Coral, Red Monti Cap, Orange Digitata, Duncan Coral, Montipora spongode.

So yea this light can pretty much handle it all. It can be turned down/up either on the light itself or the ICV6 module that along with the app can be adjusted on a phone or tablet. There are 4 channels to play with with presets also. I run mine on the SPS Dominant setting on the ICV6.

 

[SilverCityReef]

I had a Razor several years ago and liked it. I am also currently running a Prime HD over a 15 gallon rimless tank. It's a tough call but if it were me, I'd probably go with 3 Primes just for a cleaner look and mobile app controller. They can support some of the basic SPS like Monti and Stylophora. The nice thing about Primes is that you could later incorporate them with Aquatic Life T5 Hybrid if you decided to get into hardcore SPS reefing (like Acroporas).
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="" frameborder="0" allow="autoplay; encrypted-media" allowfullscreen></iframe>

After doing more research, I dont feel the AI Prime HDs would put me in a high enough par range for higher demand coral. AI Hydra Fifty-Two looks like the better option but I dont know if that will cover the entire tank enough.

ORA Cali Tort, ORA Purple Stylophora, ORA Frogskin, Red Plant, POTO Sunrise Milli, Vivid Life and Death Milli, Valada, Blue Tenuis, POTO Rainbow Shortcake, POTO Blue Ice Tort, Birdsnest, Scroll Coral, Red Monti Cap, Orange Digitata, Duncan Coral, Montipora spongode.

So yea this light can pretty much handle it all. It can be turned down/up either on the light itself or the ICV6 module that along with the app can be adjusted on a phone or tablet. There are 4 channels to play with with presets also. I run mine on the SPS Dominant setting on the ICV6.

Looks like I will probably be going with the Razor X or Hydra Fifty-Two. Thank you for giving me your input. Sounds like the Razor is exactly what I'm looking for. I was just worried about not having enough PAR for the higher demand corals. I do plan on adding a T5 or 2 in future to help with coloring (read it helps) but LED would be main source.

 

[declanisadog]

I would go two primes (or three if you want to go crazy) with T5s. Two would be plenty I think with T5 supplementation.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

It’s good to see one actually do research befoe they buy. With that said remember, par is not everything, in fact really anything over 200 par is actually risky, and you can bleach your corals.

Both of these lights are good lights and you have done research on them. I would definitely research and study how others have grown their sps. A good example is per say people are going to hybrid t5 and led for more par. That’s probably an argument set for failure. If anything it’s lack of par because puck style leds have more shading. When you add the t5 in, one would have less because it’s a long tube.
So In short the two things in a hybrid is less shading and different spectrums.

Because your running a puck style led, your going to have hot spots and and low spots regardless if you run one or two. If you run one, the corners will be missed or edges regardless how you hang it. If you run two, then the center
Points or where the crictcal angel meet will be much hotter and basically the same effect as using one.

Now with that said yes there are tanks running puck style leds that are gorgeous. All I’m saying is based on what your asking this is going to be a problem regardless. You don’t need to blast sps with par, they need everything to be successful not just light. Another option is to find two good strip leds possibly. Not sure if you can find any now but two
Of the current marine pros (60’degree lens) would actually be better. (These are not the ic loop version by the way), but they would give you better coverage, and equal par to the hydra 5200 and or Radion. They would also give you less shading and more consistent lighting.

Again, not sure if you can find any but may give you ideas on how to light your tank. The ones you have choosen are good lights but will still lack coverage or, exceed coverage in the cross over points etc. I do know there are other strip leds out there that are really good. Yes they are not as well known as hydra, Radion etc but, probably in the same ball park, (you just don’t have the fancy name, or price).

Hope all works out and we get too see your tank with whatever light you go with. Do you have everything else planned out for the tank as well?

Sincerely
Sarah

 

[SilverCityReef]

Hello,

It’s good to see one actually do research befoe they buy. With that said remember, par is not everything, in fact really anything over 200 par is actually risky, and you can bleach your corals.

Both of these lights are good lights and you have done research on them. I would definitely research and study how others have grown their sps. A good example is per say people are going to hybrid t5 and led for more par. That’s probably an argument set for failure. If anything it’s lack of par because puck style leds have more shading. When you add the t5 in, one would have less because it’s a long tube.
So In short the two things in a hybrid is less shading and different spectrums.

Because your running a puck style led, your going to have hot spots and and low spots regardless if you run one or two. If you run one, the corners will be missed or edges regardless how you hang it. If you run two, then the center
Points or where the crictcal angel meet will be much hotter and basically the same effect as using one.

Now with that said yes there are tanks running puck style leds that are gorgeous. All I’m saying is based on what your asking this is going to be a problem regardless. You don’t need to blast sps with par, they need everything to be successful not just light. Another option is to find two good strip leds possibly. Not sure if you can find any now but two
Of the current marine pros (60’degree lens) would actually be better. (These are not the ic loop version by the way), but they would give you better coverage, and equal par to the hydra 5200 and or Radion. They would also give you less shading and more consistent lighting.

Again, not sure if you can find any but may give you ideas on how to light your tank. The ones you have choosen are good lights but will still lack coverage or, exceed coverage in the cross over points etc. I do know there are other strip leds out there that are really good. Yes they are not as well known as hydra, Radion etc but, probably in the same ball park, (you just don’t have the fancy name, or price).

Hope all works out and we get too see your tank with whatever light you go with. Do you have everything else planned out for the tank as well?

Sincerely
Sarah

I know PAR isn't everything and that too much can actually be problematic but based on BRS recommendations and tests, I should be somewhere between 200-350. I plan to have most of my coral in the bottom 6inches of my tank so to keep at least 150-200 PAR at 12-18 inches I need a pretty high output at the light itself.

I know hotspots and shaded areas is an issue with LEDs but it evens out the higher the light is mounted and the deeper in tank you go. I do plan on adding a couple T5s in future to help with even lighting across entire tank and I've read they have good effects on coral coloring. There are so many factors and opinions and a ton of information to take in and try to utilize that it gets hard to make decisions.

As for tank plans, main tank is 40B and sump will be my 20 Tall (until I find a good deal on 20 Long or 30. I have an Eheim 1260 on it's way, I was going to go with Sicce Syncra 3.5 but got good deal on Eheim pump here. I will be ordering a Hydor 400w heater this week along with new plumbing and bulkheads to avoid any issues. I haven't made a decision on skimmer yet because I'm limited on footprint in 20 tall. I am also considering 2 of the Tunze Nanostream 6040 controllable pumps unless i find a good deal here for something else.

I should be building my stand this weekend so hopefully I can start getting things going. I also need to figure out the water, sand, and rock. Probably going to have to get RO/DI system to filter water and was thinking live sand with dry rock.

Any and all input, knowledge, opinions, etc welcomed. I am new to the hobby so I am trying to learn the "right way" to do everything. I was supposed to get into this 4 years ago when I had someone local to help me but unfortunately it didn't work out then and now he moved away. He was/is a member here and said this is the site for anything and everything I need.

 

[Sarah24!]

I know PAR isn't everything and that too much can actually be problematic but based on BRS recommendations and tests, I should be somewhere between 200-350. I plan to have most of my coral in the bottom 6inches of my tank so to keep at least 150-200 PAR at 12-18 inches I need a pretty high output at the light itself.

I know hotspots and shaded areas is an issue with LEDs but it evens out the higher the light is mounted and the deeper in tank you go. I do plan on adding a couple T5s in future to help with even lighting across entire tank and I've read they have good effects on coral coloring. There are so many factors and opinions and a ton of information to take in and try to utilize that it gets hard to make decisions.

As for tank plans, main tank is 40B and sump will be my 20 Tall (until I find a good deal on 20 Long or 30. I have an Eheim 1260 on it's way, I was going to go with Sicce Syncra 3.5 but got good deal on Eheim pump here. I will be ordering a Hydor 400w heater this week along with new plumbing and bulkheads to avoid any issues. I haven't made a decision on skimmer yet because I'm limited on footprint in 20 tall. I am also considering 2 of the Tunze Nanostream 6040 controllable pumps unless i find a good deal here for something else.

I should be building my stand this weekend so hopefully I can start getting things going. I also need to figure out the water, sand, and rock. Probably going to have to get RO/DI system to filter water and was thinking live sand with dry rock.

Any and all input, knowledge, opinions, etc welcomed. I am new to the hobby so I am trying to learn the "right way" to do everything. I was supposed to get into this 4 years ago when I had someone local to help me but unfortunately it didn't work out then and now he moved away. He was/is a member here and said this is the site for anything and everything I need.

Hello,

Sounds like you have a good plan ahead of you which is good. I would definitely study more on the idea of raising a light and that it evens out. The critical angel math, and even the sin cosin math will show other wise. These are the equations I used when I studied and conducted experiments on this idea. I also used this to place my leds over my 240 and to find the proper placement. Hope this helps, and it will be neat to see this come together. Oh also when figuring this out, make sure you know for certain what angle the lens is, failure to know will give you a headache and your math will be wrong more than likely .

 

[SilverCityReef]

Has anyone tried either the Finnex Marine + 24/7 or the Current Orbit Marine? I found some discounted prices for these units and dont know if it's worth grabbing a few and a T5 fixture to make a hybrid setup.

 

[fredk]

...

I know hotspots and shaded areas is an issue with LEDs but it evens out the higher the light is mounted and the deeper in tank you go. I do plan on adding a couple T5s in future to help with even lighting across entire tank and I've read they have good effects on coral coloring. There are so many factors and opinions and a ton of information to take in and try to utilize that it gets hard to make decisions.
...

You've pretty much got things figured out. The only thing I'll add is that the most recent gen LED lights seem to have light spread figured out, be it GHL Mitras, Radions, Kessil AP700, or the new kessil light.

I haven't seen the new Razor x over a tank yet, but they use the same style reflectors that GHL Mitras do. The Mitras, if they are high enough have spread that is almost identical to T5. There is a somewhat local shop that runs Mitras over their coral tanks at about 2.5 feet above the water and there is almost no shimmer and no shadowing.

 

[SilverCityReef]

You've pretty much got things figured out. The only thing I'll add is that the most recent gen LED lights seem to have light spread figured out, be it GHL Mitras, Radions, Kessil AP700, or the new kessil light.

I haven't seen the new Razor x over a tank yet, but they use the same style reflectors that GHL Mitras do. The Mitras, if they are high enough have spread that is almost identical to T5. There is a somewhat local shop that runs Mitras over their coral tanks at about 2.5 feet above the water and there is almost no shimmer and no shadowing.

I have been watching the BRS videos on lighting on repeat for the past week but it seems they are all older videos and there is no updated information on what has been corrected regarding light spread, shadowing, and shimmering. It has become quite a process trying to pick lighting but I want to make a one-time purchase not buy something that will work for now and have to upgrade later so I'm trying to get as much input as possible. I have not seen the Mitras but I will look them up. I have heard good and bad about every light so I'm just trying to base it off needing around 150par at 18" depth with 36" of coverage.

 

[fredk]

I don't think there is a perfect light out there. There are always trade offs.

Maxspect trades off some features and maybe a bit on the quality of the LEDs to hit a lower price point. The EpiLed leds they use are quite a bit less efficient than the SemiLeds top tier manufacturers use.

The previous gen had issues with the blue channel burning out on some clusters. The Razor x is a little new to have much of a track record.

On the other hand, they have a very complete blue spectrum and probably (I write probably because I haven't seen them in person) very good spread.

Decisions decisions...

 

[SilverCityReef]

I don't think there is a perfect light out there. There are always trade offs.

Maxspect trades off some features and maybe a bit on the quality of the LEDs to hit a lower price point. The EpiLed leds they use are quite a bit less efficient than the SemiLeds top tier manufacturers use.

The previous gen had issues with the blue channel burning out on some clusters. The Razor x is a little new to have much of a track record.

On the other hand, they have a very complete blue spectrum and probably (I write probably because I haven't seen them in person) very good spread.

Decisions decisions...

It's getting ridiculous. The only thing left to pick is a light and I cant find one that's "the one" that I just know is what I need.

The input on cheaper LEDs makes complete sense and is enough for me to not want the fixture. I want something that's gunna last even if I have to spend a little extra up front, but not about to buy a $1600 aquarium light.

Do you grow SPS? If so, what's your setup? Most cheaper options require multiple units that will cost same if not more than larger units in order to maintain high enough par throughout 36x18 tank.

 

[fredk]

I'm in the process of setting up a tank after a few years out of the hobby. The tank is 48 x 30 x 20.

Though I've not had a tank for a while, I have kept up with what is going on with lighting. It seems to be the most difficult to pin down.

FWIW, cheaper LEDs does not mean the light won't last. How long the fixture lasts depends on the engineering.

I've Narrowed it down to the Razor X or Reefbreeders. If I go the latter, it will be with some T5 supplementation.

The Razor X 200 is actually a really nice size for a 40 breeder. Its long enough for end to end coverage and because of the reflectors should be able to cover the tank front to back as well.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

@SilverCityReef have you seen my post on your thread or pics of my 240 tank using the marine orbit pros? If not my tank is 11 months old, and has grown this much with these lights.

Also there is very little about how to obtain proper lighting for corals etc. the reason I provided the math equations is because that should show you where to place the lights based on math. I have tremendous success with the math so far. But to further that I also used it to set up public aquarium lights. It’s a very handy equation to have .

 

[SilverCityReef]

Hello,

@SilverCityReef have you seen my post on your thread or pics of my 240 tank using the marine orbit pros? If not my tank is 11 months old, and has grown this much with these lights.

Also there is very little about how to obtain proper lighting for corals etc. the reason I provided the math equations is because that should show you where to place the lights based on math. I have tremendous success with the math so far. But to further that I also used it to set up public aquarium lights. It’s a very handy equation to have .

Hi Sarah,

I did see your post, but not the pics of your tank. I'm not sure which version of the Orbit Marines you have, but this set says its discounted. https://www.saltwateraquarium.com/orbit-marine-dual-pro-led-fixture-24-36-discontinued-current-usa/

As for the math, it does appear to be helpful, I just haven't had time to sit down and go over it or figure out the numbers. I am trying to get all components here but lights and skimmer are holding up my order.