Should I switch to T5?...

[fredro]

Lol, that's one way to do it!! I don't wanna speak too soon, BUT... I am seeing some colors beginning to develop in some of my blander/browner corals. I hate to write off LEDs, but this fixture is making me feel less like I was doing something wrong.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Why don't you add t5's to your system? I also had LEDs only and was on the fence as well. Added two t5 blue+ and colors ramped up. I can say it was the best thing I've done to my tank. These days most reefers are adding t5's for the color tht lacks from LEDs...you can have the color t5's give with the customization that LEDs provide...

 

[bklynreef]

stay with the radions they are great LED's, if you want to get a little more POP and growth, id add a MH 400W 20k radium in the middle of the tank. Your corals will blast out of the water. Thats exactly what i did cause i felt the same way you did.

 

[Mattl22]

See so many ppl selling there radions I'm happy I got a gen 1 for $250 : ) love the look of them the controllability is awesome couldn't imagine a tank without the blue led at end of light cycle love the all blue led look !!! I currently have a gen 1 , 2 - 250 w mh and 2 gen 3 over my 220 I'm happy with both mh and led growth seems similar to me although I'm certainly not turning 1/2" frags into colonies in 6 months So growth of my sps overall I consider on the slow side but I'm ok with that as long as they r growing somewhat and color good I'm happy! The sps under led def don't get the same coloration as under mh it's lighter not getting deep rich color that mh give but I couldn't do 400 w mh too much heat etc so for me 1/2 mh 1/2 led has been working pretty good won't know for sure till another yr or so I started tank with all frags /sm mini colonies so I'll consider LEDs a sucess if I can turn frags into colonies time will tell

 

[Mattl22]

Not sure why radion doesn't come out with a hybrid mh led fixture now that would be killer

 

[fredro]

I'm fairly sure EcoTech isn't going to come out with a hybrid. If on the million to one chance that they did, I feel that it would be a T5, seeing that both MH and LED benefit from the addition of T5, due to the single source of light. I haven't written off LEDs and I a so still love a lot of things about them and am still considering the hybrid fixture idea.

 

[Mattl22]

Fredo what % r u running ur radion I run mine at 60% and at the beginning I was at 75% but was getting bleaching

 

[fredro]

Funny you should ask. I was stuck in 3.5 hours of traffic driving back out east from the city this afternoon and I spend the entire time wondering about the light intensity in my Radions before I snuck the ATI SunPower over then tank. I have a 80g DeepBlue, which is only 16" deep. I have the RMS mounts holding up my Radions, so height isn't adjustable. Before I started my T5 trial, the Radions were running at 65% max. This is also with the Wise Angle lenses, which effect intensity somewhat. The Radions are G2 Pros. The reason I was thinking about this was because I watched an old Mr Saltwater video on YouTube yesterday when EcoTech came out w the G2s and Pros and there were a number of par comparisons and numbers thrown around. At the end of the video, he commented that he doesn't run his intensity any more than 30%, I believe it was. This got me thinking that my lack of color could have just been from slight bleaching. BUT one thing that wasn't in question was that shadows and poor spread.

There in lies my dillema. I have a THIRD XR30w Pro new in the box that I was considering putting over the tank, then rotating me Radions 90 degrees, how many people do, to add more light in the front and back of the tank, possibly cutting down on shadows. Then again I could just keep the ATI 8bulb as is, or I could make a hybrid, seeing I really miss the blue dusky :/ Choices, choices. For now I'm doing the T5 only trial and at day 5, I just noticed some LPS shriveling up, like there's too much light. The fixture is Dimmable and running at 80%. Strange that I hadn't seen any issues till now. Just yesterday I was noticing better coloration and NO bleaching. Now this. Hmm

 

[fredro]

I think my BEST option, at this point, is to acquire a par meter.

 

[bklynreef]

Btw I tried T5's with the radions before I put the mh but the T5's interfered with the radion communications so out they went and in went the MH's.
You want perfection?
Radion pro with T5's and Metal Halides.
The Best of the Best. Beauty, Spread and Power.

 

[fredro]

That's all I need, is to chop up this SunPower and drop in two Radions, have it all perfect and finished, only to find out that the RF signal gets interfecance from the T5 housing. F.

 

[lrasser]

That's easy

 

[fredro]

I think I may ask you to hook me up, Larry. I think that playing around with numbers and percentages without a par meter is really just, at best, educated guessing.

 

[Jaftica]

I think chopping up the sun power fixture will reduce the fixtures cooling capacity and the t5 bulbs won't be that effective for long, the active cooling is what makes the ati fixture work well.

 

[fredro]

I am literally so torn that I am contemplating setting up a second 48" tank. ATI on one tank. 3 Radion Pros on the other.

 

[baktabiznis]

I am literally so torn that o am contemplating setting up a sevind 48" tank. ATI on one tank. 3 Radion Pros on th other.

Now I'm even more confused.

Fredro- I have the same tank as you (48x24x16) and I'm debating getting a ati dimmable, 3 Kessil 160we or 2 Kessil 360we.

Natural sunlight 4now. So boaring!!!!!!!!!

 

[fredro]

I am tell you that the 8 bulb is overkill for this shallow of a tank. I would say a 6 bulb would be plenty and just play around w the height of the fixture. As for kessils... Meh, the only kessil I have had is the purple h150 over my fuge and I love that thing, but as for lighting the DT, I can't say that it's my choice for lighting. Granted, they work, but for my personal liking, it's no what I'm looking for. There's a distinct difference between each lighting option and let's face it, they all work, some maybe better than others for the specific application, but I feel like it's mainly personal preference on how you want your lighting to look. I'm just frustrated bc I like the look of Radions and the look of an ATI fixture.... Therefore I almost wanna start another tank, that way I can have both, Radion on one and a SunPower on the other.

 

[baktabiznis]

I am tell you that the 8 bulb is overkill for this shallow of a tank. I would say a 6 bulb would be plenty and just play around w the height of the fixture. As for kessils... Meg, the only kessil I have had is the purple h150 over my fuge and I love that thing, but as for lighting the DT, I can't say that it's my choice for lighting. Granted, they work, but for my personal liking, it's no what I'm looking for. There's a distinct difference between each lighting option and let's face it, they all work, some maybe better than others for the specific application, but I feel like it's mainly personal preference on how you want your lighting to look. I'm just frustrated bc I like the look of Radions and the look of an ATI fixture.... Therefore I almost wanna start another tank, that way I can have both, radio me on one and a SunPower on the other.

Do u think a 36" or 48" t5? Did u see a rise in your electric bill going back to t5 from led?
I think I'm going to go with a 36" dimmable ati sun power w/reefbrite strip. I really don't want to hang the fixture, idk. Sorry for kindof jacking your post

 

[fredro]

Do u think a 36" or 48" t5? Did u see a rise in your electric bill going back to t5 from led?
I think I'm going to go with a 36" dimmable ati sun power w/reefbrite strip. I really don't want to hang the fixture, idk. Sorry for kindof jacking your post

Honestly, 36" should work. I'm sure someone could confirm that. Liked i said, I dimmed the unit down while running it, n that was still overkill I think most likely. The only reason I would want the 8 bulb light is for the bulb configuration options. 6 is still a lot better than 4 tho. As far as the electric bill, I can't say. Wasn't even thinking ab it, BUT what I can say was, for the first time in a long time, I had to fish out my old clip on fans from my old MH tank n write a quick line of code for the apex, on first warmer day of the year... coming from the LEDs, that baby gets warm, something I took for granted not having to worry about with LEDs. So on top of the electric pulled by the light fixture, you may also have some fans or even a chiller to consider, that is depending on your individual setup. Then again, my heater wasn't really kicking on ever during the daytime hours. I did quickly remember how stressful the possibility of high temps can be on someone without a chiller. I was constantly checking the temp n making sure the fans were working effectively... this can get really strenuous.

 

[baktabiznis]

^^ think I'm going to go with Kessil a360w's.