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View Full Version : Should I stick with the maxspect Mazarra-s?


illjoshlli
01/27/2016, 11:13 PM
Currently I own 3 Maxspect Mazarra-s (http://www.poseidonwarehouse.com/LIGHTING/LED_Lighting/Maxspect/Mazarra2channelSseries.html) lights over my 58 gallon mixed reef. My plan is to start transitioning to an SPS dominated tank and I don't know enough about proper color spectrums, etc. to know if these lights are really going to be right for this.

Do you think these will work or not? if not why and what would you recommend? With my limited research the biggest gap I see is in the 420-450 Spectrum. is this reason enough to replace them or supplement with some strips?
Light Info:
Channel LED Make / Model Quantity Luminous Flux &Driven Current Color Temperature / Wavelength
A Cree XLamp® XP-E R3 8 280 lm @ 1000mA Cool White 7000-8000K
B Cree XLamp® XP-E M2 4 69 lm @ 1000mA Blue 465-485nm
Cree XLamp® XP-E 16 4 1000mW @ 1000mA Royal Blue 450-465nm
https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1603/24660757995_01c063a1e9_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/DzbQbF)

Some background:
I purchased these 2 years back when my tank was mixed but mostly (easy) sps dominated. I was running 250W 20k MH up to that point. Quickly after purchasing them my tank hit a few bad spots, had some minor crashes over a year and I lost a lot of the SPS. Most of it was due to equipment issues or my own laziness/mistakes. I'm not sure how much, if anything, was due to the lighting change.

for 1.5 years now my tank has been sitting in a steady state 'as is'. These lights have served me well for my existing LPS and Anemones(which grow like weeds).

By a steady state I mean I've literally done nothing to the tank but a few water changes in 18 months. The sump was removed 18 months back due to equipment failures so I've been running with no sump, no skimmer, no filtration, etc. Just an ATO to keep the water level.

I've decided to get back into it full force and start transitioning my mostly 'frozen' state LPS/Anemone tank into an SPS dominated tank. I've made a lot of changes a little to quickly so it has been a bit hard on the few SPS I have in there. Specifically, I've added back a sump, filter sock, skimmer, Dosing pumps and all automation(Archon)

https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1710/24032241184_bbb2a39560_z.jpg (https://flic.kr/p/CBDw2W)

illjoshlli
01/28/2016, 11:40 AM
Basicly, would another lighting system be so much better it'd be worth the spend to keep high level sps?

boostedvq
01/29/2016, 06:48 AM
Im not well versed enough in all the nuances of lighting to give an educated opinion. However, I will give you MY own personal experience.

I did have these lights on my tank, and while I was able to keep softies and nems without issue, I did not have good luck with a majority of LPS and the few SPS I tried. Utilizing the same husbandry (basically, biweekly 30% water changes, monthly GFO/Carbon changes) and feeding practices, I had more luck once I bought a friend's DIY LED/T5 in regards to LPS and beginner SPS.

Again, I'm not saying my experience is the normal, but just speaking from what I saw in my own tank.

illjoshlli
02/03/2016, 09:25 PM
Im not well versed enough in all the nuances of lighting to give an educated opinion. However, I will give you MY own personal experience.

I did have these lights on my tank, and while I was able to keep softies and nems without issue, I did not have good luck with a majority of LPS and the few SPS I tried. Utilizing the same husbandry (basically, biweekly 30% water changes, monthly GFO/Carbon changes) and feeding practices, I had more luck once I bought a friend's DIY LED/T5 in regards to LPS and beginner SPS.

Again, I'm not saying my experience is the normal, but just speaking from what I saw in my own tank.

Thank for the input!