Radion Gen5 pro vs Blue

[dadnjesse]

Anyone have thoughts which light would be better for Sps. I have the Gen 4 pro's and use the AB+

 

[gcarroll]

Both are going to be great for sps. If you are like me and prefer a tank that is on the bluer side, then the Blue is what you want. If you want a whiter looking tank like many in Europe, then the pro is your choice. The Blue will still make white light, but I think it is perfect for those in North America where we like tanks bluer to show off the crazy colors.

 

[dadnjesse]

I ordered two Gen 5 pro's this morning, but after looking online all day today the only reviews I see are the Blue's. I called Bulk Reef a few minutes ago and they had no answer. They are doing a review later on the Pro. I canceled my order for now until there are some more reviews on the two.

 

[MTBake]

These were literally just released today. Doubt many people have their hands on them yet. Which means minimal reviews right now. Both look like great lights to me, however, I would go with the blue if was in market for new leds.

 

[Peach02]

anyone got a photo of what AB+ looks like to the eye I can't seem to find much? but also to contribute they have the same amount of LED's
The Blue's use 205 W
The Pro's use 215W
these are the led lights and spectrum they have

 

[Rockhead]

I went with the G5 blue based off of Randy’s testing on BRS lot of good info there

 

[YankeeTankee]

With this design I'm anticipating the shimmer to be weaker than the G4, thankfully I never liked much shimmer anyway!

 

[SyracuseMatt]

I don’t think you can go wrong either way. Pros more colors to tweak a fuller, less blue look. Blues if you want to AB+ with gobs of power. That being said, I think you could do an AB+ tank with pros or get a less blue tank with the blues. I’d probably go with the pros for the flexibility to tweak more if/when I wanted. You could still run a high horsepower AB+ tank with them.

Matt

 

[RayDRoot]

I'm glad I waited to upgrade my gen 2s lol. I want to see a review on the pro.

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

I ordered 2 xr30 pros and 3 xr15 pros Saturday. I currently use modded ab+ on gen4s at 90%. Really like the blue look but kinda think they went a little too blue on the blue version plus a little more flexible with the pros. I think the pros will still be the better seller.

 

[Osaurus]

The Blue was made to closely reflect their AB+ spectrum - this way you run all channels at 100% without having to tweak individual channels or run a profile. Personally, that is more my speed.

 

[HolySmoke]

@Osaurus yup that is why I got two xr30 blue. More diodes you can turn into PAR/PUR. I might put 1 xr14 g4 pro in between the gen 5s if I wanna add a little white. The Blue is a no brainer in my opinion. Higher par then pro and not a bunch of wasted diodes. $840 and using the light at 60% its potential stings lol.

Not to mention I really dont like the look of warm white diodes. So that is 6 wasted right there with pro version.

Honestly people are complaining about price but it is way more cost effective then gen3 and 4. I get why people get annoyed though. **** I have $300 in diffusers over my tank and now, the light with diffuser and slide is worth 275 at most.

I watched all the BRS videos on par, spacing, height, and coverage. Dont forget they wanna sell lights even with a tiny markup.

They recommend 8 or 9" AWL cant remember but you probably can raise one of these babies up still have plenty of par and cover a 40 x 24 area with ease. I also dont think diffusers are the way to go with these but too early to say for sure.

I went from 6 power bricks and squares above my tank to two bricks and rectangles and maybe a third. That is a win in my book and way worth the upgrade alone.

 

[Bacon505]

are you sure the radion cover 40x24 per unit? that seem a bit wide unless you mounted 15-20" AWL

 

[HolySmoke]

No matter the light source there is always a trade off with intensity and dispersion. Most people who hate LEDs run them when too low and too high intensity. You are probably spot on about 15". I'm not saying it would be optimal but if someone wanted to save money and put one over a 4 foot tank and raise it up high they could and still get the intensity to grow everything but the most demanding corals.

Look at all the fish store, coral farms, there radions are like 30"+ over there holding tanks. Yes they are very shallow but it drives home my point. If you have enough intensity why not raise it as high as you can for much better spread, blending, and coverage/$.

My favorite thing about raising them up higher is getting light out of my face. I'm short and the tank looks much brighter when I'm not staring into bright diodes