Hydra 32HD vs Radion XR15 G5 PRO LED

[Andresnyc93]

I have nothing but good things to say about AI and the Prime 16hd. I have not owned Radions. The Primes/Hydras are by far the most popular reef light on the market, so while there may be a perception that they have a high failure rate, I don’t think it’s any higher than any other light. Ecotech has had quality control issues with the G5 Radions as well. I do know that Fragbox, which sells both and facilitates warranty claims said compared to what they sell they see more warranty claims for Radions, though I don’t think it was something they web through their records/sales to verify. I do know that the blutooth connectivity with the Radions is awful and the a lot of people complain about the app being finicky. Personally, just based on my experience, between the two, and considering the price, I would go with AI. I would maybe do 4 Primes instead of 2 Hydras, just because you could spread out the coverage a little more, there’d be slightly more wattage, and because they’d be usable on pretty much any size tank if I up/downgraded in the future.

Yeah looking at it price wise is a lot more, do you think one 32 would be just enough? I really want to keep this tank as simple as possible since it won’t be my main tank. I was thinking of just getting one and running it full blues on a 10 hour period 2 hour ramp up to full spectrum with also a 2 hr ramp down, would hate spending that much on ecotech and still have some issues considering their lights can be twice as much

 

[Andresnyc93]

I have mine set at 10 inches currently. From what I've seen alot of people that have had issues are running presets with power settings at well over 100% for extended periods of time. An example would be the BRS AB+ preset they made for the 32hd. It has some of the spectrums set at like 120% for hours.

Do you mostly just run blues? I think I’m going with the 32 given that it covers more area than the Radion, their bigger light is just ridiculous on that price point… at that point just get t5s and a good led and your corals will be on crack

 

[MaxTremors]

Yeah looking at it price wise is a lot more, do you think one 32 would be just enough? I really want to keep this tank as simple as possible since it won’t be my main tank. I was thinking of just getting one and running it full blues on a 10 hour period 2 hour ramp up to full spectrum with also a 2 hr ramp down, would hate spending that much on ecotech and still have some issues considering their lights can be twice as much

The Reefer 170 is a 3 foot tank, right? I would do 2-3 primes over the Hydra 32. Even with 2 primes the spread would be much better than one 32, though three would probably be ideal. You could start with 2 and always add another down the line.

 

[Andresnyc93]

The Reefer 170 is a 3 foot tank, right? I would do 2-3 primes over the Hydra 32. Even with 2 primes the spread would be much better than one 32, though three would probably be ideal. You could start with 2 and always add another down the line.

Correct, would you mostly run blues on both? I have been told that whites aren’t necessary but not sure how true that is.

 

[Spig]

Do you mostly just run blues? I think I’m going with the 32 given that it covers more area than the Radion, their bigger light is just ridiculous on that price point… at that point just get t5s and a good led and your corals will be on crack

Yea blues and UV mostly. Some people dont like the heavy blues and add some whites for aesthetic but I dont really mind it much honestly. Sometimes Ill throw some white in just for pictures. Theres a cool feature when you download or create a preset where you can "play" it and see what it looks like throughout the span of a day in the span of a minute. Kind of like time lapse I guess. You can kinda play around with the settings and see what you like or just download one of the many different presets other users share.

 

[Andresnyc93]

Yea blues and UV mostly. Some people dont like the heavy blues and add some whites for aesthetic but I dont really mind it much honestly. Sometimes Ill throw some white in just for pictures. Theres a cool feature when you download or create a preset where you can "play" it and see what it looks like throughout the span of a day in the span of a minute. Kind of like time lapse I guess. You can kinda play around with the settings and see what you like or just download one of the many different presets other users share.

Pretty dope features! Will go pick one of the Hydras then. I also just plan to quarantine frags on it so I won’t spend that much money on a light for a tank that’s just having frags passing through.

 

[Spig]

Pretty dope features! Will go pick one of the Hydras then. I also just plan to quarantine frags on it so I won’t spend that much money on a light for a tank that’s just having frags passing through.

Awesome! Best of luck to you man.

 

[Andresnyc93]

Awesome! Best of luck to you man.

Thanks, really appreciate it! I will for sure share the end product fully up and running

 

[Tbg299]

I also have some mp40s and plan to add a mp10 to this tank so this is why I became very interested on the XR15.
Is the aesthetic of the tank like full spectrum or do you get shadows? That’s the biggest problem I’m having with my Kessil’s currently and would like to use a light that gives my corals what they need but also is aesthetically satisfying

No, I don't have any shadows. Even the overhanging rock areas are well lit. I'm running them at 80% output.

 

[Tbg299]

Yeah looking at it price wise is a lot more, do you think one 32 would be just enough? I really want to keep this tank as simple as possible since it won’t be my main tank. I was thinking of just getting one and running it full blues on a 10 hour period 2 hour ramp up to full spectrum with also a 2 hr ramp down, would hate spending that much on ecotech and still have some issues considering their lights can be twice as much

One is not enough. I would do 2x Hydras.

 

[Tbg299]

The Reefer 170 is a 3 foot tank, right? I would do 2-3 primes over the Hydra 32. Even with 2 primes the spread would be much better than one 32, though three would probably be ideal. You could start with 2 and always add another down the line.

The Hydra has much less PAR drop off and better spread than the AI Prime. I would suggest 2x Hydras instead. The LEDs in thr Hydra are also more improved.

 

[SPS2020]

I’m leaning towards the hydra 32 hd as well cause they can provide more coverage but was trying to see if perhaps there was something I didn’t know about the radion’s. Do you also have some LPS in tank? How tall is your mounting/water level from light

I don't have any LPS, only Acropora and a patch of Zoas on the bare bottom floor. I'll need to check my mounting height again, but I am using an AquaticLife DX18 hybrid fixture with 4 T5's for actinic pop. Due to that, I split the difference with recommended mounting height. The Hydra32HD is recommended a bit higher than the T5's. I'm going to update my build thread with new pictures over the weekend (got a new ReefDose 4, etc.) and will check the mounting height and current PAR.

 

[Andresnyc93]

I don't have any LPS, only Acropora and a patch of Zoas on the bare bottom floor. I'll need to check my mounting height again, but I am using an AquaticLife DX18 hybrid fixture with 4 T5's for actinic pop. Due to that, I split the difference with recommended mounting height. The Hydra32HD is recommended a bit higher than the T5's. I'm going to update my build thread with new pictures over the weekend (got a new ReefDose 4, etc.) and will check the mounting height and current PAR.

Nice! Love the reef dose, got it running on my bigger systems and couldn’t be happier. Will just go with hydras also considering I can add more later on and won’t break the bank getting them.