Switching from t5 to radion g5

[Roli's Reef Ranch]

My tank has been up and running for over 5 years and is packed wall to wall with SPS Coral. I have been running t5's over my 60 in tank since the beginning and have no complaints other than Heat in the room which has required me to put a small air conditioning unit in to keep the temperature below 82°, midday. I am now thinking about switching over to radeons. Wondering what the effect on my tank will be and whether or not it is really worthwhile at this point. Any thoughts welcomed

I transitioned from T5 hybrid *4 bulb x 4 ft, to all LED (including a g5 XR 30, 2 kessils, and two reefbrite bars. Tank temp has definitely dropped.

 

[A. grandis]

Do you have some pics @A. grandis ? I've seen you're a big believer in MHs and although one of my tanks has SPS it's just a nano...if I upgrade in the future I'd consider MHs if there's a big enough difference

I love T5s very much!!! It's the hands down easiest artificial reef light ever! Colors are amazing!! Had my fixture for a decade+ before I changed for the Giesemann Spectra. The picture below was my 75gal. tank under my 6 bulb ATI old Powermodule (T5 only!) fixture back in April 2018. Yes, I love halides as well and the results are also amazing, but T5s will give you a superb result as well. I can't see any comparable results with LEDs in the long run.
The glitter lines from halides will push to the next level and if you use T5s with the halides you will get the very best.
I live in Hawaii and all I can have at home is local zoanthids, so bare with me! Try to look for old threads and you will find lots of breathtaking T5 SPS dominated systems from the past!!!!!!!!!

APRIL 2018

AUG 2018

 

[PeterC99]

Have the Radions been on the whole time? Curious of your growth since adding, etc. Beautiful corals!

My aquarium had the Radions from day one. All my corals started from small frags.

 

[Tamberav]

I went from T5 to radions (not SPS tho) for same reason. It was heating up the room in summer which was uncomfortable for me. Tank was fine.

Radions are not bad but I liked the look of T5 better :/

 

[Tamberav]

I transitioned from T5 hybrid *4 bulb x 4 ft, to all LED (including a g5 XR 30, 2 kessils, and two reefbrite bars. Tank temp has definitely dropped.

can I see how you have the lights hung? I kind of want to mix and match leds too.

 

[X-37B]

Very weird colony formation, besides dull colors, IMHO.
It's a matter of taste, 90's reefer. Opinions are personal.
The most important thing is that you like those results.
Thanks for illustrating the thread.

Well its the same colony that came out of my halide lit 120.
I dont see the difference and yes it has strange growth patterns and always has. It does seem harder to capture the exact look as opposed to the very bright halide lit system on my phone.
Anyway color is very subjective. I was refering to the growth tips on the stag but I still stand by my systems.
The comment that radions, and I prefer 16hds anyway, are somehow inferior is just wrong. Here is same colony under halides.

Do you have some pics @A. grandis ? I've seen you're a big believer in MHs and although one of my tanks has SPS it's just a nano...if I upgrade in the future I'd consider MHs if there's a big enough difference

Thier is not that big of a difference, imo.
This in my 20g nano under 2 16hds. Color and growth are equal to any of my pre halide systems.

 

[X-37B]

First to the OP. I would go with the pro version vs the blues for more adjustability. I could not get the color I wanted without adding the 16's. The pro version would be my next choice and I am looking at a couple used ones for that reason.

One thing is certain I will never run T5's again. Cant say that about halides as I know thier potential.

Here is my frag system under 16hds. Dull colors with no growth.
I will move on from the halide vs led subject as its not really an issue anymore if you know how to manage a hard coral reef system.

 

[A. grandis]

Thanks again for illustrating well this thread, 90's reef. The corals under halides always looked way better IMHO!!! For the op, the heat from that T5 system won't be too much different than all the Radions he would need to even try to get to some close results. No sense to even think about change from a nice T5 fixture to LEDs. But that is my opinion. Everyone is different. I think we already exposed our ideas in this thread.

 

[oreo54]

I transitioned from T5 hybrid *4 bulb x 4 ft, to all LED (including a g5 XR 30, 2 kessils, and two reefbrite bars. Tank temp has definitely dropped.

That does bring up a point.. tank temp vs room temp.
Each tech distributes this differently.

 

[A. grandis]

In the end what matters is the results! You can spend thousands of dollars to buy "billion dollah LEDs" thinking you will significantly cool the tank/ house and blah blah blah... and live with less than satisfactory results, or don't spend a dime and have the amazing results you are used to. I know a lot of guys in that boat.
Buy the LEDs, hummm not happy! Buy more LEDs, huummm not quite there yet... add T5s to try, huumm little better... Oh, I feel the living room is kinda hot right now... than.. I miss my T5s (cry!). Same story repeats itself over and over in this hobby for those who experienced T5s. Than the only solution is what? Confirmation bias! LOL! Am I the only person that see this happening?! LOL!
And the worse thing is to watch videos... it's just so ridiculous to see so many people in the same boat. Corals struggling, weird colony formation and totally unnatural colors and pigment formation... and they present that as it was "fabulous". One video feeds the other. Confirmation bias! Sorry, I just tell the truth. Those guys aren't happy with their results... they are forcing themselves to "like" the situation they've got into. And they look for people with similar trouble.
I always said that... if you need a chiller you need a chiller!
If you need an AC, you need an AC!
UNLESS... you like the results from the LEDs better.

 

[oreo54]

If " natural color" is defined by past lights then that is bias.
In nature much of the natural color is brown.

As reminder:


For " fun"

Coral Coloration: Fluorescence: Part 1

While coral coloration is today less likely to be the subject of intense interest (and debate) within the hobby than it was just 5 years ago, the situation is much different in peer-reviewed literature, with researchers producing a staggering amount of information on marine invertebrate...

reefs.com

If leds came first you would complain about unnatural mh colors...

 

[Waters]

I run a T5/LED hybrid and couldn't be happier. The issue with LEDs is not whether they are capable but the fact that a lot people don't know how to use them. There is a lot of tinkering you can do with spectrum and intensity, unlike T5s.

 

[Robinson]

Because your tank is already full, I will not worry to much about grow. I think your thinking more about color now and to control the heat.
The radion will do that fine, now depending on the length of the tank is what I recommend for total fixtures. I had 4 in a 48” long tank, overkill? Probably but with led you need more to get a great coverage. Coverage always > to PAR.
4 XR30W G4 with 2 additional Reefbrite.

 

[oreo54]

History is fun.

Coral color is NOT necessarily an indicator of success or health | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

Lately, there have been various assaults on lighting in many popular reefkeeping forums: The white light zealots attacking the Windex blue fanboys, and the T5/Metal Halide fans using coral color as…

reefbuilders.com

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

My aquarium had the Radions from day one. All my corals started from small frags.

Hi PeterC99,

In my 30 years of reefing, I have never seen corals grow that fast in one year. I don't see how it's possible if you started from small frags.

If it's true (not saying it isn't) you need to post your secret because you've found something no one else has been able to replicate. That looks like 4 to 5 years of growth. Beautiful system!

 

[Crustaceon]

I'm growing acropora perfectly fine with viparspectra leds. I think the question of whether or not leds can replace t5ho has been answered since i'm doing exactly that and not even with the best led fixtures.

 

[Hurricane Aquatics]

I'm growing acropora perfectly fine with viparspectra leds. I think the question of whether or not leds can replace t5ho has been answered since i'm doing exactly that and not even with the best led fixtures.

How long have you been growing these? Have some pics?

 

[landlubber]

I went from an 8 bulb ati fixture to g5 rations and have to say aside from maybe 10% less light getting to the deeper ledges the switchover has been fantastic and am 100% happy with the switch. I used acclimation mode and lost no corals in the changeover either.

 

[Wasabiroot]

My corals have decent color under radions with LED bar supplements (couldn’t hit desired par with XR15 alone).

What bars do you use? I have an Xr 15 blue over a 50g tank at 70% intensity on AB + but I am looking to add some supplement long term to help with coloration.

 

[oreo54]

Hi PeterC99,

In my 30 years of reefing, I have never seen corals grow that fast in one year. I don't see how it's possible if you started from small frags.

If it's true (not saying it isn't) you need to post your secret because you've found something no one else has been able to replicate. That looks like 4 to 5 years of growth. Beautiful system!

Check post #549 for another example of 1- ish years growth.
Whole threads worth reviewing
" Cheap" Reef breeder lights or custom led for the most part

therman's 12 year old SPS system...top down shot, starting to enjoy this tank again

Hey Tim. How are you doing Great! How's the tank doing?

www.reef2reef.com