need help with gen 2 radion leds

clownman87 · Jul 15, 2013

i recently got a gen 2 radion for my birthday, i need help with the lighting schedule, i want to have a mix reef (sps, lps, softies, nem, clams) but i don't know what to set the lighting schedule at, any help is much appreciated, thanks in advance

snodgrass.zach · Jul 15, 2013

I would think u set it just like ur other lights would be set up but that is just my 2 cents I don't have a gen 2 radion

jservedio · Jul 16, 2013

I have a Radion Pro - which is just the Gen 2 with some additional channels. The most important thing is to Acclimate your tank to it - it WILL burn up all your coral (including SPS!). You definitely need to start off at a low intensity - for a 16-20" deep tank I would start it at 20%-25% total intensity with about 5-6 hours. That intensity will be dependant on the color temperature - if you are at 20k, you can go on the higher end, if you go with 12 or 14k, you want to be on the lower end. You can increase your intensity 5% every 2 weeks or so until you are at the intensity you want.

Definitely take your time and go slow. The G2s will keep most SPS alive on the sand 20" below the surface with just ~15% total power - so don't worry about your coral not getting enough light.

jservedio · Jul 16, 2013

Another thing - 100% make sure you hook it up to your computer and set up a profile - don't just use the controls and a timer - it will only use a tiny portion of the lights potential. It comes with a USB cord for a reason. It only takes 15 or 20 minutes to configure on Ecosmart Live.

clownman87 · Jul 16, 2013

i dont have anything in the tank right now, i have the intensity at 65%, should i keep it at 65% or should i acclimate it?

jservedio · Jul 16, 2013

clownman87 said:
i dont have anything in the tank right now, i have the intensity at 65%, should i keep it at 65% or should i acclimate it?

If you don't have anything in the tank right now conserve energy and keep it turned off or turn it down to like 10%. When you put things in, the Radion is still going to be more powerful then anything the corals were under at the LFS typically. Basically, when you start putting stuff in your tank, set the Radion to 20% and keep it there until your tank is stocked up a bit. That is more than enough like to keep things alive without having to worry about burning things. If you get more light sensitive corals, like chalices, put them in the shade since even at 20% it'll burn them at 16".

Once your tank is stocked up you can start raising the light intensity up by 5% every couple weeks. Right now, my Pro is only at 30% on a 16" deep tank and that is after almost 3 months with a mostly Acro tank. At that intensity, if I don't put new LPS corals in the corners on the sand they will burn. SPS I can pretty much put anywhere without burning them with a few exceptions for not particularly light loving SPS.

My color temperature is at 20k too, so in reality my equivalent intensity is closer to 26% if the color temperature were 14k.

If you have a deeper tank (like 20-25" deep) then you can start it at 30% and move up from there.

Edit: My tank is a 16" deep nano so I will probably never go above 40% total intensity ever - and that is with a tank FULL of acros. Basically the entire top 50% of my rockwork is covered in acros with most of everything underneath LPS with a few lower light SPS scattered in.