Switching to LEDs

Vorog

Vorog

New member
I do not want to take over someone else's thread. I will start my own. So as the title states I want to make the switch to full spectrum LED's. I really want the radion pro but I was told the reefbreeders are very nice as well and about half the price. I have a nano (29 aga) drilled standard size 30"". Would you guys recommend the reefbreeder 16 or 24? And if you have reefbreeders currently can you give me your input or FTS pics with them on. Thank you for the feedback in advance guys!

I should note I have a mixed reef softies, LPS, some SPS and I do plan on upgrading to a 120g tank in the future so that's why I wanted the radion pro
 
You could likely do the 16 if you raised the fixture up high enough, and turned the leds up higher. Personally I'd go with the 24 though, especially if you're upgrading in the future. I also think they're better than radions. I've been using bridgelux leds for 5 years with good results. And the reefbreeders fixtures use better whites.
 
I would go with the biggest you can fit, so 24 inch. I also run Reefbreeders and have had good luck (even with a 30" deep tank). I do supplement with T5's also. FT shot is hard for me as I stink at photographs and also depending on time of day, colors are different. Your welcome to stop over anytime and take a look at my tank. I can change settings so you can see different intensities and with/without T5's etc.

mike
 
Just going to put my 2 cents in here.

I have ran radions on multiple tanks and have had everything from Gen 1 -Gen 3's now. Yes you pay a little more for them but you have top notch customer service with them. Also they hold their value which is a good sign of a good product. Plus if you want and they come out with some new ground breaking technology you can always upgrade them. Which brings me to my next point. Might not be a bad idea, might want to get an older unit and send it to them to have them upgrade it to a gen 3 or a gen 3 pro.

Not trying to sway you to radions just giving my 2 cents.
 
Nwest said:
Just going to put my 2 cents in here.

I have ran radions on multiple tanks and have had everything from Gen 1 -Gen 3's now. Yes you pay a little more for them but you have top notch customer service with them. Also they hold their value which is a good sign of a good product. Plus if you want and they come out with some new ground breaking technology you can always upgrade them. Which brings me to my next point. Might not be a bad idea, might want to get an older unit and send it to them to have them upgrade it to a gen 3 or a gen 3 pro.

Not trying to sway you to radions just giving my 2 cents.
Click to expand...

Any idea on cost for upgrades?
 
Radion Gen2 to Gen3 -$150
Radion Gen2/Pro to Gen3 Pro-$250
Radion Gen1 to Gen3-$175
Radion Gen1 to Gen3 Pro-$275

I did the Gen 1 to gen 3 and its night and day. I believe they upgrade everything but the heat sink.
 
I'm with Nate on this one, as much I really don't care for radions I really do think it's better to use higher quality LEDs, will the reefbreeders and other Chinese LEDs grow coral, yeah ofcourse they will. One thing I've noticed is just as he mentioned, if something happens to one of these Chinese LEDs you either have to buy a new unit or replace the parts yourself. With ecotech you literally just send it to them, and I honestly can't recall hearing any issues with radions quit working. Just a thought too, a used Gen1 or Gen2 Radion shouldn't be that much more than a new reef breeders light.

Also, you can always build a light.
 
I have a 265 gallon w/ 8-165 watt Chinese led's. Anyone who has seen my tank knows how well corals grow and thrive. In the 3 years I have had one go out. I replaced it w/ a new one for $75 including shipping. Hard to beat at that price. Shipping back any other for repairs will cost you at least half of that. Anyone else have any experience with the Chinese

Pic of the tank I took 3 days ago.

0A284638-5631-46BD-912B-92D249E8F7D4_zpsxaz6uty2.jpg
ones.
 
In no way am I trying to sound defensive of reefbreeders but why exactly do they sound like they're getting lumped in the same group as the Chinese led boxes?

I don't even understand the difference in 90 vs 120 blah blah, ooo..pretty lights. So what makes radions better than reefbreeders besides the opinion on customer service?

This is said out of pure innocence and not knowing..not a jab at radion in any way. I just want to get my moneys worth and not mess with lights for a long while
 
Because the reef breeder lights are simply the same Chinese lights you can buy on ebay that they stick their name on.
 
I did not mean to start a war here I am just giving my 2 cents on my experience with Radions and Ecotech Marine in general.
 
Customer service aside, the images of the reefbreeder budget light on their website look identical (down to the mounting hardware) to my eBay Chinese light.
 
Hmspradlin, Yes reef breeders are the Chinese lights, just rebeanded. But so far they are proving plenty capable. I have 2 diy fixtures using bridgelux leds like those in reefbreeder, and 3 aquastar fixtures from eBay. The diy fixtures have been going for 5 years. No bridgelux burnouts. Some of the semi-led actinic have popped, but not burned out.

The brand of leds that the radions use (cree) are higher quality than bridgelux, epiled, or semi-led, no doubt about that. They put out more light with the same power draw, and are likely to last longer. Phillips luxeon rebels are even better. Radions also have more features. However, that extra light is usually not needed, as most people run those and other Cree fixtures way down. The spectrum of the radions is also not that great. Features don't grow coral, but some people like them as with any other hobby. It all boils down to partly fact and partly preference.
 
Safir said:
Customer service aside, the images of the reefbreeder budget light on their website look identical (down to the mounting hardware) to my eBay Chinese light.
Click to expand...

Mine too. Reefbfeeders, aquastar, and Mars aqua (Mars aqua uses different leds though).
 
I like ecotech products I still have a mp40 from 2009 still running at 100% power reef crest mode, can't beat them ...Yes in the beginning I had Wetside problems where it would throw the Wetside off constantly the customer service was 100% they sent me out a new Wetside that one failed they sent me another it worked they will go above and beyond that's a great company....the radions I just can't see spending the money they cost for a lightning storm or to look at the color variations on my phone via an expensive reef link sold separately...I have the bridgelux Chinese led from China each diode was a few bucks I built my light per the reef breeders layout when they cost a lot more then they do now so i decide to build instead of buy at the time now it's cheaper to buy the light ....and I have been growing sps like crazy ....I have seen tanks with radions and tanks with Chinese I can't tell the difference that much they are Leds they make the water shimmer with water movement, just keep your water parameters in check and stable that's the number one key I have come to realize...the Leds are like cars you have a Cadillac /radion and a Nissan sentra/Chinese they both drive from A to B but the Cadillac/ radion has more upgrades.... No offense to sentra owners I'm not implying you have a cheap car it's just the first two cars I thought of and besides I have a sentra hanging over my tank and it works very well :)
 
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