Neptune Aquatics

Light change from AI Hydra 52HD to EcoTech Radion X15 PRO? Or Other?

kinetic

kinetic

Supporting Member
BARcard
Hey All,
I've been struggling a little with my SPS. I've played around with parameters for years (slowly) and with everything else consistent, I want to see if my lights have kept my SPS from really thriving.

I'm using an AI Hydra 52HD, and with a par meter I was getting something around 400 at the tops and 300 towards the bottom (montis). I don't know how accurate those are for LED lights, but that's what I got.

Now, I really dislike the super blue light color, so my AI Hydra have the whites bumped pretty high. A lot of people suggested NOT bumping them that much, because those whites are really harsh.

I'm thinking of getting another solution that allows me to not run the lights super blue while still doing the right thing for the corals/anemones.

I keep hearing good things about the EcoTech, I guess I would get the X15 since my tank is only 24" long (yes, I might go 36" at some point). But I don't know if I should get the PRO or Blue, though PRO seems to be the colors I want. Then I was thinking of just running my Hydra very blue, and getting a Aquatic Life T5 hybrid, and getting some nice white T5 lights that way.

What would you do?

Aquatic Life
www.bulkreefsupply.com

24" Hybrid T5HO 4x24W Fixture with LED Mounting System - White

Welcome to the future of aquarium lighting! Combine your favorite LED Light module between proven T5 lights to create a stellar lighting system! Includes LED Light Brackets Powder Coated Aluminum Frame Individual T5 Reflectors Silicone T5 Sockets HEP Ballasts Accepts One LED Light Module...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com

EcoTech
www.bulkreefsupply.com

Radion XR15 G5 PRO LED Light Fixture

Why does BRS recommend the Ecotech Marine Radion? Quite simply, Ecotech Marine Radions are the LED’s we most often choose to light our own tanks. With the chance to use just about any light we want, there are probably more Radions in use around BRS than any other LED fixture. Through years of...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com
 
Maybe check out the Reefbreeders photon lights? They are *relatively* cheap and have really easily customizable spectrums in my experience, plus if you upgrade you can easily chain two together
 
I’m a big fan of the Aquatic Life hybrid. It’s a great solution - adds par and spread. You can start there and then swap out your LEDs down the road.

I started with the hybrid and 5 AI primes. Then switched some for hydras and now I have radions.


The views, thoughts, and opinions expressed in this post belong solely to me and are not necessarily those of BAR.
 
kinetic said:
Hey All,
I've been struggling a little with my SPS. I've played around with parameters for years (slowly) and with everything else consistent, I want to see if my lights have kept my SPS from really thriving.

I'm using an AI Hydra 52HD, and with a par meter I was getting something around 400 at the tops and 300 towards the bottom (montis). I don't know how accurate those are for LED lights, but that's what I got.

Now, I really dislike the super blue light color, so my AI Hydra have the whites bumped pretty high. A lot of people suggested NOT bumping them that much, because those whites are really harsh.

I'm thinking of getting another solution that allows me to not run the lights super blue while still doing the right thing for the corals/anemones.

I keep hearing good things about the EcoTech, I guess I would get the X15 since my tank is only 24" long (yes, I might go 36" at some point). But I don't know if I should get the PRO or Blue, though PRO seems to be the colors I want. Then I was thinking of just running my Hydra very blue, and getting a Aquatic Life T5 hybrid, and getting some nice white T5 lights that way.

What would you do?

Aquatic Life
www.bulkreefsupply.com

24" Hybrid T5HO 4x24W Fixture with LED Mounting System - White

Welcome to the future of aquarium lighting! Combine your favorite LED Light module between proven T5 lights to create a stellar lighting system! Includes LED Light Brackets Powder Coated Aluminum Frame Individual T5 Reflectors Silicone T5 Sockets HEP Ballasts Accepts One LED Light Module...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com

EcoTech
www.bulkreefsupply.com

Radion XR15 G5 PRO LED Light Fixture

Why does BRS recommend the Ecotech Marine Radion? Quite simply, Ecotech Marine Radions are the LED’s we most often choose to light our own tanks. With the chance to use just about any light we want, there are probably more Radions in use around BRS than any other LED fixture. Through years of...
www.bulkreefsupply.com www.bulkreefsupply.com
Click to expand...

If you’re going SPS, I would probably get an xr30 for spread and shadowing reasons for 24”, the Blue is pretty blue. Actually, even though I run on the bluer side, I think the cyan LED they added makes it’s more of a greenish/blue hue (which really bugs me) If you like really white, I very much recommend you check out the Pro.
 
I am not sure what you want is so reasonable to ask for.
I have very rarely seen a tank with lots of colored up high end SPS that was not run fairly blue.
I have certainly never managed it.
And in nature, shallow corals are rarely that colorful.

I run AI-prime, and agree, the white is harsh. AI uses cool-white LEDs. Great for PAR readings, but ....
I bump up red and green to help make it a bit less harsh.
But it seems to be missing yellows and some other areas.
 
As a person who prefers the daytime white look the amount of growth I’ve seen just running a full blue schedule will never allow me to bump my whites up again. Unfortunately sps corals thrive in that deep blue range and adding white to the mix definitely doesn’t help them out imo. It doesn’t kill them but once I switched to all blue I would say the difference is substantial.
 
you should try the xr30 instead of the xr15. youll get more spread. i believe the xr15 is 20x20. really also depends on your scape. personally i like the xr15 over the xr30 though.
 
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If you want to change the lights for the sake of aesthetics I totally can get behind that. The Hydra 52 is a little long in the tooth, maybe you want an upgrade in lighting.

That said, I really don't think the lights are the reason why your SPS isn't doing so hot, 300-400 PAR is more than ample to keep most SPS. So without going through the laundry list of potential problems... you should go down the list and check everything.
 
rygh said:
The funny thing is:
Longevity was one of the key reasons to buy LED and deal with the extra cost.
But we keep replacing them anyway, as they become old fashioned.
Click to expand...
Longevity is what manufacturers sold to justify the price of the product. They don't tell you that they'll end up having something newer and "better" just around the corner and that many will have that desire gnawing at them. They also don't tell you that the company will treat you like a leper if you don't buy the newest stuff :)

Nothing wrong with older things if the LEDs don't overheat or the electronics fritz out. Hell Mike keeps (or used to) those old AI Sol fixtures (I think) over his tank, they work to keep corals alive. But much like the original LEDs do you want the 2 color approach, white and blue, or do you want violet, 3 shades of blue, different whites, do you want things like built in timers, programmable via bluetooth or wifi, etc etc etc.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Longevity is what manufacturers sold to justify the price of the product. They don't tell you that they'll end up having something newer and "better" just around the corner and that many will have that desire gnawing at them. They also don't tell you that the company will treat you like a leper if you don't buy the newest stuff :)

Nothing wrong with older things if the LEDs don't overheat or the electronics fritz out. Hell Mike keeps (or used to) those old AI Sol fixtures (I think) over his tank, they work to keep corals alive. But much like the original LEDs do you want the 2 color approach, white and blue, or do you want violet, 3 shades of blue, different whites, do you want things like built in timers, programmable via bluetooth or wifi, etc etc etc.
Click to expand...
I work for a company that is king of getting people to stand in line for the latest and greatest version. :)

The > 2 color approach I do think matters.
An iPhone app .... not so critical.

What I really want now: No fans.
Between the noise, maintenance, and failures, that has become a big problem.
For my old DIY LEDs, I had four x 4 foot heat sinks, and never a problem.
 
rygh said:
I work for a company that is king of getting people to stand in line for the latest and greatest version. :)

The > 2 color approach I do think matters.
An iPhone app .... not so critical.

What I really want now: No fans.
Between the noise, maintenance, and failures, that has become a big problem.
For my old DIY LEDs, I had four x 4 foot heat sinks, and never a problem.
Click to expand...
Maybe look at strips. Instead. Reef bright has a new one and the orpheck seem good too.
 
sfsuphysics said:
Longevity is what manufacturers sold to justify the price of the product. They don't tell you that they'll end up having something newer and "better" just around the corner and that many will have that desire gnawing at them. They also don't tell you that the company will treat you like a leper if you don't buy the newest stuff :)

Nothing wrong with older things if the LEDs don't overheat or the electronics fritz out. Hell Mike keeps (or used to) those old AI Sol fixtures (I think) over his tank, they work to keep corals alive. But much like the original LEDs do you want the 2 color approach, white and blue, or do you want violet, 3 shades of blue, different whites, do you want things like built in timers, programmable via bluetooth or wifi, etc etc etc.
Click to expand...
I do still use them, and hey, they have 3! Colors goddamnit! 10 years of use ain’t too shabby
 
If I was buying new lights today, it would be one of the t5 led hybrids.

Think the t5s make up for a lot of the deficits of leds, then the leds give you precision control of the actual color of the overall lighting that you can only control in broad strokes with t5 bulbs.

That said the best growth I had was a cheap black box led. 2 channel, white and royal blue. No dimming. No sunrise and sun set. Just on/off.

As far as what light to get, really depends on your budget and how much you are comfortable spending.
 
I don’t have much experience with any corals yet. I bought the Reefi Uno led and have been very impressed by the light so far. It have a lot more blue led compared to white, but you can tweak each individual channel to you liking.

the led pump out a lot of light. See my build thread for the par reading.
 
Thanks everyone!

Yeah, it's not my lights that's really stunting growth. I've had a few doser issues, and my frags keep getting bumped off by my, now gigantic, trochus snails. I also run probably way too much flow, and the acropora are all fat and stubby, though I just lost my walt disney frag that fell behind the rockwork. It took me a week to fish it out (I was out of town) and now it's pretty much RTN'd completely. I still have a sunset montipora that's growing like crazy, and a mystery acropora that's extremely fat and stubby.

I think I just have the itch to try a new light.

The Reefi looks really nice, especially since there's no glare coming off the sides.

Should I get a Reefi Uno or Duo? Might be fun to use that over the Radions.
 
kinetic said:
Thanks everyone!

Yeah, it's not my lights that's really stunting growth. I've had a few doser issues, and my frags keep getting bumped off by my, now gigantic, trochus snails. I also run probably way too much flow, and the acropora are all fat and stubby, though I just lost my walt disney frag that fell behind the rockwork. It took me a week to fish it out (I was out of town) and now it's pretty much RTN'd completely. I still have a sunset montipora that's growing like crazy, and a mystery acropora that's extremely fat and stubby.

I think I just have the itch to try a new light.

The Reefi looks really nice, especially since there's no glare coming off the sides.

Should I get a Reefi Uno or Duo? Might be fun to use that over the Radions.
Click to expand...
I would recommend a couple of Unos over a single Duo.
 
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