I'm always surprised by these rants. If the light is more money than you want to spend or, if you perceive it to be a poor 'value' (cost relative to performance), don't buy it. The vast majority of people in this hobby are spending significant discretionary income on something entirely unneeded. If you told most people in the world, 'I only spent 2 thousand dollars to keep fish and coral in a glass box versus the 4 thousand dollars my neighbor spent', they would probably look at you a little funny.
Having said that, reasons to buy Radions might include:
1) control: I don't need to ramp up from blue to a fuller spectrum in the morning and back down at night but, I really like it. Not only does it seem more 'natural' to me but, it gives me a chance to enjoy my tanks at different color temperatures throughout the day;
2) large user base and Ecotech finally focused on helping hobbyists find settings that will work: Ecotech developing and hobbyists tweaking the AB+ program was sort of a 'game changer' for Radion users. Prior, it seemed like Ecotech was giving everyone the power to melt their corals into the sand with no real explanation about appropriate settings/levels. The result (particularly without widespread par meter use) was a lot of guess work and more than a little frustration and failure, with people abandoning lights that could work because they didn't know how to make them actually work;
3) good support: I know some have had mixed experiences but, I think, at least in general, their customer support is good. I've only needed them once but, they were very responsive/helpful;
4) functional: when set up appropriately, they work. Certainly not unique to Radions but, of course, essential; and
5) seemingly reliable: I've run 5 Radions, gen 2s and gen 3s (mostly bought used) for years without issues; I have to clean the fans periodically, which is a pain, but, I've not had any other issues.
Personally, I think the upgrade from Gen 1s to Gen 2s was a big deal as Ecotech started to understand that generating obscene amounts of par with spotlight focus was not such a great thing. But, the changes from Gen 2 to Gen 3 and Gen 3 to Gen 4 were not game changers (although the growing focus on optics in Gen 4 likely made Gen 5 possible). Now, Ecotech has abandoned pucks in favor of panel wide lighting. This is a big deal (in my opinion). It seemingly means that Ecotech is satisfied that, because of its optics, Ecotech now believes it can achieve good color blending without the need for pucks. BRS initial testing clearly shows the positive aspects of abandoning the pucks. Gone are any significant hot spots, even with the lights hung close to the water (8 inches).
I may or may not buy Gen 5s (or the new Philips lights when they come out in the U.S.) but, I'm definitely intrigued by both. I'm happy to have the choice and happy to see LED lighting continuing to progress in what appears to be the right direction. Spend your discretionary income how you will (bigger house, faster car, 1k+ new phone every year) but, don't begrudge reef keepers who decide to spend several thousand dollars on lighting. It's an inherently frivolous hobby after all. Nobody needs to keep marine fish and corals in a glass box.
Matt
