G5 Radion Lights - Are They Worth the Price?

[Sdot]

I wouldn't waste money on the G4's. I'd personally put in the extra money and get the G5's.

As a long time radion user, I feel the Gap is too large between the G4 and G5. I wouldn't purchase a G4 just to save a couple hundred. This isn't like a G3 to G4 where we have a minor upgrade.

Hmmm... the only gap i see is better spread at slightly lower heights..... and slightly higher par. Is that enough to justify 20% for each light plus the given fact the g4 XR30 are being sold with diffusers? It's all moot at this point as @piranhaman00 said they are sold out. I currently have 3 G4 XR30's on my current tank,hower i have moved to Orpheks for the new build.... i think overtime to address the directional nature of LED's more manufactures will move toward panel style lights... the new layout of the G5 by ecotech is a signal to that direction anyway.

 

[IndyMatt]

Thanks for the update and good to hear!

 

[DzidtheReefer]

I have a 6foot tank and run 2 g4 pro, and just added an orphek bar and the orphek bar gave me so much more pop and gave me a better distribution of par across the whole tank that im not even considering adding a 3rd light. I would look into that option, and for 200bux it was worth it for me.

But it all falls down to needs and wants. I would love to have them, but do i need them? No.

 

[IndyMatt]

I use the LED T5 hybrid from aquatic life to me I don't think it will be worth it. Looks like they are trying to spread out the par which I have done with the T5s. It hasn't been on the tank long enough to know but my hope is to eliminate shading.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

The big argument for using LED reef lights was energy savings/long term cost savings. Is that still true? The new Radions are up to 205 watts and $840 each. For my 6 foot tank, I would need 4 units for a total cost of $3,360! In comparison, my 60” 8 bulb ATI Sunpower fixture costs $673 and another $200 for a set of bulbs. I could use the ATI fixture (replacing bulbs every year) for over 13 years before exceeding the price of the Radion fixtures. Comparing energy, my ATI fixture uses 640 watts while the Radions would use the same at 78%. I don’t see much cost savings energy wise. While I agree the Radions look nice, what am I missing? Are these lights really worth the money?

What people don't realize with LED is that when you think you need only 4 units and your frags turn into colonies then you're going to need 8 +.

I started my 96x30x24 with 5 G4 pro XR30 and then added one more to have 6. I had no choice but to add more, I added hybrid fixtures thus adding 8 48" ATI blue plus bulbs and now I still need more. The LED become a problem when your SPS at the top start to grow. When everything is a frag you wonder why people complain about shadowing, the second stuff grows you know exactly what they are talking about.

I feel like LEDs are getting to the point they don't make sense. I see more and more people going with MH or T5 as main source and supplementing with LED.

I have my 6 G4 pro's cranked up to 100% and still have areas lower in the tank at 80 par.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

I have a 6foot tank and run 2 g4 pro, and just added an orphek bar and the orphek bar gave me so much more pop and gave me a better distribution of par across the whole tank that im not even considering adding a 3rd light. I would look into that option, and for 200bux it was worth it for me.

But it all falls down to needs and wants. I would love to have them, but do i need them? No.

I'm in the same boat, currently have the hybrid with G4 Pro and ATI Blue plus. Just added an Orphek bar and it brings so much more to the table as far as color/pop are concerned. Not sure about the par though...

 

[RedSea500MaxS]

The big argument for using LED reef lights was energy savings/long term cost savings. Is that still true? The new Radions are up to 205 watts and $840 each. For my 6 foot tank, I would need 4 units for a total cost of $3,360! In comparison, my 60” 8 bulb ATI Sunpower fixture costs $673 and another $200 for a set of bulbs. I could use the ATI fixture (replacing bulbs every year) for over 13 years before exceeding the price of the Radion fixtures. Comparing energy, my ATI fixture uses 640 watts while the Radions would use the same at 78%. I don’t see much cost savings energy wise. While I agree the Radions look nice, what am I missing? Are these lights really worth the money?

i agree......

And I still prefer T-5s, I called Aqua Illumination again today on my Hydra settings, and still today they cannot tell me for my simple tank 2’x2’x4’...exactly which settings are best for a SPS and LPS mixed reef! Why??!! This is malpractice! Who sells that many products....and did no set research for us to use?1

Yes...”Signature” presets, but they are all for a 600 gal tank with 20 Hydra 26, or a 300 gal with 4 Hydra 52s, a Nano tank, or a fresh water! What the? That’s not ssme as my tank! Or 99% of most all hobbyists tanks! HELP US PLEASE. Don’t say..we’ll experiment until it looks like you like it. I did...corals died. We want colors, corals to grow and thrive. Is that a lot to ask?

T-5s and MH’s...just plug them in and enjoy. LEDs....I do not get it.

 

[sawdonkey]

I have a 6foot tank and run 2 g4 pro, and just added an orphek bar and the orphek bar gave me so much more pop and gave me a better distribution of par across the whole tank that im not even considering adding a 3rd light. I would look into that option, and for 200bux it was worth it for me.

But it all falls down to needs and wants. I would love to have them, but do i need them? No.

I have two Orphek bars as well as two Atlantik. The bars add tons of light. I think my next build might be lit solely with Orphek bars. I’d just have them come on/off over time to mimic sunrise/sunset.

 

[Viking_Reefing]

So that's part of the reason I am changing. I have MH / T5 now and just tired of dealing with the heat which most of the time was manageable with a fan and kicking the AC down a little bit, but when we get those "in-between" temperature days where the AC doesn't run as much, the temperature swing is just a little too much for my liking.

Same here, I would love to run MH as a primary light source and supplement with T5’s like in the good old days, unfortunately my current placement of my tank won’t allow that due to heat concerns...so led/T5 it is.

It’s going to be interesting to see how these guys compare in terms of color blending vs past versions with the puck-configuration of leds.

 

[PlasmaBoy]

DIY led and T5 are my new pick, shimmer and real results of T5

 

[BigMax]

The big argument for using LED reef lights was energy savings/long term cost savings. Is that still true? The new Radions are up to 205 watts and $840 each. For my 6 foot tank, I would need 4 units for a total cost of $3,360! In comparison, my 60” 8 bulb ATI Sunpower fixture costs $673 and another $200 for a set of bulbs. I could use the ATI fixture (replacing bulbs every year) for over 13 years before exceeding the price of the Radion fixtures. Comparing energy, my ATI fixture uses 640 watts while the Radions would use the same at 78%. I don’t see much cost savings energy wise. While I agree the Radions look nice, what am I missing? Are these lights really worth the money?

BRS did a good video on T5 bulb life. Based on their data I've gone longer than a year on bulb swaps, saves some additional $'s.

When do we REALLY need to change out T5 bulbs? | BRStv Investigates

We are finally putting to rest the age old question of when you need to change out your T5 bulbs. Follow along as we share our testing data where we run T5 bulbs for a simulated 2-yrs, taking PAR and spectrum readings the entire way, to finally decide what happens as T5 bulbs age. The results...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[BobbyOtto]

It tells me radion is running a racket and I wont buy their products ever again. They have lied to their buyers stating they had the most optimal design with LED pucks. Then they go and basically re create a black box led and say here you go $840.. are you serious, a $100 black box and a raspberry pie and you now have a new generation radion. Sure the drivers are nicer but they use cree LEDs which sure dont add up even a quarter of the cost they charge. Wake up people. I had g2 and G4 radion pros and frankly feel like someone stole from me now

 

[2Wheelsonly]

BRS did a good video on T5 bulb life. Based on their data I've gone longer than a year on bulb swaps, saves some additional $'s.

When do we REALLY need to change out T5 bulbs? | BRStv Investigates

We are finally putting to rest the age old question of when you need to change out your T5 bulbs. Follow along as we share our testing data where we run T5 bulbs for a simulated 2-yrs, taking PAR and spectrum readings the entire way, to finally decide what happens as T5 bulbs age. The results...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

I wish I could find a solution where I could remove my T5 lights. They get too hot (this is an issue for me since I have an enclosed fish room and the tank is in-wall), even with large fans they only last 6 months on my fixture (tested with par meter and after around 6 months the drop off is huge), they also look terrible when on (washed out, too bright, no shimmer) but they prevent the biggest issue with an established grown out tank and that's shadowing. The light spread and growth is just too good but replacing bulbs every 6 months gets $$$ quick.

 

[2Wheelsonly]

Youtube's model shows it's ugly side when a hot new product is released and you're trying to find really detailed videos about said product. Every "comparison" video I have seen thus far from random reefer YT channels ends up a gushing nerd fest. They talk about how amazing the lights are and get too over the top emotional (amazing this, amazing that) but then NEVER show the lights in comparison. Not even a simple par meter test...they are too busy trying to get the first review videos out for views.

I just want to see if this is basically the same "look" as the G4 but with more spread. I have always felt while the G4 pro's were great for LED growth they definitely had a dull look to them (pop/florescence from the blue's just seemed weak compared to Orphek or the newer ATI units).

 

[zoomonster]

I think "worth it" is a relative thing. On my 6ft 200g I started with 4x80w T5's and 3x250 halides. It did great except for heat and too much amperage on the circuit running my tank. I went to 3 Kessil A360WE's and hated the shimmer and shadowing and added two more. I was pretty happy with the look, growth, heat and power savings until just after the 2 year mark when the first died. Eventually I was down to 3 and 2 died pretty close together and went back to MH/T5 (and back to the same problems plus the tank didn't look as good.). I was literally ready to spring for Radion G4's and the announcement came out on the G5's. Lets just say my 3 are arriving tomorrow. I promise no unboxing video lol. I'll be too busy getting them installed. Doing a complete remodel on tank so will have a lot of newer smaller stuff so 3 should be plenty. If the shimmer and shadowing is too bad i could see adding a 4th down the road when things get bigger. I think with the new optics, spread, power and right height these should be the closest thing ever to eliminating the need for T5's. The same day I saw them available and after watching the BRS videos I was sold and bought them. Now if I had G4's I would not have done it. Good time to buy G4's new if you can find them and a lot of places are selling used ones even cheaper.

The space where my tanks sits has a sloped ceiling and never really wanted to hang anything. The Hamilton 6ft sat on my tank and the Kessils on goose necks. I got 3x the new RMS arms this time around. Other than hanging mounting options have always been limited on a lot of lights. The RMS arms will make for a nice aesthetic vs a big box on top the tank. Talk about overpriced though... although Ecotech did lower the price by about $28 each.