Radion Pro vs. ReefBreeders 32"

Discussion in 'Reef Breeders' started by bhazard, Jan 23, 2013.

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  1. skurious

    skurious Sailfin Tang

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    Do you have a local reef club? Maybe someone local could loan you a par meter. Thats what I did to test my SOL's not too long ago.
     
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  3. jbraslins

    jbraslins Teardrop Maxima Clam

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    I mainly wanna see colors side by side.
     
  4. skurious

    skurious Sailfin Tang

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    After I posted, I figured thats what you wanted to see.
     
  5. gcarroll

    gcarroll Zoanthid

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    What optics were in the Reef Breeders fixture?
    What are the dimensions of the tank used in the test.
     
  6. bhazard

    bhazard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    90 degree optics on the Reefbreeders. Hung 8" above the water line. Standard 125 gallon tank size. 72" x 18" x 22". 30" to sandbed from the fixture.

    I hung the Radion Pro an extra inch higher for extra spread. PAR numbers outside of dead center are useless because it puts the Radion at a disadvantage that wouldn't be there with multiple units.

    The Radion Pro is a nice fixture, but it really could use some warm whites instead of those 590nm yellows, since those yellows run on the red channel and are at very low intensity during the timed preset modes. You can barely tell if they do anything.

    Its hard to justify the cost when a fixture 3 times the size is less than half the price. It cost me an extra $50 for the nearly exact type of adjustable metal hanging kit that comes for free with the RB light.

    [​IMG]

    The Radion also gets hot to the touch, which is concerning. The heatsink might be getting pushed really hard because of its size. The RB light is cool to the touch.

    I'd prefer if the leds were grouped in close clusters like the Radion, but spotlighting is minimal. The Radion also has minimal spotlighting, just even less of it.
     
    Last edited: Jan 24, 2013
  7. bhazard

    bhazard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    I'd totally set it up. Too bad I don't have a good camera or any photography skills.

    One thing I can tell you... I bought a green/orange chalice from a reefer last week who had it over AI Sol Blues, and it colored up to a nice deep green/red under my lights within a week. The Vega shouldn't do the same thing, it should keep color better, but I would expect around a 100 μmol m-2 s-1 point drop or more at the same height dead center. The Radion Pro has a good 40W more power over it.
     
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  9. Zegermans13

    Zegermans13 Fire Worm

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    Thanks for posting, i was looking at the RB but i thought it was too good to be true for the price.
     
  10. bhazard

    bhazard Spanish Shawl Nudibranch

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    A lot of chinese OEM lights are garbage, but these are the real deal. I've opened up the 16" fixture and took pictures of the insides on another forum. Everything is wired up nicely (and correctly), and the drivers and aluminum heatsink are robust.

    The only knock I have against these fixtures, is that the blue leds are a little weak. The whites are really, really strong in comparison, and quickly overpower them. 16k to 20k is easily doable by adjusting the channels though.
     
  11. Daniel072

    Daniel072 Giant Squid

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    There's a whole big long discussion on another forum regarding chinese led's. They are apparently working out fine. The reefbreeders fixture is an evergrow it 2080. Very good reviews on this fixture.
     
  12. tattoolew

    tattoolew Sea Dragon

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    so will the 32" fixture offer enough coverage for a 48" X 24" X 16" (80 gal frag tank) to allow for sps?