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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14

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Congratulations on your purchase of a Steve’s LEDs retrofit kit! Please read

through this entire installation guide before unpacking your retrofit kit.

This kit assumes you have a basic knowledge of electronics, such as never touching a live electrical circuit under

any circumstances whatsoever, understanding polarity, wiring in series and parallel, electrical safety and handling,

and the use of basic handheld tools. Consider researching the internet or asking a friend if you are unfamiliar with

these terms. Please read all of the installation related documents such as the Terms and Conditions, Driver

Installation guide, and the LED installation guide before proceeding with building your kit. We are not responsible

for mistakes published in this guide, or installation errors as a result of mistakes published in this installation guide,

you are ultimately responsible for proper and safe installation. By proceeding with the installation, you are

accepting full responsibility of the safe and proper installation of your LED retrofit kit. Remember that your biggest

resources are your friends that are familiar with electronic device installation. Steve’s LEDs is available for support

during normal business hours.

WARNING: The biggest safety issue regarding this kit is not proper wiring, it is taking the appropriate precaution to

always wash your hands after handling the LED retrofit components. Most of the components contain leaded

solder, which has been known to cause a numerous health issues. Here it is: WARNING: This product contains

lead, a chemical known to the State of California to cause neurological damage, cancer and birth defects or other

reproductive harm.

LEAD IS GOOD!!!

We use leaded solder because it requires a relatively low temperature to melt. The lower the

temperature we can keep our electronics and LEDs, the longer they last. I have heard of many people getting very

poor lifespan out of LEDs that have been soldered with lead-free solder (almost double the melting temperature of

lead solder). Once installed, you will not be handling your retrofit kit regularly, so it is

not a health risk for you to

handle during day-to-day usage. Frankly, if I see an LED related product that is soldered with lead free solder, I

just don’t buy it because chances are that it will have reduced lifespan.

This guide is just that….a guide. There are many ways to install an LED retrofit

system correctly. This guide serves as an outline, based on our years of

experience, of the most efficient, safest, and most economical way to install your

kit.

Before unpacking your retrofit kit from the box, please be aware that mishandling

the LEDs is the #1 cause of permanent damage to the system. Putting a mere 2

ounces of pressure in the wrong spot can tear apart a fragile high power LED or

rip apart essential wiring. Be prepared to treat all of the components as if they

are as fragile as eggs while unpacking. The unpacking process should not be

Summary of content (19 pages)

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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 Congratulations on your purchase of a Steve’s LEDs retrofit kit! Please read through this entire installation guide before unpacking your retrofit kit. This kit assumes you have a basic knowledge of electronics, such as never touching a live electrical circuit under any circumstances whatsoever, understanding polarity, wiring in series and parallel, electrical safety and handling, and the use of basic handheld tools.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 rushed; take your time and ensure all items are treated with great care. We have listed the steps in painstaking detail so that even a person unfamiliar with electronic component handling will have a safe and proper installation. Please read though all of the steps before beginning installation. Please note, Steve’s LEDs, LLC takes every opportunity to reuse and recycle packaging materials such as bubble wrap and filler.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 building two identical heatsinks, with identical layout, with the only exception being the color of the LEDs. We will be using a brand new 1/8” drill bit for ALL holes into the heatsink, no substitutes. This aluminum alloy heatsink is hard, and a brand new drill bit is necessary for your safety. 4. Lay the heatsinks side by side and drill a hole in through the center of the heatsink at 1” and at 17”.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 6. You will see that the driver extends underneath the heatsink only a short ways, approx. 3/8”. Flip over the heatsink, ensuring the driver is flush with the heatsink, drill through the existing driver holes through one side of the aluminum. Temporarily placing a single Torx Screw in the first hole, will help hold the driver in place while you drill the second hole.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 cycles, the LED star will detach with little to no effort. Take your time for each LED with the remaining LEDs. Place the LED stars on a flat surface, with the shiny metal side down. Do not stack the LED stars or pile them together, treat each and every LED with respect. 13. Decide how you want your LEDs laid out on your heat sink.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 14. Mark on the heat sink with a marker, where you want the LEDs to be attached. It is easiest to make one small dot on each side of where the array will be placed. See exaggerated red dots in photo below. 15. We recommend keeping the LEDs relatively centered, since light from the LEDs nearest the ends of the heatsink will simply exit the tank and light the floor around your tank, wasting light. 16.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 More detail on mounting your LEDs: Place an LED star over the adhesive you put on the heat sink, and place two fingers, one over each of the shiny solder pads and in a swirling motion (1/8” or less motion), apply pressure to the LEDs. Be extremely careful that your fingers to not ever contact the LED lens itself.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 may feel a slight grinding, or metal to metal contact once the LED is properly seated, this is what you want! If the swirl motion feels too lubricated, you may not be applying enough pressure. You will not damage the star itself by applying too much pressure. At least 10 lbs of pressure is ideal.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 down at a 45° angle “into” the plug, and pry until it pops out. (Use more pressure than prying action) This may take some effort as some tend to be more stubborn than others. Please see below photo for approximate locations of the plugs. 20. After the plugs are removed and stored in a safe place, remove the screws that were beneath the plugs. 21. After all screws are removed, the hood will come apart in two main sections.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 26. Remove the wires connected to the ballasts. Pushing down on the square button where the wire enters the ballast will release the wire with zero effort, the wire will fall out if the button is pushed hard enough. 27. Carefully remove all of the T5 Light receptacles from the reflector. Each receptacle has two prongs. Slightly squeezing the two prongs together or apart and pushing releases the receptacle.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 29. After selecting one of those fans you just removed, preferably the one in the best shape of the four, slide it into the slot that is nearest the relays. This will help keep your relay cool, without impeding the flow of the other fans. See red circle in below photo for proper placement. The fan needs to blow into the hood. Make sure it is fully seated! Plug the fan into one of the original fan connectors. 30.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 32. Now locate the main power supply power cord (thick black) that was included with your kit. The ‘hot’ (black or blue wire) and the ‘neutral’ (brown or red wire), will use the included blade connectors. The ground wire will have a butt connector on the ground wire. Use a crimper to secure them to the ends as shown below. 33.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 35. Ensure the plug ends going onto the relay are very secure and difficult to remove, if they are loose, they will need to be adjusted/crimped. 36. Disconnected the green/yellow wire from the metal plate in the hood. Crimp the the green/yellow ground wires together, do not allow the green/yellow wire to be exposed to anything else except each other. 37.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 relay. The 22ga wire connects to the V+ and Comm ports of the main power supply unit and will power the LED drivers. 39. The final step to preparing your hood is to remove only 4 of the 9 screws holding the reflector in place. These screws will prevent the heatsink from sitting flush in the hood. Please see the arrows for the locations of the reflector screws, which are underneath the heatsinks in the following photo.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 41. Now strip the sheath from a considerable length of wire, approximately 4 feet, of 24ga wire. Solder small segments, connecting the LEDs together. See photo below. 42. Ensure that the small connecting wire is completely covered in solder as in previous photo. A wire that is partially exposed presents a fire hazard, this is known as a cold solder joint. See below photo for an IMPROPER solder joint example.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 43. Wire all arrays (groups of 7), with one wire coming from each end of the array to the driver using 24ga wire. You may wish to use wireties/zip-ties to secure the wire to the heatsink, keeping it neat. Please reference the Driver Installation Guide for more details. See the below photo for wiring details.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 44. After wiring all LEDs to the drivers, carefully place the completed LED heat sink into the hood, inside of the reflector. You should see that the mounting holes that you drilled earlier match up with the braces underneath the reflectors. Using a 1/16” drill bit, drill through the heat sink mounting holes and through the hood reflector braces – these are pilot holes for your mounting screws.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 48. Double check all electrical connections; one wrong connection can destroy the entire system. 49. Plug the unit into a GFCI. 50. After you have verified that the unit is functioning properly place 2 screws back into the timer panel. 51. Replace the top of the hood, screw together, replace screw cover plugs, and replace the clear cover (splash shield) over the LEDs, and ensure that the seal is good. 52.
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Red Sea Max 250 LED Retrofit Installation Guide - Last Updated 4/29/14 channels or color arrays of LEDs. You get to choose the dimming duration, sunrise, sunset and intensity levels of each color right from the on-screen backlit LCD display. Using this LED controller has many other benefits.