* Where's the line between hype and effective?
EcoTech's made a name for themselves with the pumps, They came out quiet a while ago, and where a new thought. Once they worked out the bugs of the first model, the new ES's are great. Wasn't much Hype when they came out, but now people wonder how other's grow coral without it. The lights have lots of hype, the whole red LED thing is their new twist that vertex jumped on right away with the new modules. Should be interesting to see what kind of "bugs" may be in the new lights.
* Is the price point (apq. $800) more inline with value than EcoTech's competitors?
I would need 3 for my 6 foot, 2400 is a rough hit, but beats the 3K+ for a vertex fixture. Seems in line with competition, as for actual value.... there's $20 of aluminium and $100 worth of LED's.... add on the typical saltwater aquarium tax of 700% and it's normal!
* What do you think of the technology when compared to other LED solutions?
Great idea to market as a 250W MH replacement. People know what they need. Compared to a full 1 piece unit that you "Hope" has enough power to match what you had. The technology itself should be interesting as people get better and better dawn/dusk setups out with red sky's and using the full color spectrum.
* Do you see any major drawbacks of the lighting system other than criticism of LED in general?
LED's can blend to create colors very well, but in general, if i leave my lights on in my fish room for the day, even with the "blend" of my much brighter tank lights... i have to scrape double the algae from the glass.
As also, the first series of Vortech's had "issue's". I"ll wait for the Radion ES :P
As for the look, check out mrsaltwater's video, i thought they looked typical until i saw the video, these things are tiny, and will look amazing with 2-3 over your tank providing all that light. A much more minimalistic design than other large normal tank covering fixtures.
The negative review is well, terrible IMO. He explains how the light spectrum is wrong, etc, etc. But failed to looks at how the fixture actually works. It has nearly double the par as a 250W halide, and can use nearly any visible spectrum by adjusting RBG values, this thing should be able to get fine tuned for any kind of funky coral you have growing.
Anyways... I very much agree that there needs to be an introductory fixture for cheaper, LED's are dirt cheap at manufacturing quantities. But then again, so are $20 motor systems that get sold out regularly at $650
