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1/2/2012
Reader:
I just purchased a Radion and plan to swap it on my frag tank, which right now has an AI Sol module with 2 T5HO supplements (color more than PAR). What would you suggest as acclimating procedures between the two? I currently run the AI Sol at 67% White, 25% Blue, 90% Royal Blue. The Sol is 12″ above the water, 40 gallon breeder tank, SPS 8″ below the surface, centered.
Marine Engineers:
That will be a pretty big par jump. I would probably start the Radion at about 30% power and work you’re way up.
12/30/2011
Reader:
congrats on convincing me to set up a QT! But since you aren’t selling clams, what do you think is the best place to get them from?
Marine Engineers:
Wow! How did I manage that? I like the clams that Reefkoi and Cherry Corals carry the most, and they both seem like good businesses.
12/19/2011
Reader:
I have a 80 gal reef tank (1m x 0.55 x 0.60m) and I am planning to buy led preferably radion or orphek pr156w uv. Please let me know which one I should go for and how many numbers I should put.
Marine Engineers:
Your tank should work really well with both of those options. With the Orphek, I think you could do just one with some optics strategically removed to get the proper spread. The Radion would probably require two mounted perpendicular to get the proper spread. It would cost more, but you would get all the programming capabilities and a little bit more power.
12/18/2011
Reader:
I am looking at changing my lighting for my 11 gal tall nano but don’t know which LED unit to use. I saw your article on the IM 14K 8 Watt unit but didn’t know if that is enough lighting for SPS and Clams.
Marine Engineers:
Sps and clams are really a relative term. There are sps with fairly low light requirements such as birdsnest, pocillapora and stylophora and there are also clams like deresa and squamosa that can be kept in relatively low light. I think you could easily do these towards the lower parts of the tank, and you could probably even do some other ones towards the top. The nice thing about LED is you can always add some small extra strips later if you find that you need more. Ecoxotic has a bunch of great options for this.
Reader:
What about purple caps and anemones?
Marine Engineers:
Those should definitely be ok.
12/8/2011
Reader:
Been reading up on the Radion and I just kinda bought one, I’m nuts what did I just doooo
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I have a 30x30x18 shallow cube and I’m hoping you’d agree that the Radion would be a great fit for it. I am not an SPS guy, yet.. mostly LPS, softies, anemones, a Monti here or there. I felt the Radion might just be the perfect light for it.
I was also wondering, how do you control those color settings, can you use the touch controls to get different spectrums or do you have to plug the light into a comp via USB to get all the settings? Is there a moonlight setting?
Thanks for any advice/help, I have come across your blog/site before seeing you on here and I have enjoyed it, very informative and helped me decide on different equipment in the past.
Marine Engineers:
It should be the perfect light for your reef. Radions put out a ton of power, so you should be able to do your LPS and softies with ease, and if ever you get the itch for some light hungry SPS, you can just crank up the light.
Each color channel can be controlled via the touch buttons, so you can tune the color and intensity you want without a computer. You can’t however set any of the built in timer capabilities or ramping effect without a computer, so I would recommend doing it that way. The software is a pretty easy install, so if you only have MAC, it may be worth it to program the light on a friends computer.
I’m really glad that you enjoy the blog. If there’s anything else you need, just let me know.
Reader:
Thanks much for the quick reply! Very cool on the info, about the settings didn’t know that. I will definitely run the software via my PC first before hanging it or maybe I can just use my PCnetbook and set it that way after it’s hung. Does that make sense? I’m going to most likely start off on a low/mid setting to acclimate everything and dial it in as needed.
Great to hear that it will fit my needs nicely. This is one time I’m glad I have a smaller tank, I don’t have to buy 2 units, because I can barely afford this one!
I will let you know once I get it and how it does for me, can’t wait!
Marine Engineers:
That’s how I would do the settings. They come worth a pretty long usb cable, so you shouldn’t need to get it down to tweak settings. You’re right, you should definitely start out a little low on the settings.
I have small tanks for the exact same reason. It makes all purchases much easier on the wallet.
Definitely let me know how you like it, and get some pictures online.
Reader:
Excellent, nice on the long USB cord, didn’t even think of that, this will be a cinch!
Absolutely feel free to use any of our discussion on your site.
I’ll definitely let you know when I get my unit and excitedly get it up and running!
Happy Holidays, thanks again for the help,
