My 50

[mfinn]

Wow! Making me reconsider my lighting choice. Just wish bulb replacement wasn't such an issue for me. I'd probably go back to T5's.

Yeah, when I picked up the ATI T5 fixture I had been thinking about the change for a while. Any zoanthids I had, just weren't doing well.
So for months I started watching for sales and was able to get a decent discount for the fixture and some bulbs.

So now, what I'm going to do to spread out the cost of the bulbs is maybe just pick up a couple at a time over the course of a 10-11 month period.
I'll watch for sales and pick a place based on shipping vs cost of the bulbs.

When I thought I wanted to go back to a Radion led, I did the same only I watched the used equipment for sale forums on reef central and reef2reef.
I was able to find a used gen 1 fixture that was missing a couple parts for $150.
I sent it in to EcoTech to see what it would cost to get it working. They replaced the fan, the bottom cover and a fuse for less than $50.

But then it hit me a few weeks ago. The tank is doing great. The zoanthids are doing great.
Now is the time to not do anything. lol

 

[NanaReefer]

I'm so one the fence about lighting. I love the controllability of LED's so much. Thinking the ramping up/down is more natural. Sunrise/sunset aspect.
Still unsure of actual par longevity on them though. How long does say the Radion actually last?
But I remember the beautiful color & growth I had in my 26g from the T5's. I also know that ramping T5's lowers the life of the bulbs big time. I don't remember ever seeing the bulbs on sale. I wasn't a big fan of having to change them out either.

So Marty, for LED's what would you recommend for my 40B?
I'm looking very closely at the MaxSpec R420R Razor. Really like it.

 

[spieszak]

So... I know you didn't ask ME, but I really, really love my lights. They are a cheaper option, tuned by one of the local stores. Use a multi chip instead of all the individual leds, and have three channels to tune so you get the color you want...
http://oceansbydesign-com.3dcartstores.com/Helios-Next-gen-180-watt-led-_p_42.html

 

[NanaReefer]

Hey you! Please feel free to make any suggestions. Your opinions are always welcome

So I'm looking at those lights. Are they remote controlled? I see it says controller sold separately. Do they ramp?

 

[spieszak]

the newest ones have wi-fi, so i don't think you need the controller.
ramping is cool. you set it to 20 for 8am and 30 for 9am etc and it ramps itself from 20 to 30 over an hour...
i like purples, i have my uv channel a bit higher than most.

if you remember Mojo from here, he's the guy behind the store. If you call them, he'd talk to you through it all, he spent like an hour with me going through it, I walked in and asked him to sell me on them, and he sure did.
Growth is a bit slower (typical of leds) but the colors are awesome!

 

[NanaReefer]

Sweet! Thanks spieszak Definitely going on my list of likes.
I'm wondering though. Looking at the Helios 270w. They give no info on the diodes they use and no where does it say they're wifi capable. Guess I'll have to call and talk to mojo. Is he the same guy of mojos reefs?

 

[spieszak]

PM sent. Sorry about the hikacking Marty. I was thinking this was Nana's.thread.

 

[NanaReefer]

Oops I'm sorry too Marty. Got caught up a little.

 

[tike]

Martin......the tank looks awesome! I have always loved your zoa tanks.

 

[mfinn]

PM sent. Sorry about the hikacking Marty. I was thinking this was Nana's.thread.

Oops I'm sorry too Marty. Got caught up a little.

No worries.
It's all about reefing.

 

[mfinn]

I'm so one the fence about lighting. I love the controllability of LED's so much. Thinking the ramping up/down is more natural. Sunrise/sunset aspect.
Still unsure of actual par longevity on them though. How long does say the Radion actually last?
But I remember the beautiful color & growth I had in my 26g from the T5's. I also know that ramping T5's lowers the life of the bulbs big time. I don't remember ever seeing the bulbs on sale. I wasn't a big fan of having to change them out either.

So Marty, for LED's what would you recommend for my 40B?
I'm looking very closely at the MaxSpec R420R Razor. Really like it.

OK, so as far as the leds are concerned, they life of them are still up in the air. Somewhere between 5 and 10 years?
I have not seen any threads anywhere about individual leds going out or needing to be replaced on Radion fixtures. How long have they been out now? 5-6+ years?
Not sure exactly.
However I have seen people talking about having to replace individual leds on Chinese black box led fixtures.
So I guess maybe a quality issue.

The ramp up and down is nice.
I forgot to mention I had Carlos ( seedlessinseattle ) make me a small led string with 10 leds on it. 2 are uv and 8 are blue. It has 2 ballasts and the one with most of the blues on it went out. So I do have a short period with 3 leds ( 2 uv and 1 blue) that come on about 45 minutes before any T5's and stay on for about a half hour after the last T5's go out.
THe first T5's that come on are 2 Blue Plus. Then a hour later the other 4 come on.
So I do have a choppy ramp up and down.

But when I decided to give T5's another go, I thought about the smooth ramp up and down the Radion fixtures give, I remembered back to using just mh lighting or just VHO or the combination of the 2, and my first venture with T5's.
I used those light sources for 15+ years and with them the light was almost instant on ( took maybe 5-10 minutes to fully power up) and they grew coral just fine.
People still use them and have hugely successful sps reefs.
So I don't think the ramp up and down is necessary for growing coral.

So when I had the Radion gen 3 over my 50 gallon tank and started getting back into zoanthids, they just didn't do well. Even putting a effort into keeping them in the shade and acclimating them.
So I went back to T5's., and at first I wasn't happy. I even bought another Radion fixture and considered going back to leds on this tank. But I guess maybe 2-3 weeks ago it kind of hit me. The tank was really starting to look good. Zoanthid growing was up. Color was good. The few chalices I have were growing.

 

[mfinn]

Sweet! Thanks spieszak Definitely going on my list of likes.
I'm wondering though. Looking at the Helios 270w. They give no info on the diodes they use and no where does it say they're wifi capable. Guess I'll have to call and talk to mojo. Is he the same guy of mojos reefs?

I haven't seen his fixtures in person, but I hear from local people that like them.

Call and ask for Mike.

 

[mfinn]

Martin......the tank looks awesome! I have always loved your zoa tanks.

Thanks.

 

[NanaReefer]

Do you think 1 Gen 3 would work on my 40B? Kind of expensive for my budget but I'm sure they're worth it.

 

[mfinn]

Do you think 1 Gen 3 would work on my 40B? Kind of expensive for my budget but I'm sure they're worth it.

Hey, I would love to be able to convince you to buy a Radion, especially a gen 3.
But your tank is kind of that size that's really inbetween using a single Radion fixture and going with 2.

Even with the wide angle lens kit, the par ( and the brightness) on the outside 3" of each side of the tank ( total 6" ) would be very poor.
Then on the other hand using 2 fixtures would be excessive and wasteful. ( money wise IMO)
Even picking up used stuff like I like to do. ( I picked up a gen 1 Radion for $150. Sent it back to EcoTech for needed repairs which were $50. So I have a good working gen 1 for $200 total)

If I were you, I would look into something else, besides the Radion. Something that has wider spread, but is controllable.

 

[NanaReefer]

Great solid advice as usual I'll keep looking <sigh>

 

[mfinn]

Great solid advice as usual I'll keep looking <sigh>

I'm going to ask around about using a gen 3 Radion on a 40B tank. See what is said.

 

[mfinn]

Do you think 1 Gen 3 would work on my 40B? Kind of expensive for my budget but I'm sure they're worth it.

I asked about a Radion over a 36" wide tank ( on FB in the EcoTech Group) and this picture is from someone who is using a gen 2 pro over a 36" long tank.
It's 13" from the water and he has it on 85% intensity.
I think it's awesome looking.

 

[NanaReefer]

Oh wow! That is nice.

 

[mfinn]

Do you think 1 Gen 3 would work on my 40B? Kind of expensive for my budget but I'm sure they're worth it.

I forgot to ask, do you have a laptop?
You need a computer to control Radions and the standard usb cord that connects to the light is only 7' long.
They do make a 15' cord, but most people don't have their computer within 7' or even 15' of their tank.