by AquaNerd | Aug 7, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion
embedded content After several weeks of hands on time, here is our video review of the Maxspect R420R “Razor” LED fixture in the 120w model. We liked this particular light fixture for several reasons, and we tried to do our best to show the step-by-step setup through the on-board controller. Of course, having the very easy to read instruction manual always helps, and there are a few details that we couldn’t capture in the video without bogging it down with tons of text. Still, the controls are so intuitive and easy to use that you probably wouldn’t need more than a glance at the instructions to be fully up and running. Upon plugging in the fixture and turning on the power supply switch, the Razor goes to the default Manual Mode, designated with the letter “M”. In this mode, you can independently adjust both the white and blue channels from 0-100% intensity. After the desired intensities are selected, both channels can be turned off and on simultaneously. All you have to do to navigate through the settings in Manual Mode is push the lone adjusting knob until you’ve cycled through the channels and made your adjustments. From the Manual Mode, users can access the other two modes by holding down the settings knob for approximately two seconds. Users are taken to the Preset Mode and the Automatic Mode. To set the time for the Razor’s on-board clock, you have to go to the Automatic Mode. Simply highlight the clock, click once, change the time with the dial, then click to get back out. From there, you can either stay in Automatic Mode or continue on to Present Mode. While in Automatic Mode, users can create a 6-point lighting schedule based on whatever times they want. The first point starts the day, so a low intensity should be used. Assuming you go a traditional sunrise/sunset route, the first time point will slowly ramp up in intensity until the fixture peaks, then it will ramp back down for the evening schedule. The sixth time point should start the lights out schedule, and should be set to 0% across the board. A dim moonlight can be implemented with this leg of the cycle if it is desired, in which case either the blue or white channels could be set to a low percentage. Needless to say, the Razor’s Automatic Mode provides one heck of a sunrise and sunset cycle for your aquarium that goes way above and beyond what a comparable two channel LED or T5HO fixture could accomplish. The last mode to discuss is the Preset Mode, which is exactly as it sounds. After moving through the menu, the fixture will go into one of two preset lighting modes, which differ only in the specific time points. These two modes are factory set lighting programs that force the fixture to automatically run throughout the day and shut off at night. The times for the various points cannot be changed, hence the term “preset”. For those who go to work early in the day and don’t get home until late, this may not be the most ideal mode to run your Razor in. The Preset Mode has an early lighting schedule that will likely be turned off by the time you get to enjoy it. For that reason, we really prefer the Automatic Mode. As for our overall impression, we really enjoyed working with the Maxspect R420R. It responds well to our adjusting of the controller, it’s color output looks great, and the fixture puts out virtually no heat. After hours of being on, the entire body is still around room temperature, as are the plastic covers over the diodes. Every person who has seen this light during our review has expressed that they were also really impressed. That all said, we did find the built-in mounting arms to be a bit troublesome from time to time. They do their job well, but can be a little difficult to adjust. This might be specific to individual fixtures and may not be the case for everyone, but definitely worth mentioning. Fortunately, the Razor comes with a healthy assortment of moutning options. Our favorite was the adjustable hanging kit, which we used for a majority of our review. By hanging the fixture above the aquarium, we eliminated any spotlighting that occurred when using the mounting brackets, giving us an even distribution of the light. All in all, the Razor gets a big thumbs up from the AquaNerd Blog. A big thanks goes out to Chris and the rest of the gang at CoralVue for giving us this opportunity. We also wanted to thank Daniel Leija for letting us use his tank, as well as Keith Hatch who brought every piece of aquarium gear in the greater Houston area to help us get this video review done. by AquaNerd | Jun 27, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion
Thanks to the fine folks at CoralVue, we recently got our hands on a Maxspect R420R 120w-16000k LED fixture for a product review. Despite not having a ton of time to run this fixture over our various reef setups, we have had plenty of time thumbing through the manual, tinkering with the on-board controller, and playing around with the rest of the features that make this light a true competitor in a crowded LED lighting market. The R420R, which also goes by the name Razor because of its ultra thin appearance, sports six differently colored LEDs spread across two large clusters. These emitters are also separated into two channels. Channel A is broken down into six each of Cree XT-E 8000K, Cree XT-E Royal Blue, and Cree XT-E Warm White LEDs. The bluer of the two channels, called Channel B, consists of nine Cree XP-E Blue, six Cree XT-E Royal Blue, and six Cree XT-E Super Actinic emitters. Each of the channels is independently adjustable via the onboard controller, which uses one push-button dial to navigate through the very simple and intuitive menu. As far as the controller goes, as soon as you turn the fixture on, you’re taken to the light’s “Manual” mode. In this mode, you can adjust the intensity of each channel from 0-100% simply by turning the dial. While in the manual mode, if you hold down the dial for a few seconds, you’re taken to another mode that allows for a six-point lighting schedule. In this schedule, users can set the intensity of each channel at six different points of time within the day, basically giving you an elaborate sunrise and sunset. Of course, an on-board clock keeps the lights turning on and off at the desired times. Moving on to the other features, the Razor comes standard with a good variety of mounting options. Adjustable legs allow for easy installation over aquariums up to 36″ long for this model, and an adjustable hanging kit allows the light to be suspended over just about any setup. As for the build quality, the fixture is really lightweight, but accomplishes this without sacrificing rigidity or quality. The large, flat body is made from coated aluminum, with plastic accent pieces surrounding the fan and LED banks, as well as capping off the ends. The metal body serves as a big heatsink, allowing heat to be passively removed from the fixture. Also aiding in the cooling process is an under-mount fan, which rests between the LED clusters. This fan is extremely silent in its operation, being almost inaudible even when you’re sitting in a quiet room with no gurgling tank noises in the background. All in all, we’re very happy with the Razor, and have actually been a big fan of the fixture since seeing it over various aquariums, whether they be at trade shows or the tank of a local hobbyist. We plan to put it through our usual rounds of testing, and be sure to check back for a detailed step-by-step video for using the Razor’s on-board controller. by AquaNerd | Jun 13, 2013 | Equipment, Industry, Opinion
When it comes to aquarium illumination, the guys at Kessil seem to have the Midas touch. Since starting their foray into the aquarium realm back in 1Q 2011, at least in the eye of the public, each of their entries onto the market have been extremely well received. Their first product, the A150 and its variations, debuted with a huge splash, and that’s probably an understatement. Since then, the A350 and A360 have racking up even more fans to the brand, impressing us greatly along the way. To date, each of the Kessil products designed for aquarium use have come in the form of LED pendants, and it would appear that the lighting specialists are toying with the idea of branching out, at least where form factors are concerned. They recently teased all of us aquarium nerds with a couple of digital renderings of a potential Kessil LED panel light fixture over on their Facebook page. And from the looks of it, they’re on the right track. Pendant style lighting is sleek and stylish, but not everyone is a fan, choosing to stick with long fixtures instead. Each style has its pros and cons, and if you polled forum users, we know you would get a thousand different opinions. Regardless, there is a real market out there for light fixtures, so it’s no surprise that companies like Kessil are thinking about adding them to their offering. So, what sort of gear is Kessil looking at? Well, their latest digitally conceptualized fixture, which is just being called a “secret” Kessil panel light, is around two feet long and draws approximately 100w. The renderings show off a sleek, low profile light that can obviously be suspended over an aquarium. The hanging brackets that are attached to the fixture look remarkably like on-tank mounting legs, but again this is all a digital drawing board at this point. A handful of buttons grace the front of the fixture, a large top mounted fan provides activine cooling, and there might be some sort of antenna located on the right hand side of the light, though it’s hard to tell. We’re sure that the fixture, if it ever comes to fruition, will play nice with the Neptune Systems Aquacontroller, and going off Kessil’s track record, we know we won’t be disappointed. We honestly like the look of this fixture, and it’s a huge step up from the first concepts that were being rolled out (see below). While virtually all of the details of this secret panel light are still way up in the air, we’re glad to see that Kessil isn’t limiting themselves to just one style of light. Now that we have an idea of what Kessil is trying to accomplish, our big questions will center around the type and quantity of LEDs used. Will Kessil stick to the multi-chip LED that made all of their other products smash hits? All of that remains to be seen, but we will definitely be keeping our eyes peeled. The first LED fixture concept that Kessil teased. Note that this is a really early rough draft, and not an actual fixture. by AquaNerd | May 31, 2013 | Equipment, Industry
A little more than a week ago, we found ourselves gawking at the new Hydra LED fixture that AquaIllumination snuck onto the market. At the time, we found what little info we could from the product pages of an online vendor who just so happened to put the light up for pre-order. Whether that listing was by accident or by design is still a little bit of a mystery to us, as AI hadn’t even officially released that info on their site or through mailing lists, and no other authorized AI dealers had them listed. Fortunately, that’s all a moot point as the new Hydra went live on AI’s website very recently, and it gives us more info that shines a little more light on what we can expect in terms of performance. As we mentioned in the previous article on the Hydra, the new fixture isn’t much different than its Vega brethren, but AI makes those few differences really count. For starters, the LED color offering has been revamped. Where the AI Vega Color offers six different colors, the Hydra offers seven. In addition to one more color, there are a couple of different emitter brands that have been brought on board. These include the SemiLED 415nm Violet and Edison Opto 400nm UV LEDs, which expand the color spectrum of the Hydra beyond what any of the other AI products use. Glancing at the image of the Hydra above, another difference that jumps out at us is the orientation of the LEDs. The clusters have been rotated slightly, which coupled with the modified lenses, provides for a better color mixing for a more uniform light output. The lenses are 80 degrees and use a TIR (Total Internal Reflection) optical design with a diffuse exit surface. Given the fact that the LEDs are the same wattage as those found in the Vega, we assume that the diffuse surface of the optics will spread the light out at the cost of depth penetration, though its probably only slight. Taking a slight detour back to the similarities, the AI Hydra will sport the same built-in wireless control technology found in the Vega. It is compatible with both the New Controller and the more advanced, web-based Director software. The new AI Hydra is not a replacement for the Sol fixture, but instead another key product to the AI product line. It might cause a slight price drop in the Sol and Nano fixtures, but that’s a guess on our part. by AquaNerd | May 21, 2013 | Equipment
When it comes to aquarium illumination, hobbyists are often left with a tough choice for mounting their lights. On one hand, you can go the route of style and aesthetics, beig left with a difficult install from the ceiling or some sort of hanging hardware. On the other, you can use unsightly tank brackets that are simple to incorporate, but really detract from the overall look of the setup. Fortunately, lighting hardware producers have started to get smart and make gooseneck brackets, which are both simple and stylish, and the latest Lamp Clamp from Coral Compulsion is no different. The suitably called Lamp Clamp is a very simple, elegant way to illuminate your marine aquarium. It has a power cord, power switch, and socket built right in, giving new life to the Par30 and Par38 form factor LED lamps that have sort of waned in popularity over recent years. The Lamp Clamp has a flexible arm that is coated in vinyl to give added protection against corrosion. It holds up to 2lbs worth of LED goodness and an acrylic mounting clamp with nylon screws holds it securely to aquariums up to 1″ thick. Besides being an incredibly simple light source, the Coral Compulsion Lamp Clamp is also very affordale at only $39.99. It is available in both black and white versions, and comes with a 90-day warranty.
