opinions on lighting choice for 125 gallon reef tank

dmanatee

Member
Hello everyone,
wow I havent been on this forum in a while. Mabey that is a good thing since all of my tanks have been happy and healthy. Anywhoo..So I am chainging out my old Current pro t-5 system on my 125 for a "hopefully" Led system and have been searching though all the differnet types including DIY and have come to the conclusion that I will never get the time to build my own. That being said I "Think" I have decided on three "Ecoxotic Panorama Pro LED Light Fixtures" plus some additional moduals to add to it. (I like my tank on the bluer side). And most of my tank is softies, but I do own one small Monti and one birds nest about the size of a 50 cent piece.
What do you guys think of my decision, before I shell out the cash, or do you have another sugestion.

Thanks for reading this....
 

sweatervest13

Active Member
Is this a 72" tank??
If you add up what you would spend on the Panorama units, does that come close to what you would spend on Radions?? I am not sure how much the Panorama units are with all the extra's. But it just seems like they are module strips you add to a case. I would think that one of the higher end units with the ability to control and dim would be better suited. If you have some SPS corals now, I would imagine you might want more later. If I were going to spend a lot of money on a new LED setup I would want to make sure I could keep ANYTHING in the future.
I also heard the AI units are pretty good as well. They are controllable and dim-able.
Good luck and let us know what you decide.
 

rickross23

Active Member

LOL +1
I have heard that they are a bear to program. 
Rick, what are you using for lighting??  Are you saving up for the Radions? 
I have 2 150w halides and I am saving for the radions, yes.
 

dmanatee

Member
The EcoTech Radions is what I am assuming you are suggesting do sound wonderfull but for three I would be spending way over $2,300, and I was hopeing to keep it closer to $1,800. That being said, I am going to do some more reasearch on this new suggestion. Do any of you have the Radions? Someone said their fans are a little noisy, and I am trying to get rid of the noise. My Current "current" lights sound like a wind tunnel in the morning, hense why i was intrigued by the led system with no fans.
 

rickross23

Active Member
I have a 'current' fixture aswell. I will be getting the radions in August, so I will let you know. I hear ecotech is great about help for their products.
 

acrylic51

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by rickross23 http:///t/391910/opinions-on-lighting-choice-for-125-gallon-reef-tank#post_3477883
I have a 'current' fixture aswell. I will be getting the radions in August, so I will let you know. I hear ecotech is great about help for their products.
I for 1 will tell you their customer service isn't fantastic......I spent $2100 on Vortecs and 1 wasn't perfect as it should have been for the price....Emails, and no answer.....Poor A$$ service or support if you ask me; when you charge that kind of cash for a product the thing should be perfect and service should be as well....
The Radions.....Again aren't all your making them out to be.....They aren't as simple and user friendly as I believe you are thinking.....
 

rickross23

Active Member
:laughing:   I for 1 will tell you their customer service isn't fantastic......I spent $2100 on Vortecs and 1 wasn't perfect as it should have been for the price....Emails, and no answer.....Poor A$$ service or support if you ask me; when you charge that kind of cash for a product the thing should be perfect and service should be as well....
The Radions.....Again aren't all your making them out to be.....They aren't as simple and user friendly as I believe you are thinking.....
I know they need to be tuned. Ecotech has a forum where they have workers answer customers questions. They seem good to me. They come with a 3 year warranty also.
 

gemmy

Active Member
You could do 3 maxspect mazarra units to start off. There are a few positives to these units. They have individual LED diodes and if you feel confident it is possible to change them out as opposed to a puck like in the radions. They are cheaper than radions. They have different mount options not offered by ecotech radions. The price is not price locked like the radions so you can use coupons. The customer service is handled by Coralvue and it is really good (just have to get in contact with Chris). There are downfalls as well.
Oh, and I own this unit.
 

acrylic51

Active Member
They have to be tuned from a PC not as easy and simple as the AI's and others. That sort of setup IMHO isn't so user friendly!!!!
 

dmanatee

Member
Wow everyone. I am getting so many great Ideas. I guess in the end I will think on it and then let you all know what I decided. Oh so excited to be getting away from the noisy fans!
 

rickross23

Active Member
They have to be tuned from a PC not as easy and simple as the AI's and others. That sort of setup IMHO isn't so user friendly!!!!
Is not fully operated by the computer. It has buttons on the top aswell.
 

acrylic51

Active Member
Hey Rick.....you might want to do a bit more reading about what I've been talking about and what Gemmy said....Those buttons.....Pointless to a degree buddy.....The computer is needed to tweak them.......When it comes to plug and play and user friendly they aren't the ticket......It's been talked about quite a bit lately if you hunt a bit.....
 
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