lighting question (2 Viewers)

[Cody]

The Radion's are like the Ferrari's of Aquarium lighting. Very powerful and definitely do the job, but there are plenty of lesser expensive options out there that will also work for you. Ai Hydras or Primes are less expensive per light and are equally powerful. Other options are Reef Breaders Photon v2 (what I am running), and down to a myriad of black box units.


You can also go with generic T5's fixtures with your own mix of bulbs from say Amazon to start with. Then upgrade to high end LED's later on when it comes time to replace the lamps, or modify them and add LED's to them for more advanced features and control-ability like sunrise/sunset and moon lighting etc.

I would gladly take roughly five or six black boxes over a single Radion any day and turn out much better results. Even better, half the amount of black boxes, supplement t5s, and leave the radion ferrari in the dust.

 

[FarmerTy]

I would gladly take roughly five or six black boxes over a single Radion any day and turn out much better results. Even better, half the amount of black boxes, supplement t5s, and leave the radion ferrari in the dust.

Have you ever run a Radion Cody? I purchased two to replace my two heavily modified Ocean Revive fixtures over that frag tank. Color me impressed... Whatever color that is.

 

[tinman]

I would gladly take roughly five or six black boxes over a single Radion any day and turn out much better results. Even better, half the amount of black boxes, supplement t5s, and leave the radion ferrari in the dust.

How about some pics to back that up Cody.

 

[johntdaballa]

How about some pics to back that up Cody.

Called out!!!!


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[Cody]

Have you ever run a Radion Cody? I purchased two to replace my two heavily modified Ocean Revive fixtures over that frag tank. Color me impressed... Whatever color that is.

Yep. Took down some diy leds years ago and switched them out for a radion. It was a 36 gallon bowfront, so basically a 20 long with a gut. The shadowing was so bad the sps more or less lost skin where the lights weren’t directly hitting. Just a branch of a colony was enough to shadow and basically kill any other branch beneath it.

 

[FarmerTy]

Yep. Took down some diy leds years ago and switched them out for a radion. It was a 36 gallon bowfront, so basically a 20 long with a gut. The shadowing was so bad the sps more or less lost skin where the lights weren’t directly hitting. Just a branch of a colony was enough to shadow and basically kill any other branch beneath it.

Single point light sources are no fun! I'll be adding T5s to counter this. Shadowing is a big deal once acros become colonies. LPS and softies don't really care as much.

 

[Cody]

How about some pics to back that up Cody.

Two black boxes and two retrofit t5s. Maybe $350 out the door and a Radion can't touch my lights. Wall to wall coverage for corals, half the cost of one unit of radion and I can still hit about 800 par at the top when the leds are cranked with new t5 bulbs.

 

[Cody]

Single point light sources are no fun! I'll be adding T5s to counter this. Shadowing is a big deal once acros become colonies. LPS and softies don't really care as much.

Bingo. Hence why if you were going to exclusively run leds, the best strategy would be to space the leds out and not put them in a cluster. Run less power to more leds that are spaced out is a better strategy than more power to a concentrated area, which is why I would choose a $100 black box any day over a Radion, even if the price was the same.

 

[FarmerTy]

Bingo. Hence why if you were going to exclusively run leds, the best strategy would be to space the leds out and not put them in a cluster. Run less power to more leds that are spaced out is a better strategy than more power to a concentrated area, which is why I would choose a $100 black box any day over a Radion, even if the price was the same.

I would agree on this for pure lighting purposes and avoiding shadows but that doesn't account for ease of programming, customization, and build quality... Which to some are important too.

 

[i_am_poor]

Two black boxes and two retrofit t5s. Maybe $350 out the door and a Radion can't touch my lights. Wall to wall coverage for corals, half the cost of one unit of radion and I can still hit about 800 par at the top when the leds are cranked with new t5 bulbs.

[emoji43]

 

[steveb]

metal halide metal halide metal halide

 

[Cody]

I would agree on this for pure lighting purposes and avoiding shadows but that doesn't account for ease of programming, customization, and build quality... Which to some are important too.

I get that too but when does diminishing returns set in? Radions are easy to adjust via an app. How often are you adjusting your lights? Rations are very customizable. Between two adjustable channels, and two bulbs that I can customize, how much more do you need to customize them? See what I'm saying?

 

[PorpoiseHork]

Single point light sources are no fun! I'll be adding T5s to counter this. Shadowing is a big deal once acros become colonies. LPS and softies don't really care as much.

That's one of the reasons why I like the Reef Breeders Photon V2. It has all the same LED's as the AI Hydra, but they spaced them out for much more uniform coverage across the tank. Par levels across the tank are fairly consistent with minimal hot spots compared to other options.

 

[Cody]

[emoji43]

I'm not quite sure how to interpret that emoticon haha
What exactly are you trying to say? You've been held hostage and will more than likely be killed soon if the ransom is not met?

 

[Cody]

metal halide metal halide metal halide

Go back into your fish room until you have something valuable to contribute!!!

 

[PorpoiseHork]

Two black boxes and two retrofit t5s. Maybe $350 out the door and a Radion can't touch my lights. Wall to wall coverage for corals, half the cost of one unit of radion and I can still hit about 800 par at the top when the leds are cranked with new t5 bulbs.

So uh.. When you gonna clear off those fan vents so your lights don't overheat??

 

[FarmerTy]

So uh.. When you gonna clear off those fan vents so your lights don't overheat??

That's his hybrid lights/work bench.

 

[Cody]

That's one of the reasons why I like the Reef Breeders Photon V2. It has all the same LED's as the AI Hydra, but they spaced them out for much more uniform coverage across the tank. Par levels across the tank are fairly consistent with minimal hot spots compared to other options.

I would take one of those hands down any day over a Radion or hydra. From what I understand (I'm not terribly knowleagable of the reef breeders), those are very adjustable, customizable, etc like a Radion or hydra. That would take away the only advantage a Radion or hydra would have over a black box.

Keep in mind, my original point doesn't even include nice fixtures like that reef breeder. It wouldn't be fair to compare a Radion to one of those (assuming they can be programmed) because the reef breeder would be leaps and bounds better. One if those Orphek Atlantik units, assuming they had the same build quality, is basically a large black box with the same controllablity as a Radion. Hands down a better unit, assuming build quality is equal, but we aren't comparing those two units yet. Radions still can't prove to be better than a $92 Chinese black box. Radions fail in some key aspects when compared to the black boxes.

 

[Cody]

That's his hybrid lights/work bench.

With the right attitude, everything is a work bench Haha!

I'm tall and can't see the top so the clutter doesn't bother anyone. Plus, black boxes have superior cooling to units like radions so they can power through obstacles like syringes.

 

[Cody]

And just to clarify, when I say radion, I basically mean any led light that uses a puck, or cluster, led orientation. This would include hydras, etc as well. My argument is against the cluster design, not any one particular brand or model.

I personally think that the radions and hydras of the world are sleek, well made products that pack a lot of punch. I would just say that they sacrifice major advantages to your corals for the sake of making the lighting more aesthetically appealing to your eye, not the coral.