Radions worth it?

[rickybrooks05]

I'm thinking at buying a gen 3 or even 2, but are they worth it? I'm on the fence... Thanks for your help!

 

[Reefrookie220]

I for one do not think they are, I do this hobby on the cheap end and probably enjoy it more than the guys who gotta pay that credit bill after swiping for some radions. Lol

 

[Fishphi784]

I'm thinking at buying a gen 3 or even 2, but are they worth it? I'm on the fence... Thanks for your help!

I think they are worth the market price for second hand equipment. Ecotech has stellar customer service, you can upgrade the fixture, and the build quality is very good. I personally think all the popular "name brand" LED fixtures are a bit overpriced, but it's no different than the popular products in any other hobby. I do think you can get away with cheaper LED options, but they have drawbacks that may or may not be offset by your particular aversions and preferences.

 

[rickybrooks05]

Thanks, I didn't know you could upgrade the LEDs that's nice. I don't have an issue buying second hand.

 

[mfinn]

I think they are worth every penny.
One of the things that makes them more expensive than others is the software package that comes with them.
I have 4 gen 1's that I did the gen 3 upgrade.
Tough to spend that much on a light, but once I did it, I had no regrets.

 

[Jlobes]

I for one do not think they are, I do this hobby on the cheap end and probably enjoy it more than the guys who gotta pay that credit bill after swiping for some radions. Lol

do you have any personal experience with radions? hard to say if they are worth it, without any real experience.

 

[Jlobes]

I think they are worth every penny.
One of the things that makes them more expensive than others is the software package that comes with them.
I have 4 gen 1's that I did the gen 3 upgrade.
Tough to spend that much on a light, but once I did it, I had no regrets.

agreed!! they are awesome lights! sure they are a bit pricey, but the quality product, combined with pretty great customer service and the capability to upgrade to the current iteration at any time, makes them a worthwhile investment.

 

[rboutin111]

I will be selling my two Gen 2 lights in the next couple of weeks. I just ordered an ATI fixture to give T-5s a try. If you are interested PM me.

 

[reefwiser]

I have Radion and enjoy being able to adjust the LED lighting and sharing schedules with others. Love the ability to upgrade the light in the future. Having kept reef tanks since 1985 I look at lighting as an investment in the future. I have a the various lighting fixtures over the years. MH,VHO, T5 I learned to not jump around in lighting with corals. I use my par meter and knowledge of corals to tune the lighting to the corals and don't switch lights on the tank. If you get LED's the key is using a par meter to set the Par that the corals need as you can really dial in the correct par for corals. If you don't you will have problems. With Fluorescent lighting and MH one must use the Par meter to know when the light has changed value. An no two bulbs last the same length of time either or have the same color temperature. Having been an industrial electrician for 40 + years you learn that no tow MH or Fluorescent tube is the same. An our eyes are a terrible judge of a lights strength.

 

[rickybrooks05]

Thanks reefwiser

 

[mic209]

I have Radion and enjoy being able to adjust the LED lighting and sharing schedules with others. Love the ability to upgrade the light in the future. Having kept reef tanks since 1985 I look at lighting as an investment in the future. I have a the various lighting fixtures over the years. MH,VHO, T5 I learned to not jump around in lighting with corals. I use my par meter and knowledge of corals to tune the lighting to the corals and don't switch lights on the tank. If you get LED's the key is using a par meter to set the Par that the corals need as you can really dial in the correct par for corals. If you don't you will have problems. With Fluorescent lighting and MH one must use the Par meter to know when the light has changed value. An no two bulbs last the same lengthier time or have the same color temperature. Having been an industrial electrican for 40 + years you learn that no tow MH or Fluorescent tube is the same. An our eyes are a terrible judge of a lights strength.

I couldn't agree with you more, I first bought LED's around 5 years ago and could never see results so I went back to metal halide. I decided to give LED's another chance only if I bought a PAR meter, so that's what I did last year, bought a PAR meter and Hydra26. I got my lights dialed in with the PAR meter and I saw nothing but good growth and color.

I think using LED's without a PAR is like mixing saltwater without a refractometer or hydrometer, you'll never get the levels right. PAR meter is a must with LED's, takes away all the guessing.

 

[Waters]

I agree with the last couple of posts.....I tried to get away with cheap black box LEDs (twice) and got burned both times. Picked up 2 of the Gen3 Pros and couldn't be happier.

 

[Dtackett]

if you can get them for cheap second hand, yes. if not no. they grow coral just as well as many of the cheaper lights, they just have more bells and whistles. bells and whistles are nice and all but they don't grow coral. if youre looking to spend that much on some lights I would go with a combo unit with mh/t5/led. you really cant beat a proper combo. the downside is having to replace the mh/t5 bulbs every 6 months or so. and the electric use which really isn't that much depending on how you look at things.

 

[petemichelle]

I have Radion and enjoy being able to adjust the LED lighting and sharing schedules with others. Love the ability to upgrade the light in the future. Having kept reef tanks since 1985 I look at lighting as an investment in the future. I have a the various lighting fixtures over the years. MH,VHO, T5 I learned to not jump around in lighting with corals. I use my par meter and knowledge of corals to tune the lighting to the corals and don't switch lights on the tank. If you get LED's the key is using a par meter to set the Par that the corals need as you can really dial in the correct par for corals. If you don't you will have problems. With Fluorescent lighting and MH one must use the Par meter to know when the light has changed value. An no two bulbs last the same length of time either or have the same color temperature. Having been an industrial electrician for 40 + years you learn that no tow MH or Fluorescent tube is the same. An our eyes are a terrible judge of a lights strength.

I have had led since setting up my 150 gal tank and been struggling and guessing for a year. Just got my PAR meter and man was I low. can you please share with us what you set the lighting to, ie what par for what corals. I have been trying to get my hammers to do more than die after a couple of weeks, found out they were only getting 50 par.

My only real concern now is how fast I can bring the par up and at what increments. ie 10 par or 20 par a week? last question. I have some zoas that are doing okay, but they are really high up. right now they are getting 125 par. how high can I go with zoas if I acclimate and bring the lighting up slowly? 200? 250? 300? any actual hands on experience and not guess please.

any help is greatly appreciated. thanks all

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Different Zoas like different amounts of par. I'd say you're ok at 125. I wouldn't want to go much higher. If you're going to be bumping up the intensity, you might want to consider moving them down. Zoas are usually located on the bottom of the tank anyway.

 

[reefwiser]

When one starts to adjust Par you have to do it slowly. 25 par at a time.
Also when placing corals you need to know where the corals do well in the wild. Corals like hammer corals do best at around 80 par due to where they Thrive in the ocean. They are now found on the reef where SPS are found but in areas with less light. They do best with feeding of meaty foods a couple of times a week.
With Radion's you can use the built in acclimation timer to slowly ramp up your PAR On your tank.