Modifying Radion?

Reefing8EZ · May 10, 2012

I have a question for the techy LED gurus and experienced DIYers of R2R.. :nerd:
I own a Radion unit and don't run the green LEDs at all.
Does anyone think it's possible for me to modify the LED cluster by removing the 4 green LEDs
and replacing them with 4 UV's (420nm?? not sure) or 4 warm white, or neutral white, or cyan ?
Also, any info on these LEDs would be great. Tech specs and/or personal experience..

Thanks! :xd:

thewackyreefer · May 10, 2012

Oooh, good question. Tagging along!

Reefing8EZ · May 11, 2012

:bump:

AsphaltPays · May 11, 2012

I don't think I could bring myself to taking apart a 800$ fixture Following along for sure good luck

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Reef Breeders · May 11, 2012

I wouldn't try it, you will void the warranty.

swannyson7 · May 11, 2012

anemonekeeper said:
I wouldn't try it, you will void the warranty.

+1. If you happen to fry something, you'd be left with a hefty repair bill from Ecotech. I'd just dim the green channel all the way down and call it a day.

Reefing8EZ · May 11, 2012

swannyson7 said:
+1. If you happen to fry something, you'd be left with a hefty repair bill from Ecotech. I'd just dim the green channel all the way down and call it a day.

Yes, green is all the way to %0. I don't think green is needed, nobody uses green T5 or MH.. But that's JMO..
I just feel like I'm wasting that channel I could be using to give my corals a more beneficial spectrum. Thanks!

Reef Breeders · May 11, 2012

Also, those LED clusters look real tight, you will likely have to do soldering on very small wires in a very small space, with the chance of fried LEDs going through the roof.

Reefing8EZ · May 11, 2012

anemonekeeper said:
I wouldn't try it, you will void the warranty.

I'm aware of that. Just wondering if it's possible to do and not too difficult..

Reefing8EZ · May 11, 2012

AsphaltPays said:
I don't think I could bring myself to taking apart a 800$ fixture Following along for sure good luck

Sent from my iPhone 4S
using Tapatalk

+1, it's very scary especially since I'm not a very DIY guy.. LoL! I've seen how simple the DIY fixtures look and thought maybe these are similar inside.

Reefing8EZ · May 11, 2012

Has anyone ever seen the guts to a Radion?? Probably not, they're still too new..

swannyson7 · May 11, 2012

Reefing8EZ said:
Yes, green is all the way to %0. I don't think green is needed, nobody uses green T5 or MH.. But that's JMO..
I just feel like I'm wasting that channel I could be using to give my corals a more beneficial spectrum. Thanks!

FWIW, T5s and MH have a much broader spectrum with spikes in the 550-600nm (green) range. LEDs provide a much more narrow spectrum that does not provide the green hues found in other lighting options. I'd recommend keeping the green diodes and experiment with varying output levels compared to long term coloration in your corals. The same goes for Red diodes. No one uses red bulbs either, but the sun provides all of these spectrums. Your best bet is to mimic nature to the best of your ability.

Reefing8EZ · May 11, 2012

swannyson7 said:
FWIW, T5s and MH have a much broader spectrum with spikes in the 550-600nm (green) range. LEDs provide a much more narrow spectrum that does not provide the green hues found in other lighting options. I'd recommend keeping the green diodes and experiment with varying output levels compared to long term coloration in your corals. The same goes for Red diodes. No one uses red bulbs either, but the sun provides all of these spectrums. Your best bet is to mimic nature to the best of your ability.

I'm not gonna mess with it. I will try turning green up slowly and see if I notice any difference in coral growth/color and if theres any extra algae growth..
Thanks for your input!!

swannyson7 · May 11, 2012

From everything I've read, the red spectrum is the one that can spur algae growth, so play with those levels as well. You may want to start a thread asking other Radion owners what setting they're using as far as channel levels and durations.

cparka23 · May 11, 2012

Your only bet to replace the green LEDs is a reflow oven or a hot air rework station. If you don't have access to either, then the answer is no.

Reef Breeders · May 11, 2012

IME, red and green LEDs in conjunction with royal blues do not do much for algae. Turn off the royal blues, and red, green, and cool white LEDs are great fuge fixtures

. The royal blues will make algae growth slow to a crawl, or even kill some algae. Combined, algae growth increasing is not a big problem, if a problem at all.

pumarjr · May 13, 2012

My Radions are set are 100, 100, 45, 35, 80 for a few hours a day. I have noticed no ill effects from the green channel nor red. both channels compliment the spectrum. the point of those 2 colors was to help with mimicking the spectrum of a metal halide spectral output.