Opinions on Radions?

Dosepher

Dosepher

CTARS Member
Hello all! Just wanted to know everyone's opinion on the Ecotechs Radion LEDS. I got 120watt LEDs from amazon in February and for some reason the blues on one of my LEDS went out and I thought maybe its a good oppurtunity to upgrade to a brand name LED. I like the colors that the Radions produce and many features that it brings! The real question im trying to figure out is it worth it? :rollface: Haha let me know your opinions or experience with Radions!
 
I have been using them and love them, The Ecotech Live software work nice and has some nice feature built into it like Acclimate Timer which allows you to back the intensity of the light off if you add new corals or fish and the lights will automatically ramp back up to your original settings over the amount of time you specify.
If you run MP10,40 or 60 pumps they can also sync with the pumps for night mode settings.
 
Since I'm upgrading, I might just buy the same LEDS I currently have right now to save money for my new build and maybe Radions in the future. As much as I like the coloration of the Radions, my LEDS does the job and I do see growth from them :)
 
I work at an LFS and we use and sell Radion LEDs. They are the most popular of all of the LED fixtures we sell but customer feedback has been very mixed. Everyone either loves them or hates them. We had 2 Radion G1s over our 120 gallon frag tank for a year and then the cooling fans went out on both units. Very disappointing for a fixture with such a high cost. We are now using the G2s and they have been working well for now. I have Kessil A360Ws on my own 120 and I like them much more than the Radions at the store. No disco, plenty of shimmer, much simpler to control, and cheaper. The only advantage to the Radions is the greater degree of control, but if you ask me I wouldn't use all of the fancy controllable features on the Radion if I had them.
 
Wow that information was very helpful! Thank you! I have read about some problems similar to yours about the Radions on the ecotech forums! I dont think i would use all the gadgets on the Radions either haha. Even though they are very popular and look very nice, I guess sticking with the LEDS I have right now is a good idea and get a mp40 instead for a bigger tank! Thanks everyone for your opinions and experience on these guys! :)
 
A buddy of mine has the most recent Radions, and I have the ReefBreeders. Fit 'n finish on the former is better, no question, as is the ability to interface with the Apex (and others?); but they are also much more expensive and don't grow corals any better. IMO, premium spending is best done elsewhere (am a big fan of the vortech pumps, for example).
 
Chriskid said:
i see alot of new LED fixtures for sale on here lately.
hhhmmmmmm .... but not many tanks i see have a thriving reef "from LED".

i wonder ........
Click to expand...

Plenty of people grow coral with LED. Im one of them. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Warren's tanks can attest to the fact that you can grow sweet SPS colonies from frags (not imported mariculture mini colonies) with led's. Every time I see someone post a thread of this nature I see you bashing the technology. Are there drawbacks to led's over t5's and mh? Of course there are, but there are also plenty of advantages too. Everyone has to decide on whats most important to them in their light fixture. Bulb replacement , heat, power consumption, and fixture aesthetics are all factors one should consider. If they didn't work at all then they wouldn't be selling for going on 5 years now.
 
If you want to get a good lighting system, very good, for cheaper, you can go with the reefbreeder leds. I have 2 of them above my 220g and I love them. I have a 4ft layout on each one. They are programmable, no as customizable as the radions but for the buck you get the bang. Just telling you as another option. The store in Stratford I believe use them on most of their tanks if you want to see what they look like.
 
agree

agree

Krazy_Karl said:
Plenty of people grow coral with LED. Im one of them. Anyone who has had the pleasure of seeing Warren's tanks can attest to the fact that you can grow sweet SPS colonies from frags (not imported mariculture mini colonies) with led's. Every time I see someone post a thread of this nature I see you bashing the technology. Are there drawbacks to led's over t5's and mh? Of course there are, but there are also plenty of advantages too. Everyone has to decide on whats most important to them in their light fixture. Bulb replacement , heat, power consumption, and fixture aesthetics are all factors one should consider. If they didn't work at all then they wouldn't be selling for going on 5 years now.
Click to expand...



I agree with you. I had t5's on my 55g and things were going great. I then upgraded to a 220g and went with the reefbreeder LEDs. Most of the corals have grow to double in size. The only problem was a human error on my part. I burnt one colony of zoa's by not starting them lower in the tank - DUH
 
Just wanted to offer my twocents in this debate, as it will never end...

LED's have come along way, from just simple blue's and whites and now full spectrum diodes that seem to produce a good enough spectrum to grow coral.

What I think people forget about sometimes is that having good husbandry skills with your tanks needs is almost more important than having the best lighting systems. I read the post of people like ChrisKid, Pecan2Phat (Warren), Swannyson7 (Scott), KrazyKarl, Franky....every single one of them has different lighting systems

ChrisKid - Full metal Halide with I believe T5 supplement
Warren - All LED's, AI's, Radions, PacSun, DIY's
Scott - (When he had his tank) T5's and I believe basic white/Blue LED pendants
Krazy Karl - Full Radions
Franky - 6 bulb Tek Light

All of these folks, only to name a few have gorgeous tanks, what I feel sets them apart from all the people who sell their LED's...HUSBANDRY SKILLS. All have proven that these 3 main lighting systems work and can grow coral.

With proper maintenance and supplement dosing you can achieve these types of results. I agree that Metal halides are tried and true and produce AMAZING results but LED's also have their dog in the fight and they seem to have a bit of bark to them as well...
 
BfishLpond78 said:
Just wanted to offer my twocents in this debate, as it will never end...

LED's have come along way, from just simple blue's and whites and now full spectrum diodes that seem to produce a good enough spectrum to grow coral.

What I think people forget about sometimes is that having good husbandry skills with your tanks needs is almost more important than having the best lighting systems. I read the post of people like ChrisKid, Pecan2Phat (Warren), Swannyson7 (Scott), KrazyKarl, Franky....every single one of them has different lighting systems

ChrisKid - Full metal Halide with I believe T5 supplement
Warren - All LED's, AI's, Radions, PacSun, DIY's
Scott - (When he had his tank) T5's and I believe basic white/Blue LED pendants
Krazy Karl - Full Radions
Franky - 6 bulb Tek Light

All of these folks, only to name a few have gorgeous tanks, what I feel sets them apart from all the people who sell their LED's...HUSBANDRY SKILLS. All have proven that these 3 main lighting systems work and can grow coral.

With proper maintenance and supplement dosing you can achieve these types of results. I agree that Metal halides are tried and true and produce AMAZING results but LED's also have their dog in the fight and they seem to have a bit of bark to them as well...
Click to expand...

Excellent point
 
Thanks everyone for there input! Helped out a lot on my decision of lights! Also taught me that its not just the lights but its Husbandry Skills that BfishLpond talked about! I got a lot of mix results, pro and cons of Radions thanks! :)
 
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