- Today on BRStv investigates, do you wanna master
your tank lighting using the Maxspect Razor X?
We show you how to master the spread, spectrum
and PAR of the Maxspect Razor X
100, 200 and 300 watt LED fixtures
and share exactly
how we would use these reef lighting tools
for the right job.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Randy with this Fridays BRSTV investigates
where we experiment on our own tanks
so you don't have to experiment on yours.
And today we show you how to master
these Maxspect Razor X LED fixtures
with a series of tests that provides you with direct
BRS recommendations aimed at optimizing
their spread, spectrum and PAR
so that how to exactly use them for the best performance.
In today's video, you'll learn how
to master the Maxspect Razor X's spread spectrum and PAR
using the 100 watt for a two foot by two foot tank filled
with LPS and softies.
The 200 watt for LPS softies Impala four foot tanks,
and we'll also find out
if the 47 inch Razor X 300 watt fixture
is the right tool for creating a wall to wall
dominated SPS system on a four foot tank,
or if it serves a better purpose.
Not only that, but there's some very surprising results
that we tested in terms of the Maxspect Razor X's spectrum
that we haven't seen across the dozen
or more LED lights we've tested so far.
So let's get started.
That first lighting component we're mastering today
is the spread because upfront,
it's important to identify how many of these you'll need
for specific tangles and also what we can expect
from the Razors lens design and spread capabilities
to figure out how best to use a tool like this
over your own tank,
meaning how high Will you mount the lights
to achieve the optimal spread inside your tank
to light it from edge to edge as evenly as possible.
Getting to that first aspect and deciding
how many Maxspect Razors it will take to get the job done.
This one is easy
since there are four Razor X options to choose from,
and based on the mounting height and PAR data
that you'll see in just a moment.
Our recommendation
for a 24 inch by 24 inch 60 gallon tank like this
is to use a single 100 watt Razor X for those tanks
filled with medium to lower light demand corals
like LPS, softies and polyps.
If you're looking to use a Maxspect Razor X
in this same tank to achieve those wall to wall
dominated SPS tanks,
we found that LEDs in this 90 to 150 watt range
just don't pack the power to reach our PAR goals.
So if SPS dominated your goal in a similar 60 gallon tank,
we'd recommend choosing a better tool
better fitted for achieving that.
However, for LPS softies in our 120 gallon
four foot tank example, we recommend using
a single 200 watt Razor X.
And the data we shared next will show you exactly
why we consider a single 300 watt Razor X
to be the right tool for a mixed tank
with some well placed SPS at the top
and other lower light demand corals near the middle
and bottom in that same four foot by two foot area.
Probably the most important aspect
of mastering spread
for the lighting options we choose the hang over the tank
is mounting height,
because because it provides us with a window
into what type of light we have.
Whether it's a concentrated spotlight,
soft floodlight or large panel diffuse style light.
It allows us to make smarter decisions
about how to achieve the optimal spread
that we're looking for.
To determine what light type the Maxspect Razor X is
and how we will master mounting height with it.
We start with the light mounted at
six inches above the water surface
and measure 36 PAR data points in a grid at six inches deep
in the tank.
We then raise the light one inch at a time
testing the same 36 points along the way
until we find an optical mounting height
where we've reduced any hotspot in the center
directly under the light, while also increasing the PAR
in the outer edges of the tank.
However, we stop the test
when we see 15% or more of the light efficiency
lost to spill outside into the surrounding area.
Starting first on our 60 gallon, two foot by two foot tank
using the 100 watt Razor X with all channels set to 100%
and mounted at six inches off the top of the water
which is about this same that you would get
with the included mounting legs,
we see a 589 center hotspot, 121 and the outer edges,
giving us a total overall average PAR of 246.
Seeing how quickly that PAR drops
from the 500 to 600 range to the 40s and 60s
just a few inches away from the center.
It's easier to understand why we will need
to raise the light up significantly higher
to achieve the spread that we're looking for.
With that in mind we continue to test inch by inch
and when we reach eight inches off the surface of the water,
we find that center hotspot is now improved
as 468, while also improving the spread and the outer edges
to 141.
At this height, we're only seeing a 7% loss of efficiency
in overall average PAR.
So we continue to test until we reach 10 inches,
here at 10 inches the improvement in the center
has lessened the hotspot by about 200 PAR to 378
and we've gained around 30 PAR and the outer edges to 152.
But some parts in the tank are still two to three times
lower than the center of the tank.
So a decent performance but not perfect.
However, we've reached a 13% loss of efficiency
to light spill and it's here
that we find our BRS recommended mounting height
for the 100 watt Razor X.
Next we test the 200 watt Razor over 120 gallon test tank
with all channels set to 100% to verify
if it also shares a similar optimal mounting height
and actually looking at the spread data
at six inches off the top of the water
versus the spread data for 10 inches.
Although we've made gains in the outer edges
by a little over 45 PAR and reduce the center
by more than 200 par.
There's only a 10% loss of efficiency in light spill,
which means over this longer four foot tank
using a smaller fixture,
we can actually raise the 200 watt light a little higher
to 12 inches.
It's here at 12 inches off the water we find that
not only do we just about reach
our 15% efficiency threshold,
but we're also able to spread the light
from the 200 watt four individual LED clusters
in a way that reduces the center hotspot down to 381
and brings the outer edges up to 118 PAR,
giving us more usable light
throughout more of the four foot by two foot area.
Again some areas of the tank
significantly brighter than the outside edges.
However, at 599 bucks,
this is the lowest cost way
we've lighted a four foot tank so far,
and I think it's a good value.
For the 47 inch 300 watt Razor X,
we followed the same procedure to verify mounting height,
starting with six inches as a reference point
next to 10 inches off the surface of the water.
And we find that the six LED clusters
in their fixed spacing configuration
provides not only higher PAR
directly underneath the fixture,
but also provides higher PAR towards the outer edges,
where there's an improvement to the spread at 10 inches
to 173 in the outer edges.
Yet this time only a 12% reduction
in overall total average PAR, which allows us
to raise the light higher by one more inch.
At 11 inches, we find our BRS recommended mounting height
where we've smoothed out the center hotspot by 262 PAR
to 493 and improve the outer spread to 187.
So at our recommended mounting height of 11 inches,
the six spread out sources of light
across this longer 300 watt fixture, again is not perfect,
but they also are better than any option that we've tested
at this 899 price point that we've tested this year.
That third aspect to mastering light spread
is to master the spacing between multiple fixtures.
In this case, that's not really an option
because the light sources are any fixed position,
and all of you will get pretty similar results.
Looking at the PAR data,
I think there are opportunities for them
to space the pucks differently
to get better spread performance,
and maybe we'll see that in the future.
Now that we've mastered the spread for the Maxspect Razor X,
let's master spectrum next, because the correct spectrum
will not only provide for the corals energy needs
and metabolic functions, but will also highlight
and accentuate the corals fluorescence
which is at the heart of creating a jaw dropping tank.
To me master spectrum, we look at the Razor X
from three angles.
First is what the razor has to offer in spectrum overall
and what we can expect that to look like in our tanks.
There are four adjustable color channels
that make up the razor spectrum mix
with a combined royal blue and cool white channel A
that shows a prominent peak at 443
and a small shoulder in the green and yellow spectrum.
Next is a royal blue and light blue channel B combination
that creates a wide peak at 450 to 460
which is primarily where we'll see
our corals peak fluorescence.
Followed by channel C with a mix of deep blue
and violet LEDs which creates one of the widest offerings
we've tested between 380 and 420 in that near UV range
with a peak at 396.
Lastly, channel D that combines deep red,
cyan and warm white LEDs for a spectrum mix
with peaks at 660 to 500 in a small hump around 440
and what we will use sparingly
to bright up the tank for our eyes
and reduce that heavy blue looking tank.
Now that we know what the razor has to offer
in that spectrum range,
we use those channels to create
a BRS recommended spectrum ratio that strikes a balance
between the spectrum offering and using the LEDs
as efficiently as possible,
with an emphasis on creating a wide blue band spectrum
between 400 and 500
where corals primarily draw their photosynthetic energy
from coupled with a bit of white to make the tank look good.
Then using our best judgment
for the all of the other channels.
After testing multiple spectrum blends
both over a tank with our eye and using a spectrometer,
we developed our BRS recommended spectrum ratio
by setting channel A, blues and whites to 80%,
channel B, royal blue and light blue
and channel C, royal and violet to 100%.
And channel D, red green and warm white to 60%.
When we compare this spectrum mix
to the universally known ATI Blue Plus spectrum
we see that although the razor is slightly thinner
in that violet 420 to deep blue 440 range,
it's prominent peak near 450 will most certainly result
in showcasing the corals fluorescence,
specifically those nearly neon greens, yellows and oranges.
The most notable spectrum point to make here
is that very strong peak of violet and near UV
in the razor spectrum, which in most of the other lights
that we test, usually winds up getting overpowered
by other channels.
But in this case, that heavier amount of violet
and near ultraviolet, might actually showcase itself
in the tank as additional accents and nuances
as in chloro fluorescence that wouldn't be as noticeable
from other lights.
So before we move into mastering PAR next with a razor,
let's wrap up spectrum with our dynamic spectrum test.
To see how well the razor blends
our recommended spectrum mix that we just created
into one even blend within our tanks.
We took 10 spectrum shots under our 60 gallon tank
filled with water and the power had to break up the surface.
And as you can see from the results,
the individual LEDs that are housed in white reflectors,
although they don't create
the most cohesive blend of spectrum,
but also performance that should be expected
at this price point.
Using those first two components
of mastering your tank lighting of spread and spectrum,
we now get to the heart
of what it means to master the Maxspect Razor X,
where we combine the data
and show you exactly how to set up your own
100, 200 or 300 watt razor
to meet the PAR goals for LPS and mixed tanks
in tanks similar to our 60 cubed and 120 gallon test tanks.
That all begins with 100 watt fixture
mounted at the BRS recommended 10 inches
over our 60 gallon cube,
where our goal is to fill as much of the tank as possible
from top to bottom in PAR ranges from 75 to 150.
Where those medium to lower light demand corals
seem to thrive in.
To achieve that, we use this scaled down version
of our BRS recommended spectrum ratio,
with channel A set to 68%,
channel B and C set to 85% and channel D set to 51%.
It the took 108 measurements across depths
of 6, 12 and eight inches in the tank.
Using these settings we found 79 out of 108
or 73% of our entire 60 gallon cube at or within 75 to 150.
So these are our BRS recommended settings
for a 60 gallon cube slice of the ocean
filled with LPS softies and polyps.
And if your tank is slightly smaller or larger,
you can scale these intuitively into a safe window.
We follow the same procedure
for our four foot 120 gallon tank using the 200 watt razor
with the same PAR goals in mind
and mounted that the BRS recommended 12 inches off the top
of the water using a scaled back version
of our BRS recommended spectrum ratio
to channel A set at 64%, B and C set to 80
and channel D at 48.
Where we tested 103 out of 198 data points
or 52% of that same foUr a tank in that 75 to 150 goal.
So that is about 18% short of where we'd like to be
but again at 599 bucks, this is a pretty solid performance.
However, if we're willing to use the light
a little less efficiently,
we were able to find a mounting height
and intensity settings where we were able to reach 71%
of our hundred and 20 gallon tank within that to 150 PAR
by raising the light to 18 inches above the water surface
and setting channels A through D to 70 to 90, 90
and 54 respectively, yet at a cost of 30%
of light lost outside the tank.
In that same frame of mind for the 300 watt Razor X
mounted above our four foot test tank
at the recommended 11 inches and the channel set to A at 80%
B and C at 100% and D at 60%.
We tested 89 out of 198 or 45% inside our SPS range of 200
to 350 PAR.
Again, now what we're looking for SPS dominated tanks,
but this makes a really solid option
for those mixed tanks where we intentionally want those
high end low zones.
What this Solid mix tank option looks like
is at six inches deep in the tank
we found 29 out of 66 points in that 200 to 350 range,
12 inches deep we find 37 out of 66
and 18 inches deep 23 out of 66 in that range.
And you will absolutely be able to find many locations
within the tank ideal for a wider variety of corals,
which is the definition of a mixed tank
and this light will be a good tool for that purpose.
So before we get into that recommendation
of who this light is best designed for,
I'd like to share though, you can actually use this light
to create an SPS dominated tank as well.
If you're willing to turn all channels to 100%.
This is outside the BRS recommended spectrum settings
and not the color we would choose ourselves.
But it can get the job done
and achieve a total of 66% of our 198 test points
within that target range of 200 to 350
from the top middle and bottom of the tank
and absolutely the lowest cost light
that we've tested that can achieve that.
So based on all the data that we collected today
and selecting the right tool for your tank,
I think the best application for this light
is obviously LPS and mixed tanks.
A couple of the most notable features are the increased UV
and violet spectrum,
onboard controls
for those who don't wanna to use their phone,
single fixture with one set of hanging brackets,
and one chord, easy setup,
and all at one of the lowest price points out there.
I think one of the interesting benefits
of this lighting fixture over the others
is for those reefing pioneers
who wanna test that theory
that you can change or create coral fluorescence
in some corals by targeting spectrum ranges
in those high violet to near UV areas,
which is something that the Razor X has shown
to be able to do in higher ratios than what we've tested
in other LEDs.
This actually begs the question
what spectrum ranges do accent coral fluorescence
and non fluorescent colors in corals?
And how exactly do we use LEDs to achieve them?
This is something you can find out
in Ryan's two part series on mastering coral coloration
right over here.