Mitras LX7 vs Radion XR15

[Aquius]

I know this has been beat to death, but we are coming up on Black Friday and I need to make a decision: I have narrowed the lighting choices for my SCA 150 to either three GHL Mitras LX7's or six Radion XR15's.

I know it has been discussed quite a bit, but at this point, I cannot really make up my mind and am inclined to go with whichever ends up being cheaper.

Am I missing something?

 

[Jay Norris]

I know this has been beat to death, but we are coming up on Black Friday and I need to make a decision: I have narrowed the lighting choices for my SCA 150 to either three GHL Mitras LX7's or six Radion XR15's.

I know it has been discussed quite a bit, but at this point, I cannot really make up my mind and am inclined to go with whichever ends up being cheaper.

Am I missing something?

Have you or anyone else on this site found any Black Friday deals on the 7206 Mitra's?

 

[scuzy]

I think they both work great. There is a lot of tweaking with the mitras. Require to push certain channels beyond 100%. But that was after I found out I need to do that. And ended up wasting more money buying all radions. But I'm happy using the radions now. If only I knew before that I need to drive them higher I wouldn't of swapped.

 

[Aquius]

Have you or anyone else on this site found any Black Friday deals on the 7206 Mitra's?

So far, only the 10% discount for this week at the GHL USA store and other retail vendors... I am hoping for more of a discount later this week, but I am not really hopeful.

 

[gcarroll]

I think the Mitras is the best engineered light in it's class.
I think the Radion has the best software and chipset in it's class. 60% of the Radion's LEDs are dedicated to the Blue to UV range. Onlu 50% of the MitraLEDs are dedicated to the blue UV range.

I went with Radion as coral coloration is the most important thing to me. But that's just me. I don't want to choose a light hoping that I can match the results people get out of the Radion.


All in all, I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

 

[Aquius]

I think the Mitras is the best engineered light in it's class.
I think the Radion has the best software and chipset in it's class. 60% of the Radion's LEDs are dedicated to the Blue to UV range. Onlu 50% of the MitraLEDs are dedicated to the blue UV range.

I went with Radion as coral coloration is the most important thing to me. But that's just me. I don't want to choose a light hoping that I can match the results people get out of the Radion.


All in all, I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

That is pretty much my conclusion as well. At this point, I think it will just come down to price...

 

[dantimdad]

@Brew12 needs to chime in here. He has 3 mitras on his 187 and it's beautiful!

 

[Brew12]

I think the Mitras is the best engineered light in it's class.
I think the Radion has the best software and chipset in it's class. 60% of the Radion's LEDs are dedicated to the Blue to UV range. Onlu 50% of the MitraLEDs are dedicated to the blue UV range.

Not much to add to this. I love my Mitras but I don't want my tank to have that heavy blue look. I want it to look like it is lit by sunlight during the day. Both lights are fantastic.

 

[Jay Norris]

I think the Mitras is the best engineered light in it's class.
I think the Radion has the best software and chipset in it's class. 60% of the Radion's LEDs are dedicated to the Blue to UV range. Onlu 50% of the MitraLEDs are dedicated to the blue UV range.

I went with Radion as coral coloration is the most important thing to me. But that's just me. I don't want to choose a light hoping that I can match the results people get out of the Radion.


All in all, I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

Hi < think it's the other way around software wise, I have used a Radion on my sisters tank, and it is a royal pain to program compared to the Mitra I was playing with yesterday. I also like the light coverage of the Mitra better to.

 

[Aquius]

Well, I probably should have mentioned that I have a new Profilux 4 mega set coming in for the new build...

 

[Whipples]

The Mitras and XR15 aren't comparable in my opinion based on coverage and power alone. I think a better comparison is Xr30 to the Mitras and even then I think the Mitras wins without needing any additional parts (like diffusers) and can be ran standalone or with your Profilux for added redundancy in case of a failure either power or controller-based. (biased, I have two LX7s over my tank). An XR15 is 95 watt max and a Mitras is 195.

The advantage the XR fixtures has is there are many more lighting programs from users available to you because they are very popular and have demonstrated success so you can plug and play a program and off you go. They are great lights with proven track records. The Mitras does not have as many programs available, however with power balancing and the ability to see the spectrum live on the tank as you adjust it to get the best color temperature for your corals I think makes up for this.

GHL has also historically made available the upgraded pucks to prior Mitras users (for example their 6300HV fixture I believe has a kit for it to retrofit the newer LX7206 pucks to keep it relevant) which I don't think the Radions have.

The Mitras is also less prone to hot-spotting based on design (6 clusters with reflectors in 2 rows of 3 versus 2 puck design) and you get broader coverage from a single fixture compared to Radions, but both fixtures can cook a tank if you aren't careful.

Just my thoughts

 

[hart24601]

Have you considered the orphek? On sale at BRS and like mine more than my radions I used to run. No exp with the Mitras though and it looks very nice. 2 v4 would be $1600 and would get you full panel of 48" of light. Get a couple orphek bars and would have amazing coverage or get a 3rd v4 for 2400 total.

 

[scuzy]

You didn't read the part where he said he's thinking of going 6 xr15 and 3 mitras. In that aspect its identical to me. The mitras were great I loved them when I had them. I just never gotten the growth on my mitras like the radions. ( This was before I found out after selling the mitras I needed to over drive certain channels far above the 100%) so maybe If I had over driven them I would of gotten the same response.

I would say they are both comparable so go with whichever is the cheaper.

 

[Whipples]

You didn't read the part where he said he's thinking of going 6 xr15 and 3 mitras. In that aspect its identical to me.

I would say they are both comparable so go with whichever is the cheaper.

6 Xr15 is $2,400 before any mounting options are considered, 3 Mitras is $2,340 ($2,100 on current sale) and half the mounting cost so in that arena the Mitras win. again, I am a biased user

 

[chema]

I have had three Mitras LX7 over my 120 g tank for the last 15 months and I absolutely love them. The change from my old DIY fixture is huge. The light possibilities using the GHL program are almost infinite, although I have to say that once fixed the different colors and steps along the day I have not changed the program in all this time.

I love the ability to convert one of the mixtures in the master and the others in slaves so you can delay the light features among them (great for the sunrise and down). Also, in this way you can just modify something in the master and the change is automatically transmitted to the slaves. And you can do that directly in the fixture, no need to open the program.

I also analyzed the two choices: Radion and Mitras. My good friend and owner of the LFS has Radios over his tanks and if I had to make a decision again I would choose Mitrax with no hesitation.

 

[gcarroll]

6 Xr15 is $2,400 before any mounting options are considered, 3 Mitras is $2,340 ($2,100 on current sale) and half the mounting cost so in that arena the Mitras win. again, I am a biased user

But come Friday, I'm not sure the difference will be so wide. Mitras may win the battle, but the war.... I am also a biased user.

 

[EmdeReef]

I think the Mitras is the best engineered light in it's class.
I think the Radion has the best software and chipset in it's class. 60% of the Radion's LEDs are dedicated to the Blue to UV range. Onlu 50% of the MitraLEDs are dedicated to the blue UV range.

I went with Radion as coral coloration is the most important thing to me. But that's just me. I don't want to choose a light hoping that I can match the results people get out of the Radion.


All in all, I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.

Curious what makes the Mitras the best engineered lights? Helping a friend pick lights but read some not so glowing reviews on Mitras on R2R. Thanks!

 

[scuzy]

Curious what makes the Mitras the best engineered lights? Helping a friend pick lights but read some not so glowing reviews on Mitras on R2R. Thanks!

For one I love the 6 pick layout but I wish the app will work via Mac instead of PC.

 

[gcarroll]

Curious what makes the Mitras the best engineered lights? Helping a friend pick lights but read some not so glowing reviews on Mitras on R2R. Thanks!

This is just my opinion but here goes.

72 total LEDs - LEDs run more efficiently at lower wattage than higher. More lumens/watt.
6 pucks situated around the perimeter - maximizes the footprint of the light output. reduces shadowing.
choice of reflectors over optics - better color blending and spread than many other lights.
aluminum chasis has a sleek design and durable feel.

GHL Mitras - The bad (IMHO as it relates to me)!
Programing - The fact that i was advised to purchase a PC (I am a MAC OS and IOS user) for the initial set-up was rediculous. GHL may have rectified this by now but I'm not the one to ask.
Not an ideal chip set - I would like to see a more blue dominant chip set but I have to remember that the Europeans like the white light. Radions seem to excite SPS colors more than any other light.
User interface - Although GHL has recently improved this, Ecotech still seems a step ahead with Ecosmart live.

I chose Ecotech Radion simply because I will sacrafice just about anything for the best possible coral coloration. IMHO, nothing compares at the moment.

 

[EmdeReef]

This is just my opinion but here goes.

72 total LEDs - LEDs run more efficiently at lower wattage than higher. More lumens/watt.
6 pucks situated around the perimeter - maximizes the footprint of the light output. reduces shadowing.
choice of reflectors over optics - better color blending and spread than many other lights.
aluminum chasis has a sleek design and durable feel.

GHL Mitras - The bad (IMHO as it relates to me)!
Programing - The fact that i was advised to purchase a PC (I am a MAC OS and IOS user) for the initial set-up was rediculous. GHL may have rectified this by now but I'm not the one to ask.
Not an ideal chip set - I would like to see a more blue dominant chip set but I have to remember that the Europeans like the white light. Radions seem to excite SPS colors more than any other light.
User interface - Although GHL has recently improved this, Ecotech still seems a step ahead with Ecosmart live.

I chose Ecotech Radion simply because I will sacrafice just about anything for the best possible coral coloration. IMHO, nothing compares at the moment

Thank you! Appreciate it