MAX LED Lighting

oakleyx

oakleyx

Active Member
I couldn't wait any longer and didn't want to buy another round of t5s so I went with the kessil A360we and the spectrum controller. I highly recommend them.

IMAG0978_zpsly09v8hh.jpg
 
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adamsfour

Member
Okay time for me to complain a bit (sorry). I love my Red Sea Max s 400. It has given me hours and hours of enjoyment and I have (and will) recommend to my fish/coral lovers to get one. but I must say I am very disappointed that we are again well into another year and we still don't have a viable LED solution. Sorry to complain but given where the industry has moved and I certainly understand difference of opinion it clear that LED is now the industry standard. The future is now. From what I see Red Sea is basically one of the last company not to offer a LED solution or recommending an LED solution. I just dropped another 200 US dollars Plus for a full set of replacement bulbs and can't help feeling that its time Red Sea provides a viable LED path. Hopefully I will here from others who agree and Red Sea will get the message that enough is enough and release a solution. Thanks all for allowing me to vent.
 
oakleyx

oakleyx

Active Member
I agree its frustrating, but that doesn't mean you don't have options.

I think you could go with Steve's LEDS, the Kessil A360W's or the Radions and it will look just as good and probably perform just as good or even better then the RED Sea LED's.

I bet the the upgraded LED's from Red Sea and controller will be at least $1000. Would you spend your money on RED Sea LEDS or for the same price get the Kessils?

I think either way you can't go wrong.
 
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mike1970

Active Member
Hmmm I would pay $800-$1000 for a true plug & play LED system that lets me keep my canopy(RSM250) or gives me a new one. I will not pay for one that removes the canopy and turns it into a open top I could do that myself with Radions or the Kessils
 
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adamsfour

Member
I paid many thousand of dollars for a fully integrated plug & Play system with the understanding that Red would provide product improvements on a regular basis. Its been two years now and nothing. Then a year ago they demonstrate in Germany a LED solution with the promise to provide a path for the S series (understand it may not be cheap). Every time we ask all they can say is watch the newsletter and there is still nothing. If you look at almost all of the competition they have moved to LED but Red Sea is still stuck in the sand. Very Frustrating. Red Sea pull your head out of the sand and provide your customer base some information. I would prefer to use a Red sea based solution as I love the over all clean look of the tank but agree at some point will need to rethink the way forward. I must say just last week I was asked to recommend a 150+ gallon tank to someone and normally I would immediately recommend Red Sea but given the lack of an LED solution I recommended he look around at other options. He like me wants a turn key solution.
 
Pat24601

Pat24601

Well-Known Member
oakleyx said:
I agree its frustrating, but that doesn't mean you don't have options.

I think you could go with Steve's LEDS, the Kessil A360W's or the Radions and it will look just as good and probably perform just as good or even better then the RED Sea LED's.

I bet the the upgraded LED's from Red Sea and controller will be at least $1000. Would you spend your money on RED Sea LEDS or for the same price get the Kessils?

I think either way you can't go wrong.
Click to expand...

I really concur with this post. I waited about a year hoping Red Sea would come out with something for me even though they never promised to do so and certainly didn't promise to do so quickly.

I then ordered Steve's LEDs. I've had them for what? Closing on a year? They've been awesome. I can't think of anything Red Sea will produce that will be any better. I even got to keep my hood and look exactly as is. I'm sure the other brands are good too.
 
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adamsfour

Member
Well it looks like we are once again out of luck. They made a bunch of announcements but nothing related to S series LED upgrade. What's the store
 
RedSeaKev

RedSeaKev

RS Sponsor
There will be an announcement regarding S series LED's some retailers have simply jumped the gun, we need to ensure everything is in place first, hang on in there, I'm sure it will come in the next 2 weeks.
 
LakeLivin

LakeLivin

Active Member
Thanks for the info Kev, I'll be interested to see all the specs dimensions and details of these new kits for MAX-S series tanks. From what little I've seen I assume they will not be APEX controllable at least in the beginning. Are there plans to change that in the future or is the only control for the LED's going to be possible with whatever controllers you have manufactured?

I' removed the hood from my 500-S months ago and have ben using Neptunes 30W pros LED's and having good results so I'm not in a hurry to swap anything out anytime soon so I can be patient.

If the quality and controllability is on par with other leading LED technology lights I may pick up a set of your "upgrades" and give them a try. Aesthetically speaking they look a little better but I'm going from a pretty poor quality pic that posted a link in this thread that really does not show a lot.

I'm signed up for your bulletin but if you would be so kind as to post a link or provide detailed information here as to availability in the US and answer my other questions above i would appreciate it.
 
RedSeaKev

RedSeaKev

RS Sponsor
Hi LakeLivin, The LED lighting of the S series will be using the same units as we have announced for the E Series, the AI Hydra 26HD these are currently directly Wi Fi enabled, we will follow with what ever AI adds to the controllability of the Hydra HD's only time will tell if they become controllable via the Apex system.

My understanding is the S series LED first launches in Europe but very closely followed by the USA I will get this information confirmed as soon as possible.
 
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adamsfour

Member
Thanks for the update. Certainly lots of question come to mind. Like will it utilize the center section of the existing lights assembly or like the E series will be a completely new.
 
RedSeaKev

RedSeaKev

RS Sponsor
The S series LED upgrade will comprise of a totally new Luminaire with the Hydra26 HD™ fitted within, there will be x 2 for the S400, x 3 for the S500 and x4 for the S650, the Luminaire will fit the original lighting rails of the S series aquarium so like the original you will be able to slide the Luminaire backwards for maintenance or aquascaping.
 
RedSeaKev

RedSeaKev

RS Sponsor
Hi adamsfour, Sorry, I have yet to get my hands on the upgrade kit, I will request the information but the only thing required will be a constant power supply, any timings and control aspect will come via smart phone app call My AI you will also be able to directly control the lighting via Wi-Fi enabled PC or Mac
 
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a361c

New Member
Hi Kev, with the S-series now having a LED upgrade kit available. Will this mean Red Sea will now start making the S-series with the LED's standard moving forward? Also will the C-series have them or will the E-series replace the C-series? I can't see them continuing the C-series with the Reefer and now the E-series available
 
RedSeaKev

RedSeaKev

RS Sponsor
Hi a361c, Yes we will soon be launching the S series LED as standard, as for an LED option for closed top aquariums such as 130 & 250 versions this is much more difficult due to the proximity of the LED to the water surface, we are currently still investigating all options, we will not have answers to these questions for sometime as we continue to research all options and the suitability of LED's for closed top aquariums.
 
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