ecotech radion xr30w

[atlweb]

I finally got this baby installed yesterday!

Thoughts so far....

This EASILY covers my 24x24x20 tank. The hanging kit makes it a very easy and very clean looking set up. The different color modes are quite nice and I love the feature of being able to dim my lights.

Only things I would have liked.... a display to tell me the percent it is running. It will tell you if it is at 100 or 0%, but its like come on... I don't want to mentally count 40 little beeps to get it at a different percentage.

And for the most important reason for having a nice light... the corals. Well so far, all I have is a small bubble tip anemone, but he seems to enjoy it thus far. I will keep you updated once I can save up and buy some new corals. I broke the bank on this light, but I think once I can start accumulating more corals it will be worth it.

 

[ichthyoid]

Where are the pic's? You're killin me smalls!

 

[raz0945]

ichthyoid;700628 wrote: Where are the pic's? You're killin me smalls!

What he said! Following along trying to learn more about LED's.

 

[atlweb]

I will post some pictures tonight! It will be my treat for Halloween

 

[atlweb]

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[purplegorilla]

Very nice and clean set up.

 

[atlweb]

Thanks, Trinh! I need to come by and pick up some of your famous corals soon. Let me know when you are fragging next!

 

[mvm]

Nice setup! I would take the foam cover off the vortech, though. They clog really quickly. You're probably trying to protect your bta, though.

 

[seth the wine guy]

That looks great! Ecotech, now THAT's a great company!

 

[atlweb]

MvM;700942 wrote: Nice setup! I would take the foam cover off the vortech, though. They clog really quickly. You're probably trying to protect your bta, though.

haha yeah, unfortunately I am leaving it on for another month or so.... I am going to change up the aquascape a bit tonight, so I think the bta might move. I am thinking about making more of a mound in the middle that is not as tall / it would look more minimal. I want to take out more rock.... but I don't want that to affect filtration.

Matt, I noticed you have more of a minimalist approach with rock.... does this cause any problems for you?

Edit:

Seth The Wine Guy;700943 wrote: That looks great! Ecotech, now THAT's a great company!

Thanks! I am happy with it so far... but I am actually a little disappointed with ecotech right now.

The light has two modes 'artificial' and 'natural'. As of right now, they are making updates to 'artificial' mode and it is causing problems with the software. Essentially, it won't save the mode that you program it to. If that isn't frustrating enough... they haven't even released the software for 'natural' mode yet. So essentially... I am using the light with a manual timer and I am by no means getting the full experience with the light. Also, it doesn't come in a mac version yet

With that said... if they can work out these kinks and get the software up and running within the next 2-3 weeks, I think that would be fair. I am worried it may take longer though.

 

[mvm]

atlweb;700945 wrote: .

Matt, I noticed you have more of a minimalist approach with rock.... does this cause any problems for you?

No issues at all. As long as you have plenty of flow, there's enough surface area for biological filtration. I have some rubble in my sump, too.

 

[atlweb]

MvM;700948 wrote: No issues at all. As long as you have plenty of flow, there's enough surface area for biological filtration. I have some rubble in my sump, too.

Sounds good. Do you think 30lbs would be enough for a 50g and 18g sump? I have a little bit of rock in there too... maybe I can hammer some live rock and put more rubble in the sump?

In the past I have noticed that more live rock balances my PH levels very well, but that was with only 14-30g of water. Perhaps with more water volume, things would be different?

 

[mvm]

I probably only have 40# or so in my 93 cube. My PH stays pretty stable, but I have a cal reactor and reverse-lit refugium.

 

[dvara78]

How did you decide on how high to put the light above the tank? I run a Maxspect 160W G2 over my Solana and it's 3 inches above the water. You think thats too high?

Is there a general rule of thumb when hanging an LED light over a tank that should be followed?

 

[raz0945]

Thanks for the picture! The LED's look like they cover the tank really well. Do you think they would cover an area of 24" x 28". How deep is your tank? I'm trying to see if the LED's will reach the bottom of the tank, it is 30" deep and I plan on having a 5" sand bed. I have about 200 lbs of rock. Thanks, Holley

 

[atlweb]

Dvara78;700954 wrote: How did you decide on how high to put the light above the tank? I run a Maxspect 160W G2 over my Solana and it's 3 inches above the water. You think thats too high?

Is there a general rule of thumb when hanging an LED light over a tank that should be followed?

Currently I have it roughly 6-7 inches off the water and it covers my 24x24 area really well, so there is no need to raise it. I have it that high off to allow any heat to disperse further from the water, as well as ease of access of doing work in the tank. Honestly, I could easily raise it more to about 10-12 inches without any problems.

I don't have any corals in there yet (only an anemone), so if my corals are getting burnt from my light, I will either dim the light or raise it a little bit more.

I don't have any experience with the Maxspect fixture, however if it was designed to have the legs sit on top of the tank, I am sure that is fine for what you are doing. I wouldn't worry too much about the height, i'd worry more about how your corals are responding / the PAR reading in your tank.

 

[atlweb]

Raz0945;700955 wrote: Thanks for the picture! The LED's look like they cover the tank really well. Do you think they would cover an area of 24" x 28". How deep is your tank? I'm trying to see if the LED's will reach the bottom of the tank, it is 30" deep and I plan on having a 5" sand bed. I have about 200 lbs of rock. Thanks, Holley

200lbs of rock in an 87 gallon tank? That seems like a bit much?

They advertise that it covers a 30x30 space, but on the chart obviously the par measurement is not very high on the corners of that space. I think depending on how you aquascape, the light could cover it. I would call them to confirm and also tell them what types of coral you are trying to grow. Will you grow an acro one inch from the glass on the bottom of the sandbed with those dimensions? Probably not. But I think as far as coverage, the light would make it.

Edit: By the way, those pictures are on the blue (night mode setting) at its absolute lowest %.

Putting it on the 12k setting has a perfect balance of white and blue. I will take more pictures once I can get some coral in there.

 

[ichthyoid]

atlweb;700675 wrote: I will post some pictures tonight! It will be my treat for Halloween

Thanks for the pix. Looks great! Do you have, or have plans to measure, your PAR? (just curious what you are getting)

 

[atlweb]

I don't currently own a PAR meter, but anyone who would like to either let me borrow one, or wants to come by and see for themselves, feel free to contact me!

I am curious myself.

 

[raz0945]

Sorry for the confusion! The Tank is a 265g and the three openings at the top are approximately 28"x24". It will take 3 units, I'm saving everything I can for the skimmer and lights. The cost of 6 T5 bulbs for my 75g fixtures over the last 5 years would have almost paid for the LEDS (5x$150+=$750). Thanks, Holley