Been meaning to do this but just no time... A few months ago I wanted to upgrade my led lights. I have been using the Maxspect Razor over my reef with pretty good results. I've just felt that I could do better and began to look at the Hydra 26, 52 and the Radion pro 15 and 30 models. Spend hours and hours researching and basically coming up empty. So if your looking at these 5 led lights here is what I have found.
Maxspect: Nice and compact, easy to mount to the tank, and easy to program the 6 channels with the separate blue and white. Decent coral growth and decent color but just no real wow factor. Had to raise the fixture about 10 inches to get decent spread through out the tank. I got the 16k and the blue is dominant.
Hydra 26: Very bright, Surprisingly good coverage at only about 8 inches off the tank. Colors are very good and the corals just pop. Very good growth, the fans only run when necessary (which isn't often), and reasonably priced. Controller can control 30 lights and syncs them well.
Bad: You have to buy a additional controller, the controller feels very cheap. The software is just silly in its logic and has a learning curve to program. Example is you have to go backwards in programing the channels other wise it gives an error and won't let you continue. So you have to start at the last channel and go to the first. Also the controller must be plugged in at all times if you want it to control the lights.
Hydra 52: Lots of light great for a deeper tank or a tank with a lot of corals that may be shading some of your other corals. Can be mounted a bit lower on the tank due to the extra pucks. Fans seem to run a bit more often but not a bad thing.
Bad: Price is nearly double the 26. Also the same controller issues as above.
Radion 15pro: Very nice light, good colors and maybe just a fraction more power than the Hydra. The controller was nice and seemed simple to use (although I only messed with it for about 30 minutes). The mounting options are easier with the Radion (although more expensive). The 30 pro was just crazy expensive and I really didn't spend much time with it as it was just no costly. What I saw was very impressive however.
Bad: Expensive, and only one puck. With using the back of the tank mount I noticed a distinct shadowing effect on a 2X2 area. Have to buy a controller and the mounting options are expensive.
Conclusion: I went with the 2 of the Hydra 26's and after a couple months still don't have the colors over 40% at any time. The corals are doing very well and the growth has been much better than when I was using the maxspect. Also if down the road I need more light I can add another 26 very easily but I can't imagine needing one. The coverage is great with lots of power in reserve. I don't have par readings or other technical information but for me the Hydra 26s are the best for what I am doing. I'm sure I've left out quite a bit of info in order to keep this short so if you have any questions and are looking for answers I will do my best. When I did my research I called and spoke with all three companies as well as some sales locations to see first hand how the units worked.
Maxspect: Nice and compact, easy to mount to the tank, and easy to program the 6 channels with the separate blue and white. Decent coral growth and decent color but just no real wow factor. Had to raise the fixture about 10 inches to get decent spread through out the tank. I got the 16k and the blue is dominant.
Hydra 26: Very bright, Surprisingly good coverage at only about 8 inches off the tank. Colors are very good and the corals just pop. Very good growth, the fans only run when necessary (which isn't often), and reasonably priced. Controller can control 30 lights and syncs them well.
Bad: You have to buy a additional controller, the controller feels very cheap. The software is just silly in its logic and has a learning curve to program. Example is you have to go backwards in programing the channels other wise it gives an error and won't let you continue. So you have to start at the last channel and go to the first. Also the controller must be plugged in at all times if you want it to control the lights.
Hydra 52: Lots of light great for a deeper tank or a tank with a lot of corals that may be shading some of your other corals. Can be mounted a bit lower on the tank due to the extra pucks. Fans seem to run a bit more often but not a bad thing.
Bad: Price is nearly double the 26. Also the same controller issues as above.
Radion 15pro: Very nice light, good colors and maybe just a fraction more power than the Hydra. The controller was nice and seemed simple to use (although I only messed with it for about 30 minutes). The mounting options are easier with the Radion (although more expensive). The 30 pro was just crazy expensive and I really didn't spend much time with it as it was just no costly. What I saw was very impressive however.
Bad: Expensive, and only one puck. With using the back of the tank mount I noticed a distinct shadowing effect on a 2X2 area. Have to buy a controller and the mounting options are expensive.
Conclusion: I went with the 2 of the Hydra 26's and after a couple months still don't have the colors over 40% at any time. The corals are doing very well and the growth has been much better than when I was using the maxspect. Also if down the road I need more light I can add another 26 very easily but I can't imagine needing one. The coverage is great with lots of power in reserve. I don't have par readings or other technical information but for me the Hydra 26s are the best for what I am doing. I'm sure I've left out quite a bit of info in order to keep this short so if you have any questions and are looking for answers I will do my best. When I did my research I called and spoke with all three companies as well as some sales locations to see first hand how the units worked.
