Maxspect Owners be Warned

WannaSeeMyClam · 11/24/2015, 08:56 AM

Ok so I clearly haveing an issue with all of my Maxspect products.

- I have purchased 4 maxspect razors 3 16000k one 10000k all 160watt.
-I also own 2 maxspect gyres

Lets start with the gyres, the work well when functioning but both my motor blocks power cord has rotted away and now is a safety issue with in 6 months of use. Not to mention the unit is almost impossible to dissemble when a little bit of coraline is on it.

Now for the Razors, I have had to replace 6 led pods and 2 displays this year. What happens is if you run your light over the 80% mode your 410-420 bulb will burn out and cause your blue channel to turn off being in series. Pods in Canada are $100 plus the $15 new wide angle lenses you need to fit the new style pods, which have changed to avoid this issue. Maxpsect changed that 410-420Led to a 4 bulb style. But through contact they are telling me i am the only one who has had this issue like it dose not exist. So why did you change your LED pods maxspect????

My LFS has had quite a few of customers with the same issue.

On top of all this I had to replace 2 displays. When I lost the first 2 pods the rep was great and sent me new ones no charge.

Has anyone else on here had any similar issues? I am really regretting selling off my ecotec Mp40s and not going radion when i had the chance. So be warned fellow reefers do not buy this junk!!!

gcarroll · 11/24/2015, 09:02 AM

Here in the US, Coralvue is very good with standing behind the Maxspect brand. They release any of the pumps with the cord issues you discussed. Not sure what you need to do as you are in Canada. Sorry. Maybe Coralvue will chime in and direct you where to go.

BlackTip · 11/24/2015, 09:11 AM

WOW, I've just posted a thread about problem with my Razor, then I saw this thread.

CoralVue just charged me $100 for repair on 2 month old Razor.

ghostman · 11/24/2015, 09:12 AM

I've had the opposite experience with Maxspect. I love my gyres, and have had none of the issues that others have reported. Of course that doesn't mean that they don't exist as I have seen threads on the power cords and broken impellers. The gyres are more complicated to assemble and disassemble, but I don't think they're outrageously difficult. I would hope that Maxspect replaced your motor blocks with new ones. It certainly is frustrating when equipment fails, but other brands have their issues as well. I've never owned a Razor light, but no product is perfect and there are issues with most brands of lights. Some are bigger than others. I hope you can get it worked out and find one that works for you.

jason2459 · 11/24/2015, 09:15 AM

I don't know a thing about the lights but the Maxspect Gyre has had a fix for the motoblock wiring going back since around February I believe. If you bought the pump 6 months ago it sounds like you got some old stock from where ever you bought it from.

Like gcarroll said you need to find out the Ca distributor or go back to where you bought it from. CoralVue here in the US is very good about replacing the original poorly wired motor blocks. They sent me a new one very quickly when mine started to do that on the original gyre when it got released last year. The original cord was to stiff and brittle. The newer one is much more pliable.

I do agree that the gyre is a bit more complex to take apart then the standard powerhead. But again it's not your standard powerhead.

WannaSeeMyClam · 11/24/2015, 09:28 AM

They are willing to ship me new motor blocks and new pump mount feet to stand the cord away a little bit, if i can find my original invoice (you would think that this day an age receipts would be a thing of the past, LOL). For the pumps what it actual appears that the adhesive they used to bond pot the wire isn't compatible and it actually causes it to deteriorate. It isn't the complexity its the cheap material used I know i am one cleaning job away from breaking something in the gyre.

I used to talk about how great the razors are and best bang for your buck, but now after the plague of issues i have had this year. I am at my breaking point. Basically for my razors to work i am to pay $690 out of pocket plus tax for something that is not even 2yrs old really!!! I am currently trying to source the 1$ bulbs that burnt out with a replacement that i can solderer in myself.

jason2459 · 11/24/2015, 09:36 AM

On mine the cable was just splitting apart where it bends to go up. I sent CoralVue pictures but they also wanted my receipt too. It's also on their support site that to honor the warranty they would need to receipt. I bought my gyre from my LFS and had to go there and they had it in their computer system to print out. I scanned it in and emailed it to Coralvue. They had me a new motor block in a couple days.

ghostman · 11/24/2015, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WannaSeeMyClam

I used to talk about how great the razors are and best bang for your buck, but now after the plague of issues i have had this year. I am at my breaking point. Basically for my razors to work i am to pay $690 out of pocket plus tax for something that is not even 2yrs old really!!! I am currently trying to source the 1$ bulbs that burnt out with a replacement that i can solderer in myself.

That is a large amount of cash to fix a light, and probably not worth it. One of the main selling points of LEDs is their longevity compared to T5 and MH. Used LED fixtures are frequently available, and may be a better option for you.

smokinreefer · 01/07/2016, 04:56 PM

I was wondering why my razor doesn't have the same pop it used to.
Looks like the center puck has a couple burnt out blue LEDs.
And by your explanation I can see the same leds on the outer pucks are barely on.

Dang. I thought buying a retail led fixture meant not having to replace bulbs.

chris@CoralVue · 01/08/2016, 01:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackTip

WOW, I've just posted a thread about problem with my Razor, then I saw this thread.

CoralVue just charged me $100 for repair on 2 month old Razor.

Maxspect USA warranty is one year from purchase date. Please email me with your name and contact info and I'll look into this.

chris@coralvue.com

Chris

chris@CoralVue · 01/08/2016, 01:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by WannaSeeMyClam

Ok so I clearly haveing an issue with all of my Maxspect products.

- I have purchased 4 maxspect razors 3 16000k one 10000k all 160watt.
-I also own 2 maxspect gyres

Lets start with the gyres, the work well when functioning but both my motor blocks power cord has rotted away and now is a safety issue with in 6 months of use. Not to mention the unit is almost impossible to dissemble when a little bit of coraline is on it.

Now for the Razors, I have had to replace 6 led pods and 2 displays this year. What happens is if you run your light over the 80% mode your 410-420 bulb will burn out and cause your blue channel to turn off being in series. Pods in Canada are $100 plus the $15 new wide angle lenses you need to fit the new style pods, which have changed to avoid this issue. Maxpsect changed that 410-420Led to a 4 bulb style. But through contact they are telling me i am the only one who has had this issue like it dose not exist. So why did you change your LED pods maxspect????

My LFS has had quite a few of customers with the same issue.

On top of all this I had to replace 2 displays. When I lost the first 2 pods the rep was great and sent me new ones no charge.

Has anyone else on here had any similar issues? I am really regretting selling off my ecotec Mp40s and not going radion when i had the chance. So be warned fellow reefers do not buy this junk!!!

Contact info for Maxspect Canada is:

info@maxspect.ca

http://www.maxspect.ca/index.php?opt...&id=4&Itemid=5

peseifert · 01/08/2016, 02:39 PM

Have a gyre purchased 15 months ago, no issues. Only improvement would be to make the control settings more visible ( Blake on black, hard to see).
Razors a different story - had 16000k, 43" unit - 2/4 fans burned out within 6 months, ordered replacements, came in with wrong connectors, reordered, replaced finally. Then half of the LED's went out. Tried to replace, no luck, couldn't get new ones to work.
Finally called coralview, sent unit back. $100 to replace all fans, new 15000k
LED's. Fast turn around, less than 10 days total. Unit works great. No noticeable difference in light output going from 16000 to 15000.
Think Coralview will stand behind the products with great customer service.

chris@CoralVue · 01/08/2016, 02:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BlackTip

WOW, I've just posted a thread about problem with my Razor, then I saw this thread.

CoralVue just charged me $100 for repair on 2 month old Razor.

Water damage is not covered under warranty. We sent photos prior to the repair for your authorization to service at the cost of $100.00 which you approved.

Chris

jason2459 · 01/08/2016, 02:57 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris@CoralVue

....
Chris

Chris while this thread has your attention. My newer maxspect gyre I think has been making this low grunt noise periodically. It's definitely not my Banggai cardinalfish as it's a much different and lower grunting sound. this grunting happens every day every so often. I've also come home twice now in the past couple months to the pump stopped. The icecap red light flashing. I unplug and plug back in and it whirls right up like nothings wrong.

Any idea? I've taken it apart and put back together after the first time that happened and saw nothing.

chris@CoralVue · 01/08/2016, 03:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason2459

Chris while this thread has your attention. My newer maxspect gyre I think has been making this low grunt noise periodically. It's definitely not my Banggai cardinalfish as it's a much different and lower grunting sound. this grunting happens every day every so often. I've also come home twice now in the past couple months to the pump stopped. The icecap red light flashing. I unplug and plug back in and it whirls right up like nothings wrong.

Any idea? I've taken it apart and put back together after the first time that happened and saw nothing.

Please submit a service ticket at www.coralvue.com/support and a customer support agent will help you.

Chris

jason2459 · 01/08/2016, 03:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris@CoralVue

Please submit a service ticket at www.coralvue.com/support and a customer support agent will help you.

Chris

Yeah, I've been meaning too. I'm lazy.

rexf · 01/28/2016, 06:52 PM

I have 2 160 watt fixtures on my 150 gallon tank. They sit 8 inches above the water line and 32 inches above the bottom sand. I purchased these fixtures because the LFS said they were the best and will last forever. My fixtures failed a little less than 2 years from purchase. Two or three blue LED's burned out on each pad. Yes out of warranty.

Coral vue said they could be upgraded to 15000K and flat rate repaired for $100 each. The LFS then threw Maxspect under the bus and said they were probably the worst fixtures on the market and recommended against the repair and of course recommended their new kid on the block fixtures. I decided to have the fixtures repaired about 3 months ago.

Before the repair I ran my 160000K fixtures at Maxspec's recommended settings
A B
0900 0% 1%
1000 20 80
1200 75 100
1400 75 100
1900 20 80
2130 0 1

These settings did ok. I didn't see a lot of coral growth and lost a few corals.

Now I run my lights at
0900 0 1
1000 20 55
1200 65 80
1400 65 75
1900 20 55
2130 0 0

Corals are doing ok. Color is good. Good growth on Frog Spawn, hammer, mushrooms, palys, zoas, zenya, leathers. Duncan, acan, yellow polyps, and torch seems as though they could be doing better. I bought a new hammer and it is all but dead. Same level in tank as the other. I see no burning on any of the corals. My mag is 1400, ph 8.3, ca 460, kh 9.8, 0 nitrates, phosphates.

Question.
Should I increase or decrease my light settings or just accept what I have, blame it on something else?

crapsticks22 · 01/28/2016, 10:19 PM

I too have experienced multiple LED pad failures on my Maxspect 10K 300 razor. It started at 1.5 years and accelerated quickly. The canopy is coming up on 2 years, and 4 out of 6 LED pads have failed, and about 3 fans. The lighting is good, but each PAD is $100 bucks CAN. So if you think the canopy is cheaper than MH, it's not. You'll end up replacing just as many parts, plus the down time. Perhaps Radion XR30's are more reliable?

rexf · 01/29/2016, 08:16 AM

Coral vue fixed the entire fixture for a flat rate repair of $100.

They provided a very quick turn around but it still took about 2 weeks shipping and all. The fixtures are not inexpensive. I hated to throw away the investment so I forked out the repair cost.

Still a bit disappointed that they failed so quickly.

BlackTip · 01/29/2016, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jason2459

Chris while this thread has your attention. My newer maxspect gyre I think has been making this low grunt noise periodically. It's definitely not my Banggai cardinalfish as it's a much different and lower grunting sound. this grunting happens every day every so often. I've also come home twice now in the past couple months to the pump stopped. The icecap red light flashing. I unplug and plug back in and it whirls right up like nothings wrong.

Any idea? I've taken it apart and put back together after the first time that happened and saw nothing.

I have the same exact problems with one of my two Gyres 150. The sound is like a cricket. First time I heard it, I thought I had a cricket in the house...not joking.

I dissembled it, soaked it in water/vinegar, and cleaned it thoroughly. The sounds came back the following day. Also, once in a while, I come back from work to find it stop working and the red light on the controller is flashing. Disconnecting the power and reconnecting it again solve the problem.

alexXx · 01/29/2016, 11:42 AM

same issues here, I emailed after product failed at 8 months. Emailed them, response was poor choice of words. Product is only as good as the reflection of service. I will not buying any Maxspect products. Lesson learned

jason2459 · 02/01/2016, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by chris@CoralVue

Please submit a service ticket at www.coralvue.com/support and a customer support agent will help you.

Chris

Gyre was stopped again when I got home. Unplugged and plugged back in and its running as normal.

I went ahead and opened a ticket.

avoidtheboyd · 02/01/2016, 08:18 PM

Well I'm glad i saw this before i pulled the trigger. Settin up a new tank and thought id go with a new led brand. it was between maxspect and radions so this makes the decision easy, thanks.

gus6464 · 02/01/2016, 10:09 PM

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Pretty much every retail LED fixture out there has insufficient cooling for the LEDs to last the 50,000 hours the manufacturer claims. It's a bullshit number. If you get 3 years out of your fixture with diode output above 80% at the end of the 3 years consider yourself powerball lucky. Unless of course you were only running your light at 10%.

SkullV · 02/01/2016, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gus6464

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Pretty much every retail LED fixture out there has insufficient cooling for the LEDs to last the 50,000 hours the manufacturer claims. It's a bullshit number. If you get 3 years out of your fixture with diode output above 80% at the end of the 3 years consider yourself powerball lucky. Unless of course you were only running your light at 10%.

The issue with the MaxSpect product has nothing to do with the cooling. It is entirely that they were running UV chips meant to be running at 700mA max on the same channel as diodes which were run significantly higher. This is why the UV chips are always the first (and usually the only) chips to go.

There are also PLENTY of gen 1 radions out there running at very close to original PAR (I believe they were recently tested at something like 1% reduction per year on average).

11/24/2015, 08:56 AM	#1
WannaSeeMyClam Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Ottawa Posts: 84	Maxspect Owners be Warned Ok so I clearly haveing an issue with all of my Maxspect products. - I have purchased 4 maxspect razors 3 16000k one 10000k all 160watt. -I also own 2 maxspect gyres Lets start with the gyres, the work well when functioning but both my motor blocks power cord has rotted away and now is a safety issue with in 6 months of use. Not to mention the unit is almost impossible to dissemble when a little bit of coraline is on it. Now for the Razors, I have had to replace 6 led pods and 2 displays this year. What happens is if you run your light over the 80% mode your 410-420 bulb will burn out and cause your blue channel to turn off being in series. Pods in Canada are $100 plus the $15 new wide angle lenses you need to fit the new style pods, which have changed to avoid this issue. Maxpsect changed that 410-420Led to a 4 bulb style. But through contact they are telling me i am the only one who has had this issue like it dose not exist. So why did you change your LED pods maxspect???? My LFS has had quite a few of customers with the same issue. On top of all this I had to replace 2 displays. When I lost the first 2 pods the rep was great and sent me new ones no charge. Has anyone else on here had any similar issues? I am really regretting selling off my ecotec Mp40s and not going radion when i had the chance. So be warned fellow reefers do not buy this junk!!!

11/24/2015, 09:02 AM	#2
gcarroll Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2002 Location: Orange, CA Posts: 9,666	Here in the US, Coralvue is very good with standing behind the Maxspect brand. They release any of the pumps with the cord issues you discussed. Not sure what you need to do as you are in Canada. Sorry. Maybe Coralvue will chime in and direct you where to go. __________________ Greg Carroll I will be at REEF-A-PALOOZA! SPS = Stability Promotes Success Be wary of advice coming from those who will not show you the fruits of their success! Current Tank Info: building: 250g AGE Euro tank, Abyzz A200, Vertex Supra-G filtration, Ecotech Radion Pro LEDs, ...

11/24/2015, 09:11 AM	#3
BlackTip Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2015 Posts: 1,598	WOW, I've just posted a thread about problem with my Razor, then I saw this thread. CoralVue just charged me $100 for repair on 2 month old Razor. __________________ 325G DT. 100G sump. In-sump refugium. SRO-5000SSS. 2 Gyres 150. 2 Water Blaster HY-5000. 2 Razor 320W. Apex Gold. MR2 GFO. 2 800W Heaters. Tunze Osmolater. 2 20g-long QT tanks. Geo 624 CA. 80W UV

11/24/2015, 09:12 AM	#4
ghostman Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Spring Hill, Florida Posts: 1,629	I've had the opposite experience with Maxspect. I love my gyres, and have had none of the issues that others have reported. Of course that doesn't mean that they don't exist as I have seen threads on the power cords and broken impellers. The gyres are more complicated to assemble and disassemble, but I don't think they're outrageously difficult. I would hope that Maxspect replaced your motor blocks with new ones. It certainly is frustrating when equipment fails, but other brands have their issues as well. I've never owned a Razor light, but no product is perfect and there are issues with most brands of lights. Some are bigger than others. I hope you can get it worked out and find one that works for you. __________________ When you die, you don't know you're dead. It's only difficult for the people around you. It's the same when you're stupid. Current Tank Info: 40IM Fusion, 40lbs of rock, and 20lbs of sand. Just a few fish and corals....for now.

11/24/2015, 09:15 AM	#5
jason2459 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 9,671	I don't know a thing about the lights but the Maxspect Gyre has had a fix for the motoblock wiring going back since around February I believe. If you bought the pump 6 months ago it sounds like you got some old stock from where ever you bought it from. Like gcarroll said you need to find out the Ca distributor or go back to where you bought it from. CoralVue here in the US is very good about replacing the original poorly wired motor blocks. They sent me a new one very quickly when mine started to do that on the original gyre when it got released last year. The original cord was to stiff and brittle. The newer one is much more pliable. I do agree that the gyre is a bit more complex to take apart then the standard powerhead. But again it's not your standard powerhead. __________________ rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. \| 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank

11/24/2015, 09:28 AM	#6
WannaSeeMyClam Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2013 Location: Ottawa Posts: 84	They are willing to ship me new motor blocks and new pump mount feet to stand the cord away a little bit, if i can find my original invoice (you would think that this day an age receipts would be a thing of the past, LOL). For the pumps what it actual appears that the adhesive they used to bond pot the wire isn't compatible and it actually causes it to deteriorate. It isn't the complexity its the cheap material used I know i am one cleaning job away from breaking something in the gyre. I used to talk about how great the razors are and best bang for your buck, but now after the plague of issues i have had this year. I am at my breaking point. Basically for my razors to work i am to pay $690 out of pocket plus tax for something that is not even 2yrs old really!!! I am currently trying to source the 1$ bulbs that burnt out with a replacement that i can solderer in myself.

11/24/2015, 09:36 AM	#7
jason2459 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Location: Iowa Posts: 9,671	On mine the cable was just splitting apart where it bends to go up. I sent CoralVue pictures but they also wanted my receipt too. It's also on their support site that to honor the warranty they would need to receipt. I bought my gyre from my LFS and had to go there and they had it in their computer system to print out. I scanned it in and emailed it to Coralvue. They had me a new motor block in a couple days. __________________ rebuild and recovery log: No more red house, you'll have to click on my name and visit my homepage! You can check out my parameters at reeftronics dot net website and look for my username. Current Tank Info: 180g mixed reef w/ a beananimal overflow to a dolomite RRUGF. \| 20g long G. Smithii Mantis Tank

01/07/2016, 04:56 PM	#9
smokinreefer Premium Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Burnaby, B.C., Canada Posts: 995	I was wondering why my razor doesn't have the same pop it used to. Looks like the center puck has a couple burnt out blue LEDs. And by your explanation I can see the same leds on the outer pucks are barely on. Dang. I thought buying a retail led fixture meant not having to replace bulbs.

01/08/2016, 02:39 PM	#12
peseifert Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Posts: 58	Max spect issues Have a gyre purchased 15 months ago, no issues. Only improvement would be to make the control settings more visible ( Blake on black, hard to see). Razors a different story - had 16000k, 43" unit - 2/4 fans burned out within 6 months, ordered replacements, came in with wrong connectors, reordered, replaced finally. Then half of the LED's went out. Tried to replace, no luck, couldn't get new ones to work. Finally called coralview, sent unit back. $100 to replace all fans, new 15000k LED's. Fast turn around, less than 10 days total. Unit works great. No noticeable difference in light output going from 16000 to 15000. Think Coralview will stand behind the products with great customer service.

01/28/2016, 06:52 PM	#17
rexf Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 2	I have 2 160 watt fixtures on my 150 gallon tank. They sit 8 inches above the water line and 32 inches above the bottom sand. I purchased these fixtures because the LFS said they were the best and will last forever. My fixtures failed a little less than 2 years from purchase. Two or three blue LED's burned out on each pad. Yes out of warranty. Coral vue said they could be upgraded to 15000K and flat rate repaired for $100 each. The LFS then threw Maxspect under the bus and said they were probably the worst fixtures on the market and recommended against the repair and of course recommended their new kid on the block fixtures. I decided to have the fixtures repaired about 3 months ago. Before the repair I ran my 160000K fixtures at Maxspec's recommended settings A B 0900 0% 1% 1000 20 80 1200 75 100 1400 75 100 1900 20 80 2130 0 1 These settings did ok. I didn't see a lot of coral growth and lost a few corals. Now I run my lights at 0900 0 1 1000 20 55 1200 65 80 1400 65 75 1900 20 55 2130 0 0 Corals are doing ok. Color is good. Good growth on Frog Spawn, hammer, mushrooms, palys, zoas, zenya, leathers. Duncan, acan, yellow polyps, and torch seems as though they could be doing better. I bought a new hammer and it is all but dead. Same level in tank as the other. I see no burning on any of the corals. My mag is 1400, ph 8.3, ca 460, kh 9.8, 0 nitrates, phosphates. Question. Should I increase or decrease my light settings or just accept what I have, blame it on something else?

01/28/2016, 10:19 PM	#18
crapsticks22 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Toronto Posts: 30	MaxSpect 10K LED/Fan failures I too have experienced multiple LED pad failures on my Maxspect 10K 300 razor. It started at 1.5 years and accelerated quickly. The canopy is coming up on 2 years, and 4 out of 6 LED pads have failed, and about 3 fans. The lighting is good, but each PAD is $100 bucks CAN. So if you think the canopy is cheaper than MH, it's not. You'll end up replacing just as many parts, plus the down time. Perhaps Radion XR30's are more reliable?

01/29/2016, 08:16 AM	#19
rexf Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2016 Posts: 2	Coral vue fixed the entire fixture for a flat rate repair of $100. They provided a very quick turn around but it still took about 2 weeks shipping and all. The fixtures are not inexpensive. I hated to throw away the investment so I forked out the repair cost. Still a bit disappointed that they failed so quickly.

01/29/2016, 11:42 AM	#21
alexXx Registered Member Join Date: May 2005 Location: Deep South Texas Posts: 24	same issues here, I emailed after product failed at 8 months. Emailed them, response was poor choice of words. Product is only as good as the reflection of service. I will not buying any Maxspect products. Lesson learned

02/01/2016, 08:18 PM	#23
avoidtheboyd Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2015 Location: West Virginia Posts: 54	Well I'm glad i saw this before i pulled the trigger. Settin up a new tank and thought id go with a new led brand. it was between maxspect and radions so this makes the decision easy, thanks.

02/01/2016, 10:09 PM	#24
gus6464 Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2009 Posts: 1,079	I've said it before and I'll say it again. Pretty much every retail LED fixture out there has insufficient cooling for the LEDs to last the 50,000 hours the manufacturer claims. It's a bullshit number. If you get 3 years out of your fixture with diode output above 80% at the end of the 3 years consider yourself powerball lucky. Unless of course you were only running your light at 10%.