Radion RMS mounting issues

cjohnson2 · Mar 1, 2018

This was the response from ecotech about the issue. I don't believe this is a "normal" tilt...

jwt1603 · Mar 1, 2018

Same response I just got. I went on BRS and looked at their in depth review of the Radions and they show the RMS mount tilted too and don't say anything about it being wrong. The light doesn't shine straight down into the tank which one would think causes more shadows. Besides the fact that it looks goofy. Personally, I'll be making a wedge out of acrylic or something like that.

rkpetersen · Mar 1, 2018

jwt1603 said:
My Red Sea does the same thing and it's rimless. I tried holding it upright as I tightened the mounts and as soon as I let go they sag. It's like the heavy metal arm is too heavy for the plastic mount to support.

Just installed three XR15s (which I would presume are much lighter) over a new Reefer 450 setup, and they do 'droop' a bit after they're tightened down. Not much. Just enough to bug you if you have a touch of ocd about stuff like this. To get them not to droop, I would have to take them off the tank and try bending the arch back a bit. I'm not really enthusiastic about doing that, but it might happen. The acrylic wedge idea may also be worth a try first, although I don't like how that will alter the back plate pressure distribution.

jwt1603 · Mar 2, 2018

I sent this to EcoTech this morning in response to their request for pictures.

Good morning JR,

Here are two pictures. One shows the droop of the mounts. The other shows the backside where the mount is not making complete contact, top to bottom, with the backside of the glass. The backside photo indicates that the light and / or arm are too heavy for the plastic bracket to support. You can see a gap between the mount and the glass. This is causing unbalanced stress on the top edge of the glass.

Beyond that, if they were designed to sag and be crooked shouldn't they sag the same amount? One of my lights has about a quarter of an inch more sag than the other. So not only does it look odd from the side, from the front they are not even.

As a side note, my mother-in-law walked into the house yesterday and said "Why are the lights were crooked, are they broken?"

siggy · Mar 2, 2018

There designed that way?

cjohnson2 · Mar 2, 2018

I wonder how many people actually complain and how their PR dept came up with "they are suppose to be tilted"... Maybe just fix the problem instead of blowing everyone off

manueldm · Mar 2, 2018

What if they were hung from the ceiling? Are we doing it wrong if the lights are hung level? Should they be hung with a "slight tilt" as Ecotech states? Seriously Ecothech, your response is a little insulting.

jwt1603 · Mar 2, 2018

manueldm said:
What if they were hung from the ceiling? Are we doing it wrong if the lights are hung level? Should they be hung with a "slight tilt" as Ecotech states? Seriously Ecothech, your response is a little insulting.

That's a very valid question. I hadn't even thought of that. When (if) I get a response from EcoTech to the pictures I sent I'll ask them.

jwt1603 · Mar 2, 2018

Reply from EcoTech.....

I have consulted with my manager and he confirms as well that all is in order. The mounts are designed to not sit level. That said, you can always use a shim on the inside of the tank if you wish to have them sit level.

Thanks,

jwt1603 · Mar 2, 2018

I responded and asked about hanging them from the ceiling. The response should be interesting.

jwt1603 · Mar 5, 2018

Well,

Here is the complete discussion with them. They even say that hanging the Radions from the ceiling will result in a tilted installation. Just seems a bit odd to me that they make such great products but something like this is OK with them.

I found some plastic shims in the mill work department at Home Depot yesterday. I'm going to try them and see if I can get the lights to sit even.

Mar 5, 1:36 PM EST

Hello,

If one has more sag than the other, the one mounting screw will just need to be tightened a little more.

In addition, there will be a slight tilt when hanging the lights as well as the power cable will slightly "pull" on the light.

Thanks,

Mar 2, 12:01 PM EST

Please understand that I'm not trying to be a jerk. I switched to all EcoTech in the tank and love it, except the mounts.

Two more questions. If they are designed to sag why don't they sag the same amount? There is a difference of about a quarter of an inch between the two mounts.

And if I decide to hang them from the ceiling I should hang them at an angle too? One would think that would be the correct way to hang them if the hard mounts are at an angle.

Thanks.

Mar 2, 11:49 AM EST

Hello,

I have consulted with my manager and he confirms as well that all is in order. The mounts are designed to not sit level. That said, you can always use a shim on the inside of the tank if you wish to have them sit level.

Thanks,

JR Toth
Customer Service Agent/Distribution Support Specialist

Mar 2, 7:33 AM EST

Good morning,

Here are two pictures. One shows the droop of the mounts. The other shows the backside where the mount is not making complete contact, top to bottom, with the backside of the glass. The backside photo indicates that the light and / or arm are too heavy for the plastic bracket to support. You can see a gap between the mount and the glass. This is causing unbalanced stress on the top edge of the glass.

Beyond that, if they were designed to sag and be crooked shouldn't they sag the same amount? One of my lights has about a quarter of an inch more sag than the other. So not only does it look odd from the side, from the front they are not even.

As a side note, my mother-in-law walked into the house yesterday and said "Why are the lights were crooked, are they broken?"

Mar 1, 10:12 AM EST

I will send pics of my set up tonight. Thank you.

Mar 1, 9:40 AM EST

Hello Joe,

Thank you for contacting EcoTech Marine. The Single Light RMS is designed to have a slight tilt. That said, please provide us with detailed pictures of how you have the lights mounted.

Thanks,

Mar 1, 8:48 AM EST

I've got two new Radion XR30W G4 Pro lights on my Red Sea 525. While I love the lights, the RMS on both of them "droops" forward no mater how tight I fasten the mount to the tank. Here's a link to a post on Reef2Reef showing the same thing. I didn't take a pic yet but I was going to tonight but this shows the exact thing I'm talking about. How do I correct it? Thanks.
https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/radion-rms-mounting-issues.364036/

manueldm · Mar 5, 2018

Incredible response but not unexpected. Next time I visit my LFS I will inform him that the couple dozen Radions he has hanging in his store are hung wrong.

cjohnson2 · Mar 5, 2018

I've tried some shims and just didnt like how they pinched against the tank. Call me crazy but I don't want thousands of dollars all over the floor from the tank cracking

Bps619 · Mar 6, 2018

I too have the RMS mount and they will be going into the trash as soon as I get a hanging kit. Waste of hard earned money.

Bps619 · Mar 6, 2018

Forgot to mention that they replied and told me that the engineering team designed it not to sit perfectly leveled. I feel like they need a new engineering team.

Daltrey · Mar 6, 2018

I hated the rms mounts and I'm very OCD. Sometimes you just have to think outside the box.

PeterG · Mar 19, 2020

Hitmans reef said:
I don’t know if anyone has thought about this but I used a piece of 1/8” acrylic as a shim I put it under the clamping side and the sag is almost all gone. If I had some 3/16” it probably would have straightened it out all of the way .

I"m using RMS mounts on my new ReeFi Extremes (https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/interesting-new-led-light.640820/)
and I am experiencing the same droop issue.
Did you ever switch to 3/16" acrylic ? If not how is the 1/8" working out?

zoomonster · Apr 5, 2020

I got my first ones with the G5's I bought and nothing but problems on a 200g rimmed tank with ~1/2" glass. They lean forward and for the price pretty poor functionality. That's with the rubber gasket dry side and the wet side spacer. The whole design puts too much stress on the tank. But they may be going back anyway with my 3 cracked G5's Pro's if Ecotech does not provide some answers and solutions.

And BTW the responses from Ecotech in this thread don't constitute an acceptable answer. More like CYA spin and double talk. Hmmm broken? No thats a feature we designed in.

canadianeh · May 4, 2020

So this thread saves me from buying RMS mounts. I had droopy things.

I guess the RMS railing is better than on 3 ft or less tanks?

To those that mount your light on the ceiling, how do you make sure that you drill holes centre to the tank??

mfinn · May 4, 2020

canadianeh said:
To those that mount your light on the ceiling, how do you make sure that you drill holes centre to the tank??

You know I was just going to post a picture of a measuring tape and leave it at that.
But in the spirit of helping, this is what I did.
I measured the width of my tank on both ends and put a mark in the center on the frame.
Then I measured from the wall to each mark. That tells me how far from the wall I need to put a mark on the ceiling.
Do that. Don't need a connecting line between the 2 marks.
Then I measured the length of the tank and split that in half and put a mark in the center on the frame.
Then I measured from the nearest wall to the mark. Or nears structure that goes to the ceiling.
I put a faint mark on the ceiling.
Now you have your center line down the middle of the tank and the dead center the other way.
Measure the 2 points you are going to hang the ( I'm assuming the cable mounts) at and split the distance from the center mark.
They have molly screws and various other wall board anchors that really hold alot of weight.
I hope this helps.