Photons V2 or Radions

[vaughnkingreefs]

Hello All, I currently run photons v2 with a Reefbrite xho strip over a relatively young sps dominant tank. I recently acquired 2 radion xr30 gen 4 pros. I really like my photons, but I’m struggling with color. All parameters are stable. I previously had a viparspectre and got amazing color and growth out of those lights. I can’t dial the photons in for some reason. Has anyone else switched from photons to radions? I’m also considering a t5 hybrid setup. I’m also considering sticking with my photons. Not sure at this point.
Any thoughts out there?

 

[Porpoise Hork]

I ran the Photon v2 for nearly 18 months before switching to hydra 26's and had amazing growth and color out of it. The Radions do not use the same types or number of LEDs so it is not easy to compare the two. That's why people had to really work to match the Coral Lab settings on the Hydra series. The photon lights use the exact same LED chips that AI put in the hydra 26 line with exception for the whites. Hydras have a 6500K whites and the photons are 5500K. So if you have access to a PAR meter and match the settings for the Hydra for a given color like say 17.5K then you would get very good results out of it.

When I ran the photon on a full mixed tank I had the light mounted 12" above the water, Lights had a one hour ramp up, with an 8 hour main light run with flat blues at 65%, no greens, reds at 9-14%. The whites I had come on an hour after ramp up and curved to peak mid day at 35% for a solid hour then ramp back down to zero at the end of the 8 hour run. From there the light had a 3 hour slow ramp down. This over a 75g produced 300-325 PAR at mid tank depth with a very even distribution between 95-120 PAR across the sand entire bed. The reason for no greens was after talking with Logan at Reef Breeders he explained that there is enough of the green spectrum produced by the whites to not need it.

Another thing to consider is the difference in LED placement. The Radions have two large pucks placed close together, compared to the photon whit the LEDS spread out. As a result the Photon has much better coverage far less shadowing than other LED lights using condensed pucks. This was the main thing I noticed when I switched was much more shadowing in some spots of the tank that were not like that with the photon. Only be adding custom made diffuser panels to the hydras did they get close to the minimal shadowing of the photon. To me the Photon is the closest to T5 coverage you can get with LED only lighting. Well unless you ran multiple single lights spaced out that is.

Here is the tank when I got all my corals moved in after cycling.

Build Thread - Started My 75G Build.... Finally...

I think you misunderstood how I did this. The tank already being drilled actually helps you. If you have a custom weir box made it will not be drilled for the bulkheads. As such you can line it up to be flush with the top of the tank like how mine is so the weir slots are inline with the trim...

www.reef2reef.com

And here is is as of Nov. 13th. The hydras have only been on the tank for a month when it was taken. This is after removing a ton of LPS because I was out of room.

 

[vaughnkingreefs]

Thanks for the thoughtful response. You’re correct, I love the spread of the photons. I run them about 12” off the water and max the blues at 85% / whites at 30. Very similar ramp and I max out at 400 par. I’m thinking of sticking with them since the RB allow for quality pop in colors. I’m itching to test out the XR 30s. But I’m scared of the shadowing.

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

I am running Photon V2+'s in my 135 gallon frag system. I have my lights mounted 20" off the top of the water. I max my blues and violet out at 60% though. I don't have a lot if SPS in this system though, or I would be running a bit more intense lol.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Thanks for the thoughtful response. You’re correct, I love the spread of the photons. I run them about 12” off the water and max the blues at 85% / whites at 30. Very similar ramp and I max out at 400 par. I’m thinking of sticking with them since the RB allow for quality pop in colors. I’m itching to test out the XR 30s. But I’m scared of the shadowing.

Anytime.

You can get the diffusers for the Radions. They are a tad pricey but from everything I have read and seen they really make a huge difference in the light spread and color blending for these lights. When I switched to 4 Hydra 26's I mounted them at 10" above the water line but have them positioned perpendicular to the tank and spaced about 9" apart. Doing this it reduced shadowing to where it's close to the Photon, but still had some shadowing here and there. I then added custom made diffusers that use a nearly identical film as the Radion diffusers and it made a big difference. I'll have to take a picture with them installed. So that may be an option available to you as well.

 

[vaughnkingreefs]

Anytime.

You can get the diffusers for the Radions. They are a tad pricey but from everything I have read and seen they really make a huge difference in the light spread and color blending for these lights. When I switched to 4 Hydra 26's I mounted them at 10" above the water line but have them positioned perpendicular to the tank and spaced about 9" apart. Doing this it reduced shadowing to where it's close to the Photon, but still had some shadowing here and there. I then added custom made diffusers that use a nearly identical film as the Radion diffusers and it made a big difference. I'll have to take a picture with them installed. So that may be an option available to you as well.

Is there any chance that you can take a picture of the setup with diffusers? I’m still on the fence about switching lights. My main concern is the shadowing, but I’ll run them perpendicular to max spread of I do.

 

[jda]

Run more in the 450 to 700nm range when you are not around and then blue-it-up how you see fit when you are home to look at things. The RB cannot "pop" colors that are not there and you need a good amount of all of the spectrums to get the most color in the coral to be popped.

Running heavy blue is can be good for pop, if that is what you are into, but it is not good at making those colors to be popped.

 

[vaughnkingreefs]

Run more in the 450 to 700nm range when you are not around and then blue-it-up how you see fit when you are home to look at things. The RB cannot "pop" colors that are not there and you need a good amount of all of the spectrums to get the most color in the coral to be popped.

Running heavy blue is can be good for pop, if that is what you are into, but it is not good at making those colors to be popped.

Ok, I’ll dig a little deeper into nm range. You hit the nail on the head. I’m getting ok color in my SPS, but I’m not seeing the pop that I’m used to. My corals look good, just a little dull. Could be my parameters, but I check a ton of elements and test constantly, and everything is in range. I noticed some better pop with the addition of my Reefbrite, but still not where I want to be. I think I’m going to get the mounts and check out the XRs. Why waste $2k worth of light....

 

[jda]

Generally speaking, remember this... daylight to render the best color in the corals and then blue-it-up to your heart's content to illuminate them.

There are not many lights that are good at both in one package.... MH can, but even T5 need to blend some bulbs to get there... or a mixture of LEDs. Just blue light does not render well.

Radions are going to be the same unless you use more red, white, yellow, green, etc.

 

[The Aquatic Arsenal]

Generally speaking, remember this... daylight to render the best color in the corals and then blue-it-up to your heart's content to illuminate them.

There are not many lights that are good at both in one package.... MH can, but even T5 need to blend some bulbs to get there... or a mixture of LEDs. Just blue light does not render well.

Radions are going to be the same unless you use more red, white, yellow, green, etc.

I use white, red, and green spectrums when taking pics. If definitely makes a difference.

 

[Dana Riddle]

There are some efforts behind the scenes to obtain a Radion and ReefBreeder for testing purposes. Lots of hoops to jump through though and I think it will be March or so before I get them.

 

[vaughnkingreefs]

My WD is starting to get some coloring from the reef Breeders.

 

[Unstoppable algae!]

My WD is starting to get some coloring from the reef Breeders.

Did you ever setup your XR 30's? Or is that with the Photon + reef brite strip? Your Walt looks amazing. I am currently setting up a new tank and have been thinking about getting the Photon v2 and have been trying to do research. Have you been happy with the light?

I ran the Photon v2 for nearly 18 months before switching to hydra 26's and had amazing growth and color out of it. The Radions do not use the same types or number of LEDs so it is not easy to compare the two. That's why people had to really work to match the Coral Lab settings on the Hydra series. The photon lights use the exact same LED chips that AI put in the hydra 26 line with exception for the whites. Hydras have a 6500K whites and the photons are 5500K. So if you have access to a PAR meter and match the settings for the Hydra for a given color like say 17.5K then you would get very good results out of it.

When I ran the photon on a full mixed tank I had the light mounted 12" above the water, Lights had a one hour ramp up, with an 8 hour main light run with flat blues at 65%, no greens, reds at 9-14%. The whites I had come on an hour after ramp up and curved to peak mid day at 35% for a solid hour then ramp back down to zero at the end of the 8 hour run. From there the light had a 3 hour slow ramp down. This over a 75g produced 300-325 PAR at mid tank depth with a very even distribution between 95-120 PAR across the sand entire bed. The reason for no greens was after talking with Logan at Reef Breeders he explained that there is enough of the green spectrum produced by the whites to not need it.

Another thing to consider is the difference in LED placement. The Radions have two large pucks placed close together, compared to the photon whit the LEDS spread out. As a result the Photon has much better coverage far less shadowing than other LED lights using condensed pucks. This was the main thing I noticed when I switched was much more shadowing in some spots of the tank that were not like that with the photon. Only be adding custom made diffuser panels to the hydras did they get close to the minimal shadowing of the photon. To me the Photon is the closest to T5 coverage you can get with LED only lighting. Well unless you ran multiple single lights spaced out that is.

Here is the tank when I got all my corals moved in after cycling.

Build Thread - Started My 75G Build.... Finally...

I think you misunderstood how I did this. The tank already being drilled actually helps you. If you have a custom weir box made it will not be drilled for the bulkheads. As such you can line it up to be flush with the top of the tank like how mine is so the weir slots are inline with the trim...

www.reef2reef.com

And here is is as of Nov. 13th. The hydras have only been on the tank for a month when it was taken. This is after removing a ton of LPS because I was out of room.

Thats funny you mentioned your light exchange, how do you like the Hydras compared to the photon? I am setting up a new 90 gallon tank and want to replace my 2 hydra 26hd & 2 ai primes with a Photon v2 48". I also like the idea of 1 cord vs 4 because these tanks use a lot of outlets..... How have your corals responded to the change, better worse, same? I run a mixed tank, sps high & lps low. Thanks all.

 

[vaughnkingreefs]

I didn’t replace the photons yet since I have so many corals doing well. I’m only getting the colors that I want near the top center of the tank. I’m considering t5 with a xr30...but I’m not in a rush since I do like my photon / reef brite setup.

 

[DonTavo27]

I ran a photon V2 with t5. I got amazing color and growth. I would say sell the radions, and get some ATI bulbs retro fitted in front and behind the V2. My V2 was about 18” inches above the water, ran at only 50% blue 25% white and 5% green and red at peak.

 

[Porpoise Hork]

Thats funny you mentioned your light exchange, how do you like the Hydras compared to the photon? I am setting up a new 90 gallon tank and want to replace my 2 hydra 26hd & 2 ai primes with a Photon v2 48". I also like the idea of 1 cord vs 4 because these tanks use a lot of outlets..... How have your corals responded to the change, better worse, same? I run a mixed tank, sps high & lps low. Thanks all.

Overall I am very happy with the Hydras, but I was for the most part perfectly content with the Photon as well. The biggest difference with the Photon over the Hydras is it's light coverage. The Photon's LED's are spread out and when you mount it at 12" above the water line, the light spread and shadowing is very similar to a dual tube T5 fixture. To get close to that with the Hydras I had to add diffusers and there is still some shadowing that no matter how I adjust them I just cannot eliminate that the Photon didn't have an issue with.

Setting the light up is fairly easy, but there is a little bit of guess work when dialing it in compared to the Hydras. This is primarily due to there being limited information on the actual light spectrum output when adjusting each channel. You can either use settings that other Photon owners have posted, using similar settings that you use on the Hydra (as long as you are under 100%) or eyeball it and use a PAR meter to ensure you're reaching similar levels. You can do this because the Photon uses the same LED diodes that the Hydras use. The one main thing about the Hydras I like better is the phone/web app. If the Photon had a phone app with the ability to dial it in using a color wheel and then set the intensity, I would either never have switched or would probably go back to it.

As for the response in the corals, it took a few months for them to acclimate to the Hydras, even though I set the Hydras up at the same PAR level as the Photon. I was surprised that when I set the Hydras up using the BRS posted settings to match the CoralLab AB+ that the color looked nearly identical to what I had the Photon set to. But I suspect the long acclimation was due to how the light went from a wide spread source to much smaller spot sources that it changed the PAR ranges in some areas of the tank. Since then everything is responding well and growing with great color just like the results I had with the Photon. Last thing to note is Logan at Reef Breeders is great to work with and offers amazing support for the light.

Hope this helps.

 

[Unstoppable algae!]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

You can do this because the Photon uses the same LED diodes that the Hydras use.

Because the lights are so similar would it make more sense to buy the the "older" hybrid & run 2 hydra 26 and the 4 t5 bulbs?
If that is the case I have a 48 inch tank, but my rocks peak in the middle where the sps will be placed, should I get a 36" or 48" fixture which either would save me more money that buying a new LED fixture? I will post a picture of my rock setup.

"there was a time where I ran 4 bulbs out of a 6 bulb fixture and put the Hydras under the fixture where the 2 missing bulbs were and my sps started turning purple and pink pretty quickly" but the setup over the tank was hideous lol.

Thanks for helping pick a light setup, I think I am addicted to light fixtures lol

 

[Unstoppable algae!]