Ecotech Radion or GHL 7206

[Wendy Eaton]

Researching lights is giving me a headache! Lol. I’ve got it narrowed down, I think, to either Ecotech Radion or GHL 7206. I definitely want something that will work with wave makers and can be programmed for weather effects. Looking for some input from you guys and gals. All suggestions are welcome.

 

[Crabs McJones]

Researching lights is giving me a headache! Lol. I’ve got it narrowed down, I think, to either Ecotech Radion or GHL 7206. I definitely want something that will work with wave makers and can be programmed for weather effects. Looking for some input from you guys and gals. All suggestions are welcome.

I would go with radions. Pair them up with some vortechs and link it all together with the reef link.

 

[dbl]

Welcome to R2R. I moved this thread to the lighting forum in hopes of better response.

 

[HolisticBear]

I own the GHL. A major advantage was the six puck design, thou the newly available diffuser for the radion greatly helps.

At 12", GHL gives max PAR of 385. The GHL is slightly warmer than Radion (more white LEDs), but you can overdrive the blues. The GHL likely has better spread and uniform distribution compared to a non diffused Radion.

My GHL hits the thermal limit of 65C with fans running at 100%, combined with bluer tint I only get 65-75% of the max 385 PAR. With a Radion, I could probably deliver peak par of 2x.

I love the quality of the light, but today I would go with a diffused Radion because I could get significant more PAR and the software for managing the lights is more 'modern'.

There are probably cases (24-36" wide tank) where you might get away with a single GHL, but you'd need two Radions. That can also be a deciding factor.

You need to use the GHL PC software, which can be challenging. You will also have to reset many of the factory defaults (fan speed, thermal limit, etc.). IOW, you will have to ask questions on R2R to get it working the best

 

[Wendy Eaton]

I would go with radions. Pair them up with some vortechs and link it all together with the reef link.

Thank you. That’s one for Radion.

 

[Wendy Eaton]

I own the GHL. A major advantage was the six puck design, thou the newly available diffuser for the radion greatly helps.

At 12", GHL gives max PAR of 385. The GHL is slightly warmer than Radion (more white LEDs), but you can overdrive the blues. The GHL likely has better spread and uniform distribution compared to a non diffused Radion.

My GHL hits the thermal limit of 65C with fans running at 100%, combined with bluer tint I only get 65-75% of the max 385 PAR. With a Radion, I could probably deliver peak par of 2x.

I love the quality of the light, but today I would go with a diffused Radion because I could get significant more PAR and the software for managing the lights is more 'modern'.

There are probably cases (24-36" wide tank) where you might get away with a single GHL, but you'd need two radions. That can also be a deciding factor.

You need to use the GHL PC software, which can be challenging. You will also have to reset many of the factory defaults (fan speed, thermal limit, etc.). IOW, you will have to ask questions on R2R to get it working the best

Thank you for your input. This is a big decision.

 

[Wendy Eaton]

I own the GHL. A major advantage was the six puck design, thou the newly available diffuser for the radion greatly helps.

At 12", GHL gives max PAR of 385. The GHL is slightly warmer than Radion (more white LEDs), but you can overdrive the blues. The GHL likely has better spread and uniform distribution compared to a non diffused Radion.

My GHL hits the thermal limit of 65C with fans running at 100%, combined with bluer tint I only get 65-75% of the max 385 PAR. With a Radion, I could probably deliver peak par of 2x.

I love the quality of the light, but today I would go with a diffused Radion because I could get significant more PAR and the software for managing the lights is more 'modern'.

There are probably cases (24-36" wide tank) where you might get away with a single GHL, but you'd need two Radions. That can also be a deciding factor.

You need to use the GHL PC software, which can be challenging. You will also have to reset many of the factory defaults (fan speed, thermal limit, etc.). IOW, you will have to ask questions on R2R to get it working the best

Good morning. After reading your message again, I have a couple of questions, holisticBear. First of all I am so glad to have found someone who has ghl lights and is willing to take the time to share their thoughts with me. I appreciate that and want to thank you again.

1)When you say override the blues, you mean adjust them to where they are at more “intensity”, thus helping colors to pop during daytime hours? 2) is 65C othe thermal limit of the fixture or the the limit you have chosen for safety of your livestock? 3) Does increasing the bluer tint actually lower the peak par or did you lower it by lowering the white light intensity so that you could have more blue for color popping?

I really like the 6 puck design. My aquarium is flatback hexagon 50 x 16 x 20 deep. I believe I would need two GHL 7206. However I believe I would need 3 radions. Of course I would much rather spend $1500 as opposed to $2400. But that is not the only factor that has me leaning towards GHL.

I read several reviews where people preferred the GHL 7206 over Radion because it was easier to program, you could change programs at the fixture after the initial setup via usb and the GHL looked more natural than Radion or Kessill. If I read correctly, all of the GHL 7206 features could be utilized (except controlling the wave makers) without having to buy an extra piece of equipment, such as a reeflink. An alarming number of users believed reeflink to be a waste of money because of constantly dropping connection to WiFi and software lacking timely updates. Basically rendering the features of the lights useless. Have you heard anything like this from your peers?

 

[Wendy Eaton]

Welcome to R2R. I moved this thread to the lighting forum in hopes of better response.

Thank you.