Been offered 3 LED lights, which one is the best ??

[ricky stubbs]

Looking to upgrade the lights on me Red Sea max 250 L from the old T5 lights to LED, I have been offered some 2nd hand lights and was wondering if anyone knows which one would be the best deal they are all priced around £150 - £200

1) Razor 420r

2) xr30 gen2 pro

3) Tmc luminar 900 V2

I am looking for a overall fitting which has day and night setting and good for corals and fish

Thanks in advance

 

[jda]

You will get different responses on this and ultimately you will need to decide which features that you like the best. I would not classify any of these as a for-sure "upgrade" over T5s, but you might like the differences.

 

[ricky stubbs]

You will get different responses on this and ultimately you will need to decide which features that you like the best. I would not classify any of these as a for-sure "upgrade" over T5s, but you might like the differences.

I am only really looking to change to LED because all 6 of my T5 tubes need changing and that would be around £70 ish plus the blue night LED suck on the Red Sea max

 

[ricky stubbs]

Any lights you could recommend ?/

 

[TheHarold]

Radions are great, any gen.

 

[ricky stubbs]

Do you think or know if that would be big enough for my ram 250l, sorry I am a bit of a newbie at this

Radions are great, any gen.

 

[Captain Quint]

Besides T5's, VHO, and MH's the only LED lights for my DT's have been Radions and the only problem I ever had with one was the fan going out on the G-2 you mention. It was replaced free of charge.

But I cannot compare as I've not used the other lights you mentioned. Maybe some well versed in the light you have to choose from can give your best option.

Sorry I was of no more help on this question.

 

[jda]

What are the dimensions of that tank? Not all of us are familiar with Red Sea's product line.

For high light specimens, then a radion can handle 18x18 pretty well... more like 24x24 with mid/lower light stuff on the edges. Shadowing is the big issue with just one fixture, especially as stuff grows.

 

[DesertReefT4r]

Radions are hard to beat. Any gen have been proven to grow any type of coral very well. For me it would be a hard call. The Razor 420r is a great light and will work well on the 250 and its still in production so support and parts are available. You would need 2 Radions to properly cover your tank so if only 1 is for sale then thats out. The Gen 2 is also discontinued but some parts like power supplies, fans and optic lenses are still available but if a led dies your in trouble. However its Radions and they kick but, AB+ setting looks great and grows corals, also has the most output of the 3 lights.

 

[Sarah24!]

Hello,

In comparing these three leds the razor led is far superior to the other two. Granted, yes there will be about a million different opinions, on this topic. From a tech point of view and lab point of view, the razors are far better.

Reasons for this, if you go with the really old radions and they break, well good luck fixing them. More than likely Ecotech will suggest you upgrade and charge you another 699 for one. Plus the technology in the new razor is far superior to that of the really older radion.

The tmc luminary is less well known or covered, maybe hard to get some support for. For prime example, even searching for the luminar I couldn’t find any local places that even carried them, but did find some outside of the USA. I also wasn’t able to find many reviews on them either so (Yes I’m one for the underdog also) which isnt great or bad, but shows maybe hard to find support for. They do have more feature than the radions though. In order by far the razor, then the tmc, then radions. We all know getting parts or fixing these radions would be overly expensive if not even likely. Tmc probably not far behind but much newer, but with him buying used there goes warranty.

At least with the razor, some of the major online stores carry them so he has a better chance. I do know that I have seen local aquariums use them and have had great success with them. They would also have much better spread then the others (with radions being simple puck style), which is a disadvantage.

If your able to view said three lights I would look them over and see their condition. As well maybe see how they look over a tank and go with what the color appeals to you. That ultimately needs to be something high on your list. I’d love to hear which one you decide to go with.

In regards to t5, mh etc again so many options and opinions it’s like comparing ford to yugo, never ending debate. I will caution you that corals are (if you have a bunch) not found of light changes. I temporarily switched mine from led to t5 (because the guest tank used only t5), my corals over six months were pretty mad at me, (which most died I’ll add). I’d keep your old lights, still for when you switch and the corals start to go south, you can switch it back fairly quickly.

Wish you well on this fun adventure

Sincerely
Sarah

 

[ricky stubbs]

Hello,

In comparing these three leds the razor led is far superior to the other two. Granted, yes there will be about a million different opinions, on this topic. From a tech point of view and lab point of view, the razors are far better.

Reasons for this, if you go with the really old radions and they break, well good luck fixing them. More than likely Ecotech will suggest you upgrade and charge you another 699 for one. Plus the technology in the new razor is far superior to that of the really older radion.

The tmc luminary is less well known or covered, maybe hard to get some support for. For prime example, even searching for the luminar I couldn’t find any local places that even carried them, but did find some outside of the USA. I also wasn’t able to find many reviews on them either so (Yes I’m one for the underdog also) which isnt great or bad, but shows maybe hard to find support for. They do have more feature than the radions though. In order by far the razor, then the tmc, then radions. We all know getting parts or fixing these radions would be overly expensive if not even likely. Tmc probably not far behind but much newer, but with him buying used there goes warranty.

At least with the razor, some of the major online stores carry them so he has a better chance. I do know that I have seen local aquariums use them and have had great success with them. They would also have much better spread then the others (with radions being simple puck style), which is a disadvantage.

If your able to view said three lights I would look them over and see their condition. As well maybe see how they look over a tank and go with what the color appeals to you. That ultimately needs to be something high on your list. I’d love to hear which one you decide to go with.

In regards to t5, mh etc again so many options and opinions it’s like comparing ford to yugo, never ending debate. I will caution you that corals are (if you have a bunch) not found of light changes. I temporarily switched mine from led to t5 (because the guest tank used only t5), my corals over six months were pretty mad at me, (which most died I’ll add). I’d keep your old lights, still for when you switch and the corals start to go south, you can switch it back fairly quickly.

Wish you well on this fun adventure

Sincerely
Sarah

Thank you so much for all this advice I will get back in contact with them all and see if I can go view them

 

[PerplexyHexy]

The maxspect razor is a great light... and yes, easy to repair quickly... even yourself... I have 2 and love them... programming is easy as well