Radion vs. Hydra 52
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frankm88
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I think i have decided to get the Radion but am waiting until my birthday hoping for some extra cash. The good news is Fluval has replaced my old light so i have something in the meantime..still open to hear some mounting ideas as i do not want to hang it from the ceiling.
steventaylor702
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If you want a stand you can make one super easy and it looks good to out of 80/20 extrusion it's made out of anodized aluminum and easy as heck to put together and make a light stand out of and it looks modern and sleek
steventaylor702
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And by the way I would go with the hydra 52 it's just as good and it looks real nice over a tank and it's about 150 buck cheaper then the radion gen 3 pro and 50 bucks cheaper then the regular gen 3. And it is more then compare able in performance and light output
Toky916
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I had the same hard choice I figured more LEDs from the hydra 52 compared to Radion and cheeper. I did like the optics slightly better on the new Radion pro but love the hydra nice options control.
Jonreefer
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the price of the light is a tad cheaper then the Radion but you cant do any control of the light unless you buy a controller or director for it. So that just washes the price difference. I have a radion G2 with G3 clusters and wide angle lenses. I like the wide angle lenses alot as they cover really nice and mix the colors very well. I feel both lights are stupidly overpriced and not 100% worth the cost.
TheAcroholic
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I personally have Hydra 52's over a mixed reef right now, and I love them. The growth is amazing, and all corals are seeming to like it. SPS Color is amazing, lps is always growing as well, especially the chalices. I do not have any experience with Radions, but that's my input for the Hydra 52's.
ntime60
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Honestly there is not much difference between the two. The two companies merged and they are one company with 2 separate product lines...for now. A friend of mine has the AI Hydra 52s on a 120g and I have 2 Radion XR30W on a 90g and I see little difference. I think the Hydra has better controls for program/scheduling modification, but realistically, how many times do you need to mess with the lights once you have them dialed in? Both deliver intensely bright light. Both are high quality units.
I bought the Ecotechs because I sent inquiries off to both companies tech support for recommendations on my setup. Only Ecotech answered and I ended up chatting with them. I'm not fond of either cloud offerings. I don't like not having local control of my lights. Suffice it to say I don't care for cloud applications. That is honestly the biggest negative I can think of.
I cannot argue with the quality or quantity of light on my tank. The colors are bold, the scheduled transitions are smooth as silk, the fans are quiet, and they look great. LEDs (Mine anyway) are a huge step up from 4 bulb T5.
I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.
I bought the Ecotechs because I sent inquiries off to both companies tech support for recommendations on my setup. Only Ecotech answered and I ended up chatting with them. I'm not fond of either cloud offerings. I don't like not having local control of my lights. Suffice it to say I don't care for cloud applications. That is honestly the biggest negative I can think of.
I cannot argue with the quality or quantity of light on my tank. The colors are bold, the scheduled transitions are smooth as silk, the fans are quiet, and they look great. LEDs (Mine anyway) are a huge step up from 4 bulb T5.
I don't think you can go wrong with either choice.
ThaBeast
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Anyone have pics of their sps tanks with either of these lights? Really close to buying 4 Hydra 52's for my 48x30x26 sps tank, just scared Ill screw up my corals
mfinn
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The trick to not screwing up your corals is proper acclimation.
I can't speak to the Hydras, but the Radions have a acclimation program that you can set with a starting intensity to a ending intensity.
fragman2
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I had four AI Vegas over my 210 mostly sps tank. I replaced them with four Hydra 52's four months ago. Martin is right! Turn em down! These babies put out some intense light. I elected to remove one and just go with 3 instead of 4 Hydra 52's. I know have a 20gal frag tank with a Hydra 52 over it 
Running at about 25% intensity. The AI director controls are excellent and I love the lights. The Radions sound great too. Either way you go you should be happy.
Running at about 25% intensity. The AI director controls are excellent and I love the lights. The Radions sound great too. Either way you go you should be happy.
mfinn
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nelson.jdautobody
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Here is what my Radion is putting out at 45% intensity on Radiant Color mode...or at least this is what I am told..
These things are pretty powerful, I am just ramping mine up at the moment.
Hiw high off the water is your light hung? Just curious because mine is set 14" at 45% and the whites turned down to max out at 10%. Not sure I'm liking it there but interested I hiw mine may compare to yours on the par. Or is the charts inches starting at "0" mean relative to the actual light fixture? It is "0" startjng at the water line?
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nelson.jdautobody
Valuable Member
There are quite a few ways to do it.
I used 2" x 3/8" and 1" x 1/8" aluminum flat bar. Made two 45 degree bends and it attaches to the back of my stand.
For about a year, it was just brushed aluminum, but a few months ago I had it powder coated black.
That super clean-I'm going to get me a piece of aluminum to tomorrow-lol
SaltwaterConcepts
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I had 2 Hydra 52's over my Deep Blue 60 Rimless. 48"x24"x12" deep. They did not fully illuminate the sps on the back side of tank. I went with an ocean revive led that had the leds spread more apart. I am very happy with my decision.
steventaylor702
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How high did you have them off the tank.
SaltwaterConcepts
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Around 14" I loved the light colors and controlability. I just found that the pucks being close together made a shadow on the back side of my sps in the back of the tank. If I did them again I would do 3 mounted front to back over that same 4' tank.
steventaylor702
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That's weird lol I have one hydra 26 over my 24in tank with good coverage no shadowing anywhere. But I know with bigger tanks it could cause issues. I'm getting ready to upgrade to a cadlights 70 and I'm hoping that two hydra 26 will cover it
