Radions or ATI Dimmable sunpower
- Thread starter McCune
- Start date
Potatohead
New member
Regular Sunpower IMO
I have been searching my local area and found 48" x8 disable sunpower and some radion g3. If I go with the ATI the initial cost will be significantly less, but long run it will add up quick for bulb replacements. For all the radions is will cost me approximately 3x as much up front
Brandon0034
New member
Everyone always acts like bulbs are very expensive and LED is cheaper in the long run but I don't think they actually calculate it. I'm not sure what prices you're getting the fixtures for but lets say the T5 is $500 and the Radions are $1500 since you said 3x more. Bulbs per ATI are suggested to be changed 9-12 months. Lets say 8 bulbs at $160 every 9 months for worst case scenario. 1000(price difference)/160(bulb cost)=6.25(replacements) or 56.25 months thus 4.69 years. So after over 4.5 years you still haven't acquired savings and honestly if you're going to run 5 radions you'll use more electricity than one T5 fixture.
Potatohead
New member
Not to mention the lifespan of the Radions is not definite, they will eventually die. A T5 light needs a new ballast and fan from time to time and that's about it.
Brandon0034
New member
Keep in mind that the bulbs are supposed to be broke in under full power or it'll reduce the bulb life.
Brandon0034
New member
Straight from ATI "Brand new lamps have a burn in period of 50 hours. During this time they should not be dimmed; if using a dimmable fixture. They may also illuminate inconsistently or flicker during this period. Don't worry this is perfectly Normal."
They have a really good in depth thread on their fixtures and bulbs that explains a lot of things most people don't know. Including that the bulbs are directional. I can't post the link here because its another forum but I can pm the link.
They have a really good in depth thread on their fixtures and bulbs that explains a lot of things most people don't know. Including that the bulbs are directional. I can't post the link here because its another forum but I can pm the link.
Potatohead
New member
Eight bulb? Do you like 12k or more like 20k?
ReefCowboy
New member
G4 radions seem like a great fixture, with proven results already.
Sunpower is an excellent fixture also!
Sunpower is an excellent fixture also!
ClownMan727
New member
Sunpower can't be beat. You can add blue led strips for the perfect lighting for what ever you want to keep.
I've read of some issues with the dimmable, or at least one of the big-name dimmable fixtures. I think they were having premature ballast failures. You should research the model and see.
Potatohead
New member
A lot of people just run four blue+ and four coral+ which is about 13k or so. I like putting a purple in there somewhere. Five blue+, two coral+ and one purple+ is around 15k. Drop a coral for another blue and more like 17k.
ReefCowboy
New member
I ran 3 Coral+ and 3 Blue+ in my ATI Sunpower. My Acropora absolutely loved it. It was a tad to blue at first for me, but it quickly became the norm and I actually really enjoyed the bulb combo. Most importantly, so did my Acropora!!
Nice tank!!
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