LED lighting radion or illumina that is the question?

[JenC2012]

I'm setting up a 55g seahorse tank that will also house: zoas, palys, sun coral, sponge, Ricordia, and mushrooms. I purchased an aquatic life t5 combo light, but it is too thick for my canopy. So I'm looking for another lighting option. Right now I'm torn between the vertex illumina 200 and the radion 2nd gen.

i have a lot of yellow, red, and orange that I'm afraid wont pop w/o the red and green spectrum the radion provides.

What I like about the illumina 200: it's $100 cheaper, it can be very close to the tank (4in canopy won't accommodate much room between light and top of tank)
What I don't like: no red/green spectrum, made in Austria, so set up will probably be a hassle, need extra piece/controller to program.

What I like about the radion 2nd gen: green/red spectrum, easily programmable, cabinet mounting hardware is available.
what I don't like: price, mounting height should be somewhere around a foot above tank.

I'm wondering if I mount the light 4in above the tank and turn the intensity down if that will work with the radion.

Anyone out there have an opinion; what fixture would you purchase? If there's another fixture out there conducive to the stock and space constraints I would love to hear about it. Looking forward to the consensus. Thank you.

 

[JenC2012]

Also considering the aqua illumination vega...

 

[mfinn]

I am very new to the Radion and I really don't think putting a Radion 4" above the tank and turning down the intensity will work. IMO you would have to turn it down so much the the tank would seem dim in comparison to other lighting.
Ecotech reccomends that the fixture be mounted in the 8" range.
If you had a canopy that was designed for a mh fixture, then the Radion would fit in that.
If you really want a led, then consider getting rid of the short canopy and going without a top and making a light stand to hang one, or ceiling or wall mounts. Many different ways to do it.
In my 50 gallon build I made a light hanger for my Radion. Check it out, it may give you some ideas.

 

[trido]

I agree with Marty. IMO T-5 or VHO's area about the only lights that will be good in a hood that short. A T-5 retrofit kit is easy to install and will fit your needs well enough for a low light tank like your describing.

 

[mfinn]

I was thinking VHO would be best in a 4" canopy. I have a ATI T5 fixture and I was told I needed to keep it 8" from the water to keep from burning my corals. I guess a diy T5 without individual reflectors would work.
I used VHO only on a number of tanks for many years and it is pretty decent.

 

[jaysauce]

+1 on aqua illuminations. We have two AI Nanos for our 55 gallon and we cannot be any happier with the color, intensity, and growth. We only use 50-60% of the power but our corals still love it.

 

[mercenary-grunt]

look at the oceans by design. they have green and ultraviolet ( purple). so you get the green and res that you want and they have them priced really nice the big is 369.99 and the small is 269.99. I belive If I remember correctly.

Sent from my Galaxy S3 using Tapatalk 2.

 

[Chichas01]

I love my Radions, but there would be no way I'd have one if I was doing a softy tank. Seems like T5's or an LED fixture that is a little less spendy would work just fine. If you are planning to move to SPS at some point, and have the cash, then go for it.

 

[Maxx]

I've been using Radions for almost a year now. The one that is over my softy LPS tank is only at 60% intensity and is too intense for my softies....its also a Gen 1 and is exactly 8 inches off the top of the water.

I love my Radions, but for your needs, its too much.

Nick

 

[JenC2012]

Thank you so much for your replies. I've decided to keep the t5 and shorten the legs 1.5 inches.