which LED unit to buy....

[d-bo]

I'm in the market for a LED unit, debating between Ecotech's Radion xr30w G2 or AI's Vega Color. It will be going over a bc29, some input on these units good or bad is appreciated.
thanks

[Arok3000]

I've seen nice tanks with the Radion on them, I think it's a good light.
I've seen nice tanks with AI on them, I think they make a good product.
They both have good customer service reputations.
They can both be controlled to run at varying intensities and colours.
Either one will be plenty of light for a 29 gallon.
One of them costs a little more than the other, but the US has already priced it lower so they are more competitively priced now. Used prices are probably fairly comparable right now.

I chose the Vega, I just did. I did enough research on the two units and concluded I'd be happy either way. I'm happy with the Vega, and I'm looking forward to the Director platform that should be out in the next month or 18.

[Northernseacorals]

Ecotech prices their product with a premium in my opinion; and the fail rate of the device does indeed come in higher than many others; it's a great light, however other products mostly comparable have better uptime with a lower price.

Just something to think about.

[Nano]

I have an ai sol on a 24" tank and find the edges to still be a bit dark. I haven't read into the Vega much yet, but its the same size as the sol so I imagine the spread would be similar. I'm getting radions on my new tank for this reason. They are on sale now too which is a bonus. your definitely buying at the right time. IMO I'd go with the radion, if its a 29g. When I moved my tank recently I had everything in a 29g while I set my tank back up and my sol wasn't nearly enough to cover the tank. Hope that helps.

[subman]

I currently have two vega's and 2 radions (without the tir lenses) on my 225 dt and a solid on the frag section of my sump.

The vega's are great lights and are in the same category as the radions but I do see that the radions have a little better spread and a slight less 'disco ball' Looks effect as for growth and appearance I would say that they are equal. Now as for Control they both sick lol. The new "wireless" controller needs to be plugged in to work and isn't exactly easy to setup. The director seems promising. The radion needs to be connected via USB and that's a pain and the programming also needs some work to figure out.

The sols are a solid unit but lack the full spectrum the other 2 have IMHO.

[riceboy]

I would go with the ai units and steer clear of the radions seeing how many units get returned and the units breaking down from stuck or burnt out fans and power failures and just plain stop working. And I'm not against ecotech as I love my mp40s

[jorjef]

Put up a dart board, throw a blind shot with the dart.... Red is Radion, yellow is Vega. Just for more useful info I have AI and no problems...

[Bblinks]

I have had AI sols for almost a year now and I love them. I have had to deal with AI on several occasions and they all have been extremely pleasant. Customer service and product quality is the number one thing on my list and after hearing about horror story after another horror story about the radions I will not even bother with them, at least not the first gen. If you want, take a look at my build and see what you think.

[albert_dao]

Radions are such a PIA. I've dealt with seven units. Four had issues that required warranty. Pretty bad average, IMO.

[NIVLEM09]

i never knew that the Radions have such bad press...for the price before the reduction,i thought they'd be reliable , so on and so forth.im planning to upgrade my Ecoxotic panorama pro modules to the new Radion G2,guess im buying the AI VEGA instead:mrgreen:

[Seriak]

I have had 2 Radions for almost a year and have had no problems.

[subman]

Me too. I the only problem I've ever had was leaving the USB cable plugged in. That caused chaos

[Nano]

Definitely following this as I'm planning on radions for my new tank.

[Reef Pilot]

I've had my Radions (3 of them) for almost a year now, and they work great. Only problem has been the software to program them. Takes a bit of fiddling, and can cause problems if you screw up. But once you have it figured out, no sweat.

I have followed the forums on RF about them, and I can certainly see how a lot of people have trouble with them. But if you are half a geek, you should be OK. While I have not had to call or email them for support myself, apparently they are very helpful, and don't hesitate to replace a unit if you can't get to work properly.

So I wouldn't hesitate to buy more. I will see what the boxing day sales are, and might get a Gen 2 set for my new downstairs tank.

[albert_dao]

Meh, there's a better light than either of these options out there. Just sayin'.

[wayner]

Meh, there's a better light than either of these options out there. Just sayin'.

Really?? - just say it then, and what makes it better - :biggrin:

[Bblinks]

There is always better....:twised:

[jagermaier]

Don't know what your budget is but I have a 60" Vertex Illumina 260 over my 120 gal and love it! A 24" like this one would do the trick for your 29 gal cube http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/vt-ldss0600/Vertex+Illumina+260+LED+Lighting+Fixture+%2824+Inc h%29.html.

[George]

Really?? - just say it then, and what makes it better - :biggrin:

GHL mitras?
http://reefbuilders.com/2012/11/07/ghl-mitras-ecotech-radion-ai-vega/

[burgerchow]

all you need is one Kessil A350 ($399) plus the gooseneck ($40) and you're set. I've got 2 over my 120 and they look great and everything is happy. Actually thinking of picking up another one to go over my 55 corner bowfront African cichlid tank.

[subman]

I love the look of the kessil and that is a great option for the op.
Is the 350 dimmable?

[burgerchow]

I love the look of the kessil and that is a great option for the op.
Is the 350 dimmable?

Yep, has 2 manual dials. One for the white and one for the blue. So easy to use. No programming required.

[soapy]

I have a couple of AI sols and a Kessil 350w Tuna blue on my tank and I really like the kessil a lot.

[d-bo]

thanks for all the input guys.. I'm still undecided but it seems like AI's have less problems on the unit itself failing, their down side is spread and penetration (this shouldn't affect my set up)
The radion owners love their units when nothing fails and the ones that have problems, seems like its a pain in the ass for a more expensive unit.

if the price of the radions don't go down like in the U.S. then I'll prob go with the vega, either way I'm sure the corals will be happy...