Vivid Aquarium - 800 Gallon Reef Tank

[Ryan S]

[Ryan S]

Good review for the Radions; but in the side by side photo comparisons, I think the MH growth and coloration is better (at least in the corals they compared side by side). Then again, it's also 1000 and 400 watt MHs vs the Radions, not 250 watt MHs. When looking at the FTS it's hard to tell which side is MH and which is LED.

[MLazar]

I the comments under the video:

 

Question: *Disregarding heat & money*, if you had to choose either MH Radium's or EcoTech Radion's for a customer keeping SPS coral, which would you choose for growth & color? I think many people want a decisive answer.

 

Answer: Ask us in a year or two We really can't rush in answer so soon.

 

Awesome find Ryan S! Thanks for posting.

 

I found "Vivid Aquariums" on Facebook and Liked them so I can tag along for the updates.

 

Maureen

[lowsingle]

I've been to Vivid a few times and you can't tell the difference between either side of the tank......I couldn't guess which side was LED and which side was MH......

 

Darren

[steveoutlaw]

LEDs are really coming into their own as reef lighting, I just don't think they are quite their yet. I was pretty impressed with the video as I couldn't point out which side was which without the subtitles. Question; How many LED units do they have on the tank vs. MH bulbs?

[Ryan S]

LEDs are really coming into their own as reef lighting, I just don't think they are quite their yet. I was pretty impressed with the video as I couldn't point out which side was which without the subtitles. Question; How many LED units do they have on the tank vs. MH bulbs?

 

The tank is 14 feet long, by 36" wide, by 30" tall. Wattage on each side - 2800 MH (two 400 watt MH + two 1000 watt MH) VS 1680 LED (12 modules at 140 watts each). They hung their radions 15" above the water, instead of the recommended 8". I find their experiment interesting, but it has limitations. Most people run their radions at the recommended 8", not 15". And most people won't be using 2 radions for every 14" of tank width, which they are (84"/6 rows of 2 radions = 14" per pair) - (I am running 2 for 36" of tank width. If I added 2 more, I'd still only be running them for every 18" of tank). Personally, having a tank that's also 36" wide and 30" tall; I would have liked to seen a 250w MH vs radion experiment, like 8 250w MHs (2000W) vs 8 Radions (1120W). I mean, they could put 30 radions over the tank and of course it would grow anything, you know?

[Integral9]

LEDs are really coming into their own as reef lighting, I just don't think they are quite their yet.

 

I thought the same thing a few years back, but after seeing the Radion product, I don't think there is much left to add. What do you think needs to be added?

[Ryan S]

I thought the same thing a few years back, but after seeing the Radion product, I don't think there is much left to add. What do you think needs to be added?

 

More controllable color channels, more powerful LEDs... That's all I can think of.

[steveoutlaw]

Can't speak to the Radion, but I know that with the Cree LEDs I was having cyano problems and my corals were losing color. Granted I had 18 royal blue and 18 white, but there just wasn't a wow factor. When I went back to T5s, the colors started coming back with just blue plus and actinic bulbs. When I switched to the 400w Radium with 4 24w actinic T5s, the "wow" was back.

 

I certainly think that all of the programming options for the LEDs are a big plus. You can get a dimmable MH ballast, but it is expensive as H-E-double hockey sticks and kills the longevity of the bulb. Who knows, maybe in a year or 2 when the prices come down and they have enough features to make it worth while I may give it another shot.

[hlem]

Can't speak to the Radion, but I know that with the Cree LEDs I was having cyano problems and my corals were losing color. Granted I had 18 royal blue and 18 white, but there just wasn't a wow factor. When I went back to T5s, the colors started coming back with just blue plus and actinic bulbs. When I switched to the 400w Radium with 4 24w actinic T5s, the "wow" was back.

 

I certainly think that all of the programming options for the LEDs are a big plus. You can get a dimmable MH ballast, but it is expensive as H-E-double hockey sticks and kills the longevity of the bulb. Who knows, maybe in a year or 2 when the prices come down and they have enough features to make it worth while I may give it another shot.

 

Radions LEDs are CREE. Same stuff we bought from Rob's (Fishman) GB. It's only about $170 worth of LED bulbs. It's expensive not because of the LEDs but the controller.

 

Radion Link

• 8x Cree XP-G Cool White LEDs run at 5w each
• 8x Cree XP-E Blue LEDs run at 3w each
• 10x Cree XP-E Royal Blue LEDs run at 3w each
• 4x Cree XP-E Green LEDs run at 3w each
• 4x Osram Oslon SSL Hyper Red LEDs run at 3w each

[steveoutlaw]

Radions LEDs are CREE. Same stuff we bought from Rob's (Fishman) GB. It's only about $170 worth of LED bulbs. It's expensive not because of the LEDs but the controller.

 

Radion Link

• 8x Cree XP-G Cool White LEDs run at 5w each
• 8x Cree XP-E Blue LEDs run at 3w each
• 10x Cree XP-E Royal Blue LEDs run at 3w each
• 4x Cree XP-E Green LEDs run at 3w each
• 4x Osram Oslon SSL Hyper Red LEDs run at 3w each

 

 

Mine was a DIY fixture that Robert Chu built and only had the white and blue. It wasn't controllable at all. I was amazed by it when I first got it but that was quickly tarnished by the loss of coral color and cyano issues. Looks like they've come a long way......I'll give them a couple more years and then we'll see.

[zygote2k]

Can't speak to the Radion, but I know that with the Cree LEDs I was having cyano problems and my corals were losing color. Granted I had 18 royal blue and 18 white, but there just wasn't a wow factor. When I went back to T5s, the colors started coming back with just blue plus and actinic bulbs. When I switched to the 400w Radium with 4 24w actinic T5s, the "wow" was back.

 

It's funny that you say this because I have your old light fixture. Everything grows under this fixture and it makes the corals look stunning.

I have placed many different types of corals under LED's for nearly 5 years now and I still say that it's just another light source and that if you excellent water quality you can grow anything.

If you want the "wow" factor with corals, you gotta have vivid coloration in the first place. You can't expect a plain old brown acro to turn into a psychedelic tree under LED's.

 

Edited May 23, 2012 by zygote2k

[steveoutlaw]

It's funny that you say this because I have your old light fixture. Everything grows under this fixture and it makes the corals look stunning.

 

Say what you will, but my corals looked great when I put that fixture on the tank and that is whan they started declining. That is also when the hair algea problem started.......and there were no other changes to the system so it was the same water quality. Conversely, when I put the T5s back on the system, and made no other changes, hair algea went away and the colors started to immediately recover. Again, the exact same water quality. So, unless the LEDs were adding something to the tank when I wasn't looking, I'm blaming it on the lights!!