LED lighting

[cordeiro]

Hello,

We are starting up another salt water tank as we got out of it about a year ago and miss it, however we are stuck on which LED lighting to go with just thought I would get other peoples options on which they have or what works best for them. My husband wants the radion for all it's features but I thought we should ask around first
Thanks in advance

[Aquattro]

For a quick overview, we do have dozens of existing threads on the topic. Just use search and you'll find tons of info.

[Aquattro]

Latest from today

http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=81744

[cordeiro]

Thanks I will do that
I did see that thread but I'm not so much looking for the spread difference but it did help
Thanks

[Aquattro]

If you read through it, it discusses personal thoughts on each product, software interfaces, etc. That poster thinks SOL are best. Other threads think Radion is best. Vertex gets a lot of votes.

Really, anything said in this new thread has been discussed before :)

I've decided that once MH bulbs are no longer obtainable, I will go with the Radions. I've seen them in person, and so far are the only LED I would put over my tank.

[sphelps]

In terms of testimonials for Radions it's simply too early to get anything overly meaningful. Radion owners have really at most only had these fixtures installed for a month or two which isn't long enough to really express how great they are. They are impressive and I have no doubt they will do as expected but still it's too early.

The AI sols on the other hand have been out long enough for such testimonials and I've seen impressive tanks and growth from using these fixtures. They have also released upgrade kits which a good sign. People do tend to think the Radions are better given that they have better controllability and features as well as they are a less expensive option. I tend to disagree, although I don't own either fixture I have seen both and seriously considered both a one point.

AI sols have more power/$ than Radions. Typically 1 Radion is compared to 2 sols while really for most tanks 3 sols are about equal to 2 Radions, and some might even agree the spread from 3 sols is better than 2 Radions in most situations. The red and green LEDs in Radions eat up some of the wattage so their full rating can't compare to sol blues.

In terms of controllers the sols are external and purchased separately which might seem like a disadvantage compared to Radions but it allows you to skip the basic controller and save the money for something better. The sols are compatible with other controllers such as Profilux which will do virtually everything the Radion controllers do, if not even more.

So personally for a typical size tank I'd go with 3 sol blues over 2 Radions and take the extra $400 in savings and put it towards a profilux. Then I'd probably also add a Profilux SIMU-L Effects LED Light Bar to fill any effects missing. Honestly in terms of effects and value this package is better, IMO.

[cordeiro]

I am looking through the other threads should have done that prior to this thread!
Thank you for your opionions :)
My husband wants to radion for its features (the lighting storms and such) do the sol have any thing like that or is that what the profilux remotes would be for?

[Aquattro]

Personally, even if I go with Radions, I've instructed my wife to kill me if I ever setup a lightning storm :)
I also don't care about reds and greens, I more like the light itself. It doesn't give the disco ball effect any other light I've looked at, it's stylish, which on my display in the living room counts for a lot. I would set the sun up, lights on, and sunset, then never touch it again.
The sols sound good, but haven't seen one, and I don't like the look of them. I do like that I can use my Apex to run them, and I suppose that would do all the neato tricks some people like.
For me, it's about the growth and color of my corals, combined with the look they give to my tank as a whole. Yes, I'd pay more for the styling. I'm vain that way :razz: I don't need red or green, or lightning, or any of that other silly (IMO) stuff. I need strong light, of a color that suits my taste, and which works best for my corals.

[Nano]

the sol has thunderstorm programs as well and can be pared up with lots of different controllers, if your going for led, imo I'm on the SOL's team. I just bought one and I love it so far, there is no red or green leds, but thats an easy cheap retrofit if its really necessary. a couple of people have done threads on here comparing the sol and radion side by side, and its a very close race, in fact lots of people vote the sol the winner in some threads. I agree with shelps, the reds and green eat up a lot of power in terms of wattage comparison. theres a lot of debates on which is really the better fixture, but I still feel the sol is the winner, if you could do 3 solls compared to 2 radions and save half a thousand dollars, and get the same if not better results, why not? and like I said if the reds and greens are a must, its an easy retrofit, and probably pretty cheap, and Martin at modularled.ca could hook you up no problems.

[Aquattro]

, if you could do 3 solls compared to 2 radions and save half a thousand dollars, and get the same if not better results, why not?

for me, the extra pays for the styling (because that's all you're really paying extra for :))

[Nano]

for me, the extra pays for the styling (because that's all you're really paying extra for :))
:smile: I hear ya, they are nice units. personal preference in that case I suppose

[Reef Pilot]

Not sure how you want to mount your LEDs over your new tank. But if you have a tight space like inside a canopy, the Radions might be better. As I understand it, the AI SOLs need 12 inches height above the water, while the Radions work fine at 6 - 8 inches above the water.

In my case, mine are mounted 7 inches above the water surface, and still plenty of room for rails and cooling. I made my own mounting (cheap and easy) from Home Depot parts, and allows for quick removal for cleaning, as well as adjustment fore and aft.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=81535&page=2

[sphelps]

In terms of styling alone both the sol and radion fail. They look best within some kind of canopy, and when simply just hang above a tank they look pretty ridiculous. They do however look pretty decent with the L type mounts a few people are making now that extend from behind the tank but the stock mounts on the Radions in particular with the four points of cable per fixture is nothing close to something that would be considered style. Even the fact they are modular meaning multiple fixtures per tank is typically a negative style point.

Also comparing the two I don't see much difference is style anyway, the sol is only 3/4" thicker but is narrower and comes in both black or white.

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/prodimages/images/LED3.jpg

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/prodimages/images/LED4.jpg

AI is also releasing a new hanging kit for their new vega model, not 100% sure it will work with the sols though. If you can get away with only two modules this looks pretty good.
http://reefbuilders.com/wp-content/blogs.dir/1/files/ai-phoenix-led/ai-phoenix-led-8.jpg

[cordeiro]

Well the tank we are going with is a cube and is only 24x24x24 I believe so I think I would only be needing one unless I am incorrect there, and we are going to be having a canopy but that doesn't matter as my husband will be building it so its not too much abut the appearance I'm just torn cause the more I read about then sol the more i think that one however my husband needs more conveincing
Does the sol have a sunset sunrise option? If I do go with the sol do I need a whole myher controller separate?

[sphelps]

Also in terms of "disco ball" be aware the radions will present their own issues with the multiple color LEDs. It blends pretty good but you'll still see some effect. The sols cluster the three colors tightly together in each array so they should be comparable but they only really use two colors compared to 4 in the radions.

In either case my experience is it doesn't really matter if your tank is deeper than 12". It's a concern with small nano, the bigger the tank the less the concern.

[Aquattro]

Also comparing the two I don't see much difference is style anyway, the sol is only 3/4" thicker but is narrower and comes in both black or white.


for me, the cooling fins throw off the SOLs. I have a concept for building a case to hold Radions, which would make them much more attractive.

[sphelps]

Well the tank we are going with is a cube and is only 24x24x24 I believe so I think I would only be needing one unless I am incorrect there, and we are going to be having a canopy but that doesn't matter as my husband will be building it so its not too much abut the appearance I'm just torn cause the more I read about then sol the more i think that one however my husband needs more conveincing
Does the sol have a sunset sunrise option? If I do go with the sol do I need a whole myher controller separate?

You'll have to look into how a single sol would do on a tank that size, if you need 2 sols for then it's kind of a no brainer vote for the Radion. The AI will do dimming for sunrise and sunset, the radions will probably be able to shoot a little more red in at these times for a little effect. The sols will need an external controller, either the simple one made by AI which will likely do everything you want or you can use an aquarium controller like profilux which can control the rest of your tank to.

If you can use a single sol that extra $400 will make a good chunk on a starter profilux kit.

[cordeiro]

Hmmm so in the end my hubby may just win and get his radion! If I would need 2 sols I would definitely go with one radion that's a no brainer to me

[sphelps]

hows the hubby in the DIY area?

[Nano]

I would for sure talk to martin at modular he can make sure you dont buy too much or too little light for what you need.

[cordeiro]

hows the hubby in the DIY area?

He's a carpenter but not too sure if I would trust him to do lighting on my tank :lol:

[Skimmerking]

the one on the right i like is that the Vertex Stephen

[sphelps]

He's a carpenter but not too sure if I would trust him to do lighting on my tank :lol:
Really cause it's easier than carpentry and for the tank size with a canopy I honestly think it's your best option.

[sphelps]

the one on the right i like is that the Vertex Stephen

Yeap that's the vertex.

SteVe

[lastlight]

Personally I feel the SOL is the better value (more light / $ as previously stated) but I'd want to play with both to see if the extra colors improves the overall color to be worth it.

Aesthetics is a personal thing but I personally love the look of these units suspended over an open tank. Choosing based on looks I think the SOL is far better looking though. Classy industrial.

[Aquattro]

Choosing based on looks I think the SOL is far better looking though. Classy industrial.

Really? To me it compares to taking your sleek new LED TV and mounting a baseboard heater to the top of it :)

[lastlight]

Really? To me it compares to taking your sleek new LED TV and mounting a baseboard heater to the top of it :)

Yeah I'm weird. I like how their heatsink fins look.

Forgot to add that when I saw the radion I totally saw the colors mixing on the sandbed. I found the SOL effect easier to look at than the radion one. I'm guessing multichip LED is where I will upgrade to however.

[Aquattro]

Forgot to add that when I saw the radion I totally saw the colors mixing on the sandbed. I found the SOL effect easier to look at than the radion one. I'm guessing multichip LED is where I will upgrade to however.

Weird, I didn't, and specifically look for that. However, it was Shelley's tank, and it's too full to actually see much sand :)

[cordeiro]

Really cause it's easier than carpentry and for the tank size with a canopy I honestly think it's your best option.

We both wouldn't know where to start in a DIY led task

[MarkoD]

Glad to see you guys back. I went from that huge metal halide fixture i got from you guys to 3 sols and so far I'm happy. But I assume as my corals start to grow out I'll probably need one more sol

[sphelps]

We both wouldn't know where to start in a DIY led task
Fair enough if it's something you're not comfortable with then just get a fixture for sure. But you might want to discuss as an option. In the DIY world you could do 100W of cree (enough for that size tank) in white, blue and royal blue for around $400 including everything you need except the controller. You can again use the savings for a controller like profilux which can control DIY LEDs the same way as any fixture. For red effects and lightning you can add profilux SIM sticks which do a better job of effect type things anyway. The main reason however is distribution, cube tanks are difficult to evenly light, DIY allows uniform distribution of LEDs over the area.

[sphelps]

I'd also put the sols back in the race, if you ordered a single sol with all 70 degree optics (70/70 version) I think it would be plenty light for the tank. You'd probably want to mount it around 8" rather than 12" from the water but the spread should be fine for 24" x 24" area. Most people run these things at like 60% anyway so why not make the most of it and run one at closer to full power.

[Nano]

+1 also if your concerned about suspending it over a cube, or looking for an Idea check out my cube build thread, Greg (the Grizz) and I came up with this neat little mount for about 1/2 the cost of a factory mount

[cordeiro]

Would 1 sol be enough lighting for a cubs tank of that size? And how would I order 70/70 version?

[The Grizz]

Send Martin @ Modular LED an email with your question. He and I are also doing the light support arm for the SOL & Radion, he has one I built for a SOL.

[Nano]

speak of the devil ^ :twised:

[fishytime]

my vote is radion.....love mine....