LED Light question

[dodgerblew]

I have a 60 cube lit by an ATI 8x24” DSP supplemented with two RB Blue strips, one tech and one xho. I have been following along for awhile researching the Radion G4 Pro. Seems they’re quite respected as many of the top vendors are using them. I love the t5 and want to not change but one thing the g4 pro has that isn’t duplicated by either the T5 bulb or RB strips is that violet bulb. My gosh what that bulb does to make colors pop! So my question is, does Ecotech have the proprietary rights to that bulb so no other manufacturer can incorporate it? I would love it if RB or SB Reefs could produce a supplement strip of violet just for when you really want to see your coral colors go off the charts. Truth is I’ve asked the people whose tanks are lit by the g4 to switch the lighting to a 20k spectrum and when they do the corals color are much plainer and I’m not impressed at all but I just can’t pull the trigger on a new light because of one bulb color. Is there talk out there of a company producing a similar violet bulb supplement for t5 or mh?

 

[Finhead]

I have a 60 cube lit by an ATI 8x24” DSP supplemented with two RB Blue strips, one tech and one xho. I have been following along for awhile researching the Radion G4 Pro. Seems they’re quite respected as many of the top vendors are using them. I love the t5 and want to not change but one thing the g4 pro has that isn’t duplicated by either the T5 bulb or RB strips is that violet bulb. My gosh what that bulb does to make colors pop! So my question is, does Ecotech have the proprietary rights to that bulb so no other manufacturer can incorporate it? I would love it if RB or SB Reefs could produce a supplement strip of violet just for when you really want to see your coral colors go off the charts. Truth is I’ve asked the people whose tanks are lit by the g4 to switch the lighting to a 20k spectrum and when they do the corals color are much plainer and I’m not impressed at all but I just can’t pull the trigger on a new light because of one bulb color. Is there talk out there of a company producing a similar violet bulb supplement for t5 or mh?

It's just a Viloet/UV diode right in the 400nm range, lots of fixtures run the same diode these days. My Hydra 26's have them.
You can get the strip/bar LED's that have this type of diode. Or you can also DIY one if your into building.
https://sbreeflights.com/sbar-supplimental-lights/18-sbar-supplemental-5050-bar-lights.html
https://www.rapidled.com/uv-violet/

 

[dodgerblew]

I made a goof I was told. It's not the violet, it's the deep blue. I'll check out the links. Thanks

 

[Daniel Waters]

I made a goof I was told. It's not the violet, it's the deep blue. I'll check out the links. Thanks

I would think a pure actinic bulb (or two) should give you a similar effect in your T5 setup if you have not tried that yet

 

[dodgerblew]

I did not the same

 

[Daniel Waters]

From a spectrum standpoint, the actinic bulb should add in the deep blue and blue you are getting from the radions. Visually, it may just look different because t5 and leds distribute light very differently. What t5 bulb combo are you running? And what were the settings on the radion that you really liked (color channel %, not intensity). It's possible you may just really like the radions when they are running all blues but you have a whiter T5 bulb mix that is overpowering the blue T5 bulbs.

 

[dodgerblew]

This is true and I mentioned that in first post. The Radion in a daylight setting do nothing for me but it's the deep blue bulb basically on its own when you really pic of colors similar to how an actinic bulb highlights but the deep blue on the Radion is a deeper blue then the actinic spectrum and brings out some amazing colors. I mentioned earlier I'd like a company like Reefbrite to make a strip with the deeper blues for this reason because I like t5. My combo is 5b+, 1p+, 1c+ and 1 actinic

 

[Daniel Waters]

This is true and I mentioned that in first post. The Radion in a daylight setting do nothing for me but it's the deep blue bulb basically on its own when you really pic of colors similar to how an actinic bulb highlights but the deep blue on the Radion is a deeper blue then the actinic spectrum and brings out some amazing colors. I mentioned earlier I'd like a company like Reefbrite to make a strip with the deeper blues for this reason because I like t5. My combo is 5b+, 1p+, 1c+ and 1 actinic

I just did a test with my radions with all the blues and violets turned all the way up and all the other channels (red, green, cool white and warm white turned off). I compared that to my ATI blue plus T5 bulbs turned on. The all blues of the radions ARE a slightly deeper blue color than an ATI blue plus bulb alone. Try viewing one pure actinic with one blue plus bulb and see if that's closer to what you're wanting. If that's not blue enough, I'm not sure you're going to have much luck mimicking the radion blue channels with T5's. Of course, you're not going to be able to get the deep blue color with the T5's anytime you are running your purple plus and coral plus bulbs, as those have a lot of green, red, and slight yellow in them. You could play around with how you are running your bulb combo on your two channels to maximize your preferred viewing (i.e., maybe run the coral plus and purple plus on one channel and use in middle of the day for say 4 hours, and run all the blues / pure actinics on the other channel and run it all day so you're getting the color you prefer most of your viewing time).

I imagine if you could find out what LED nm range the radions are using for their deep blue you like, you could have a custom led bar made.

Just suggestions. Hope that helps.

 

[Daniel Waters]

I played around with my radion settings to get a better feel for color and what you are after. A 20K setting has the blues, violets, and UV channels at 100%, cool white, green, hyper red at 17%, and warm white at 0%. You said, "I’ve asked the people whose tanks are lit by the g4 to switch the lighting to a 20k spectrum and when they do the corals color are much plainer and I’m not impressed..." It seems to me that you really do not like the green, red, and yellow spectrums. The ATI blue plus bulb has some green and yellow in it also, so I think the only way you're going to get that super deep blue like you're wanting is to run more pure actinic bulbs and less ATI blue plus bulbs. And, once again, you won't be able to have that deep blue look at all when you are running a coral plus or purple plus bulb.

 

[dodgerblew]

Thank you for the great suggestions. My comment about the Radion and the more daylight spectrum was probably not expressed the way I feel. When I say I'm not impressed I meant I'm no more impressed then I am with my t5 combo but still meaning I like both but not enough difference to switch. I like my corals under my t5 but if, like you said, I knew the nm range of the deep blue, it would be great to have a supplement strip. I do like the idea of switching my bulbs to put a b+ and an actinic in the two bulb program instead of the 2 b+ I run now. I'm going to make some contact with some Radion buddies of mine and see what they use when they do make the colors explode and if they know the nem range of the deep blue bulb

 

[Daniel Waters]

Thank you for the great suggestions. My comment about the Radion and the more daylight spectrum was probably not expressed the way I feel. When I say I'm not impressed I meant I'm no more impressed then I am with my t5 combo but still meaning I like both but not enough difference to switch. I like my corals under my t5 but if, like you said, I knew the nm range of the deep blue, it would be great to have a supplement strip. I do like the idea of switching my bulbs to put a b+ and an actinic in the two bulb program instead of the 2 b+ I run now. I'm going to make some contact with some Radion buddies of mine and see what they use when they do make the colors explode and if they know the nem range of the deep blue bulb

I think a blue plus with actinic for your 2 bulb program / channel will certainly help. It should be much deeper / richer than just two ATI blue plus bulbs.

As far as specific LED information on the radions, this is an older review I believe on the Gen3, and it gives specifics on the types of LED and manufacturers used for each color channel. I believe the Gen4 LED changes were simply the addition of the violet (430 nm) and moving to a warm white LED, so I suspect the blue LED's have not changed but I can not confirm this.

Gen3 review
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2013/1/review

Gen4 review (but doesn't have as specific LED information as the review above on the Gen3)
https://reefs.com/2017/01/18/ecotech-marine-radion-gen-4-xr30w-pro-definitive-review/

 

[dodgerblew]

Thanks. I'll look it over

 

[Big E]

Hi Rik,

I'm not sure what you want but Radions use standard royal blue Crees........the violets are SemiLed 420 which have the best pop from what diode retailers have told me. Those would be the two that would give you the most visual pop combined.

You can make a strip of 450nm royal blue crees and Semileds and that should get what you want.

The G4's added more Violets than previous versions............maybe this is what you're talking about that you see.

SB reeflights has this strip light..............they are 3-1 blue to violet. That would be your best option from a commercial built unit
https://sbreeflights.com/sbar-supplimental-lights/18-sbar-supplemental-5050-bar-lights.html

 

[dodgerblew]

Thanks.

I think though that it's the deep blues not the royal blues, maybe or maybe not in tandem with the violet that produces the color I'm talking about.

 

[dodgerblew]

Several years ago I bought a Reefbrite UV strip and I added it to my Reefbrite Blue strip and I did not like the color either solo or combined.

 

[Big E]

Ok, but Reefbrite doesn't use Semileds and from what I know about that strip light it's basically a moonlight without much punch.

Most of what are in commercial strips are royal blues 450nm..........that's what give the corals that bling look. It's also the peak point on all LED fixtures. If you want the deeper blue LEDs you should be looking to DIY one with Cree 460-470nm range. There is normally less of those in LED fixtures.

21led usa made one with 450 and 470 mix and only a few violets.........not sure if they changed that or not. I just looked and they offer a 453 bar......guess it's new. You may want to ask about the layout of that one. I think they will custom make something too.

 

[dodgerblew]

Thanks man, that's awesome

 

[North Borders]

Did you wind up doing the Radions? If yes, how is it working for you?

(Curious as I have 2 xr15's along with t5's and I'm trying to decide what to do with the Radions as most of my lighting needs are being handled by the t5's)