Radion XR30W G3 LED - coverage?

slowjazz · 05/04/2015, 10:56 AM

I checked out the AI primes and altho they sound nice, I would need 3 or 4 over my 90. (which puts me up to 600 - 800 dollars)

So... I'm back to the 'bigger' lights. AI has a nice light, but it seems like the 'king' is Radion. I noticed that they did some upgrades with the G3 series.

The only thing I could not find is the coverage. I have a standard 90 gallon tank. Could I get by with just one XR30W G3 ? (900 par, but at what depth and coverage?) for about 100 bucks more they have the pro which adds a few leds and goes to 1100 par.

Plus I'm assuming I have to add some money for the mount and wireless options?

BigCountry74 · 05/04/2015, 12:02 PM

4 foot tank? you will need 2 XR30W G3

you could run 1, but you would have to hang it pretty high, thus sacrificing a lot of growth.

these are, in my opinion the best boxed LED lights on the market. so it's gonna be $$, but worth every penny. heck you add a controller and it gets insane fun

Bpb · 05/04/2015, 01:45 PM

Yeah no way you'll have useable light from end to end with just one radion.

slowjazz · 05/05/2015, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigCountry74

4 foot tank? you will need 2 XR30W G3

you could run 1, but you would have to hang it pretty high, thus sacrificing a lot of growth.

these are, in my opinion the best boxed LED lights on the market. so it's gonna be $$, but worth every penny. heck you add a controller and it gets insane fun

That's what I was thinking also. But.... with a 90 am I over doing it? I'm assuming I would always need to run it at 40% or so as to not fry my tank?

Bpb · 05/05/2015, 07:27 AM

Probably so, but coverage is more important than par, provided you have enough. You'd also fry half your tank directly under the lights if you just used one, and turned it up real high to try to compensate for the dim ends which would still be too low. Definitely best to run two at least but at lower intensity. Honestly, you'll probably be fine with two, they're great lights, but even then, if mounted lengthwise side to side, I'd still worry about adequate light wrap in the front and back of acropora. Visually it would appear plenty bright.

Zacktosterone · 05/05/2015, 07:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowjazz

That's what I was thinking also. But.... with a 90 am I over doing it? I'm assuming I would always need to run it at 40% or so as to not fry my tank?

no trust me you're underwhelming your tank incredibly. you need 2

slowjazz · 05/05/2015, 08:00 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Zacktosterone

no trust me you're underwhelming your tank incredibly. you need 2

Would two 15w pro's do the same trick ? (cost would be 900 for two as apposed to getting to 30w's for 1300) I noticed the 15w pro's have 120 instead of 80 deg.

Bpb · 05/05/2015, 09:10 AM

Depends on what you're wanting to grow

If budget is this much of a concern, why not get two Ocean Revive T247 units? The coverage is outstanding and they'll grow anything just as well as the radions will, just without the tweakability for every single individual diode. I have bough from just about all the bigtime SPS guys on the local reef forum, and notice no difference in coral color, health, growth, and quality of the guys using Radions vs the guys using Ocean Revives.

Saltwatercoral2 · 05/05/2015, 12:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by slowjazz

Would two 15w pro's do the same trick ? (cost would be 900 for two as apposed to getting to 30w's for 1300) I noticed the 15w pro's have 120 instead of 80 deg.

I seen a tank similiar to yours with 2 Radions XR15's on it, and it lit the tank up well and they grew coral all over the tank

05/04/2015, 10:56 AM	#1
slowjazz Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2014 Location: GA Posts: 137	Radion XR30W G3 LED - coverage? I checked out the AI primes and altho they sound nice, I would need 3 or 4 over my 90. (which puts me up to 600 - 800 dollars) So... I'm back to the 'bigger' lights. AI has a nice light, but it seems like the 'king' is Radion. I noticed that they did some upgrades with the G3 series. The only thing I could not find is the coverage. I have a standard 90 gallon tank. Could I get by with just one XR30W G3 ? (900 par, but at what depth and coverage?) for about 100 bucks more they have the pro which adds a few leds and goes to 1100 par. Plus I'm assuming I have to add some money for the mount and wireless options?

05/04/2015, 12:02 PM	#2
BigCountry74 Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2012 Location: Charlotte, NC Posts: 1,761	4 foot tank? you will need 2 XR30W G3 you could run 1, but you would have to hang it pretty high, thus sacrificing a lot of growth. these are, in my opinion the best boxed LED lights on the market. so it's gonna be $$, but worth every penny. heck you add a controller and it gets insane fun __________________ 135g mixed reef (retired) http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2132815 Current 40g reef http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2483250 Current Tank Info: 40g bare bottom reef

05/04/2015, 01:45 PM	#3
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	Yeah no way you'll have useable light from end to end with just one radion.

05/05/2015, 07:27 AM	#5
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	Probably so, but coverage is more important than par, provided you have enough. You'd also fry half your tank directly under the lights if you just used one, and turned it up real high to try to compensate for the dim ends which would still be too low. Definitely best to run two at least but at lower intensity. Honestly, you'll probably be fine with two, they're great lights, but even then, if mounted lengthwise side to side, I'd still worry about adequate light wrap in the front and back of acropora. Visually it would appear plenty bright.

05/05/2015, 09:10 AM	#8
Bpb Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Texas Posts: 3,148	Depends on what you're wanting to grow If budget is this much of a concern, why not get two Ocean Revive T247 units? The coverage is outstanding and they'll grow anything just as well as the radions will, just without the tweakability for every single individual diode. I have bough from just about all the bigtime SPS guys on the local reef forum, and notice no difference in coral color, health, growth, and quality of the guys using Radions vs the guys using Ocean Revives.