Radion Gen 3 to 4 Upgrade?

[deaclauderdale]

For those that are bothered by Ecotech's business model you can simply not buy the light. Your complaints mean little to what is already set in motion. I look forward to buying this new light.

Reef keeping is life!

 

[ldc3000]

I just bought my G3pros last month(July) and while they work great, it kind of sucks that a new model comes out the next month. Something that some companies will do and I wish Ecotech would is to swap out the units or offer some type of rebate.

 

[Rakie]

I just bought my G3pros last month(July) and while they work great, it kind of sucks that a new model comes out the next month. Something that some companies will do and I wish Ecotech would is to swap out the units or offer some type of rebate.

Yes -- I agree this is unfortunate. I believe it would be best for the customers if EcoTech were to publicly announce when their next items ETA is 1 month. That not only makes things like this not happen to customers like you, but also can absolutely sway someone currently deciding between Company X vs Radion -- If I were deciding between say, AI 52HD or Radion, knowing a brand new Radion would be released soon would absolutely sway me to the Radion.

 

[deaclauderdale]

Yes -- I agree this is unfortunate. I believe it would be best for the customers if EcoTech were to publicly announce when their next items ETA is 1 month. That not only makes things like this not happen to customers like you, but also can absolutely sway someone currently deciding between Company X vs Radion -- If I were deciding between say, AI 52HD or Radion, knowing a brand new Radion would be released soon would absolutely sway me to the Radion.

This I agree with. Making a purchase and then having a new model released shortly afterward is frustrating and maybe Ecotech will offer a discount (doubt it) for those with proffered of purchase within ad certain timeframe. If not, the resale market is fairy decent on Radions, and may be your goto route if you're looking to upgrade.

Reef keeping is life!

 

[Confuse]

Besides the new lenses, you're not missing much. EcoTech hasn't done anything revolutionary when it comes to LED technology since the G1. It's just another multi-cluster design that added warm whites (2 of them) and another set of violets and more efficient LEDs. They have stuck to their tried and true formula of using subpar cool whites and reds and greens. They added more LEDs to an already more than powerful fixture. Yes, these are more efficient LEDs, they will increase the lifespan of the LEDs, can be run a lower watts, etc. But it's nothing mind blowing. They're just sticking to the formula that brought them profits in the first place. The future in aquarium lighting is not in a disco ball of color. I hope one day they put their R&D to good use and explore more innovative ways to light up reef tanks.

I agree, I think the lens should be available for the previous generations because it's probably the best feature of the fixture. I look forward to more even PAR distribution and better color blending...if that's what they will actually deliver.

 

[johnmiller81]

Confuse you are spot on. They are one of the few aquarium companies with an innovative R&D and when I see something like this after 3 years between generations, it makes me wonder why they set their bar so low.

 

[JoshuaG]

Had the G4 been announced by Ecotech prior to just recently?

 

[Rakie]

Had the G4 been announced by Ecotech prior to just recently?

Just rumors and leaks. EcoTech firmly refuses to release information about new products until they're ready

 

[lockdown52]

Yes, we all like the latest and greatest. My G3 Pros function perfectly. They provide what my system needs. At this point, I see no reason for me to even consider a G4 or G5 for that matter. If it ain't broke...why fix it?

 

[Rakie]

I feel like Ecotech would win over a lot of hearts and minds if they produced new lenses that fit on old Radions.

That's the first thing I told them. They said it would be too hard (***?) I kept trying to repeat that I was asking for them to design a new G3 optic with the HEI but they played dumb... Well, they played a lot more than 'dumb'.

On top of this everyone knows their puck count needs to be doubled. The XR30 should be what the XR15 is, and the 52HD is what the XR30 should be. Hell, I'd take pucks half the size so long as they had more light sources.

FYI -- New HEI optics + Dremel = Radion G3.5

Yes, we all like the latest and greatest. My G3 Pros function perfectly. They provide what my system needs. At this point, I see no reason for me to even consider a G4 or G5 for that matter. If it ain't broke...why fix it?

Who says it's not broke? The biggest factor keeping LED from replicating the success of T5 and MH is Diffusion. The way the XR30 currently is, you're required to basically double up on Radions. On a biocube 29g I need an XR30, buying the XR15 is a mistake.

And additionally.. We were blindsided by not being able to upgrade. They made no mention of "Oh wait, you can't upgrade btw" until it was released.

I don't understand how people aren't getting this... But the Radion G4 optic upgrade is the biggest thing the company has done since they invented the Radion. The damn optic spreads par out evenly to be much more similar to T5 lighting.

 

[MichaelW]

A release of the lenses that would work on previous generations would be awesome.

 

[Rakie]

A release of the lenses that would work on previous generations would be awesome.

YES. They just have to re-design the G3 optics to have the HEI spheres. But they know that, and that's why they aren't doing it. Everything else they did was moot, it's putting little spheres on the optics that made a difference.

LED's are awesome. But this type of business from EcoTech is driving me to T5.

The HEI optics are the single biggest improvement they've ever made -- easily 2-3x more effective than their Wide optics (which were also quite nice). As someone whose used various CAD programs, it is NOT hard to take the HEI spheres and place them in their G3 optics.

This is the most Anti-Reefer friendly thing EcoTech has done. They claim they are for upgrading and giving to the reefer.. But their biggest upgrade to date, the most easily configurable change to older gens? Nope, SOL, buy a new one.

Honestly, I know a lot of people would happily pay $50+ for the new optics.