Radion vs. AI Sol
 

I couldn't find this thread and I'm actually surprised it doesn't exist lol (although it started on a couple other threads)
Anyways I am looking to make the move to leds and these seem to be the front runners. I like the radions integration with my vortechs. I like that the AI sols can connect to my profilux and the price of course. Just looking to get some opinions on either I know there is no right or wrong kinda like Coke vs Pepsi (Pepsi for me) any experiences.

I currently have lps and softies but always want to leave the sps door open lol

thanks

look into the Nanobox LEDs system. Very nice unit and they use multiple color leds as well. Hand made in the States too! They are about $450 a module i think. Someone on this forum just ordered one.

Why don't you search separately for Radion and AI Sol? There has been lots of discussion about these on Canreef. And yes, I think it is very much a Chevy vs Ford choice.

Myself, I have 3 Radions installed on one of my tanks, and like them very much. But I am sure you will find that everyone that has AI Sols installed likes them just as much. Maybe you should ask, who has had them both, and whether they prefer one over the other, and why.

In my case, I have the Radions in a canopy over the tank with only 8 inches of clearance inside. It is my understanding that Sols prefer 12 inches to get the spread and coverage required for some tanks. So, I think the Radions were the best choice for me. They still have some software gliches to work out, but that will be fixed, I'm sure, and I was able to program around them with no problem.

MarkoD did a side by side comparison of the 2, AI was the clear winner IMO

I can't remember who it was, but a fellow Canreefer ran BOTH and did a great comparison. He had one of each on opposite sides of his tank. I just tried searching for the thread, but couldn't find it.

+1 Sorry Marko D, thanks nanomano for knowing who it was!

I've been searching for the easy answer to this question as well. For myself I think the dollar difference between the two is my deciding factor. Both fixtures seem to work well from what I've seen on pics of peoples tanks..

If you compare 2 sols to one radion, the sols win in my books.

what are you leaning towards?

I understand why your comparing 2 vs 1 price wise but is that a fair comparison?

seems lots saying better spread for the Radion, Sol better for depth

I think the program-ability and the spectrum range of the radions kick arse on the AIs.....AIs price kicks arse on the radions....

The big question is does one SOL equal one Radion for coverage? Some have suggested that you need 2 SOLs to equal one Radion. Which is it? I know for me, if/when I switch to LED, price will be a big factor. If I can buy 3 SOL for 1200 and that puts out equivalent light to 3 Radion at 2500, there's really nothing left to talk about.
I don't need reds and greens, and I don't need programmability. I need lights to come on, grow coral, go off, repeat.

I see what your saying Brad, and after reading the side by side comparison by Marko I'm even more confused. It looks as though the sol and radion are close in light to me, but I think if the Radion was positioned higher up it would have more coverage.

So in my mind it would be either be 2 Radions vs 3 sols over my 4ft tank. In that case price difference becomes negligible.

(I'm also a technology junkie so all the extra bells and whistles on the Radion are very appealing )

Lol we actually agree on something.

I had a radion for a month and the novelty features wore off after a week.

You can also move sols higher to get more spread too

I think the only time the spread argument is valid is when a person only needs one light on a cube or possibly when a tank is greater than 24" front to back. In a traditional shaped tank one Radion would never be able to cover the same area as 2 Sols and visa versa so a person would need two of either lights. If price is an issue (which it was for me) there really wasn't much to decide. I don't think anyone could find a Radion user with one light on a 48" wide tank and 2 Sols will suffice on that same tank. My decision was done.

Not sure how the goofy purple face got there but for the people that pay attention to these things I'm "not" unhappy lol

If you have a Profilux the sols seem like the logical choice. Profilux control for the AI should do everything the Radion does unless I'm not aware of something. If you're looking for intergration with your vortechs, get the profilux vortech control module. If you're looking for red/green add profilux sim LEDs. Looking for better spread, consider the sol 70/70 optic version so all optics are 70 degree.

I'm pretty sure that you can order the SOL system with altered angels on some of the LEDs which will help increase the coverage. There is a link online somewhere that I will post of a company that ran 3 different brands of LEDs together and ran comparisons. The sol was the clear winner in almost every category, but especially in the price category. They also include some neat built in features like thunderstorm modes and full upgradeability as new options become available. I will definitely be going sol when I upgrade.

PS I just helped my buddy set up a 5 module sol system on his 250 this week and he is loving both the coverage and the programability. I think it has something like 16 different timers available that run into one another so you can really control the intensities and variances.

I have two Radions over my 48" tank and love them I've never seen a SOL, so I can't compare them or really comment.

I have been thinking of going LED over my 16" cube tank.. I'm actually considering one SOL as I think a radion is overkill for that small of a tank.

Looking at Ocean Aquatics webpage, it looks like the SOL comes in two color choices.. The white which is 12-14K and the blue which is 20k.. What are people using? And am I correct that the K color can not be adjusted to suite your eye?
How about intensity? Can that be adjusted?

I'm using two super blue. I can adjust individually the intensity of all three White, royal blue and regular blue which gives quite a wide range visually to choice from.

with the 80 dollar ai controller or third party controller you can adjust intensity of each of the 3 colors to adjust the color

Are you using the Blue?

Shelley, from what I read, the AI comes in the SOL white and super blue. The difference is that each has a different range of color. I believe the other features are all the same.
For me, I would be using my Apex to run them, so whatever that does, is good, I suppose :)

My concern tho, is on my tank, I figure I've got a rectangular area containing corals about 18" x 60"ish. Are three of either good enough for this area, with some corals being 24" deep.
Some site I read compared the AI to a 400w MH, but AI's site doesn't mention that anywhere I can see.

so far I think I'm leaning towards AI!! I'm not looking into spread as much as i"m looking for depth, At 30" tall I can add more fixtures for spread but that wouldn't help hit the bottom of the tank..

so how many radion would it take to do 96Lx30Hx40D vs how many AI's?????

I guess anothe question is should a person go with all blue's or mix them up 50/50 with the white fixtures??

the fixtures which are called the super blues are actually a mixture of the white royal blue and the standard blues.

And the whites are just all white?

Eight of either is where I would start. After that it would be personal preference to have more.

from what i understand yes.
here is a link to the site i mentioned earlier. i think it clearly shows the AI system to be the best going.
http://www.h2oplusomething.com/index...ment&Itemid=64

If you have a profilux.......if you dont then you need the profilux $500, you need the ai control module $100(just guessing), you need the vortech control module $285, you need the red/green sim leds$200 and then the AI soll at $400.....for a grand total of 1500 to do what a radion does.....even if you already have the profilux unit itself then thats about $600 worth of add on goodies you will need......


if your a tech junkie then you might find this appealing .....I have my radion programmed to do this.....orange sunrise in the AM (just a lipstick do nothing feature, but it looks cool) ....then the light slowly ramps up in intensity to somewhere between 6700k and 10000k into the middle of the afternoon (really ugly yellow looking grow the bejeebers out of your coral spectrum.... but hey I dont care cuz Im at work)....then I have the spectrum slowly change from 10000k to close to 20000k from the late afternoon to the late evening (for when Im home looking at the tank)....then it goes to 22000k briefly and then dims down to 2% through the night for moonlight effect.......I get the best of all spectrums...... do that with an AI:mrgreen:.......if the SOLs where the shizz then why is an upgraded AI unit comparable to the radion in the works???......lets not forget about the wireless connectivity between the units, wireless communication with the vortech pumps, soon to be Mac compatible, the ability to program the unit from your PC with a nice big screen and spectral graphs, soon to be wireless programing from your PC.....I could go on but.........

Its kinda like skimmers......you can get by quite nicely with a vertex or reef octopus, but what you really want is the Bubble King:wink:

No, never wanted one of those :)

For me, I have an Apex, so controller is taken care of (I think the IAI unit is 129??). The AI allow for pretty much what you describe, minus the lipstick. I'm not home then either, so won't miss it. I don't use vortech, so wireless isn't useful.
I suppose for a tech junkie the Radion is a great light. Sorry, it's a great light anyway, I've seen them in action, I just can't afford them. The AIs look to be close enough for my needs and I can't afford them either, but might, one day :P

The bells and whistles are sweet, but right now I don't loose sleep about being unable to program my halides..

Mostly my issue is the cost as well....8 radions vs 10 AI's.....If it came down to solid coral growing facts I could justify the extra cash but otherwise its a hard bill to swallow..

I have owned both fixtures at the same time and I also own a par meter and a power meter. IMO Radion is a far superior light in every way possible except the AI par is a wee bit better. The AI has been around for a couple years and is old school in comparison to the Radion. You will need almost 2 AI fixtures to 1 Radion fixture so Radion is a better buy. The new AI Vega fixture might compare with the Radion when its released but not current AI model. Before you buy do your research and you will find out what the better fixture is. If someone tells you the AI is a better fixture tell them to put down the crack pipe! :lol:

OP has a Profilux hence my comment, for AI connection you just need an inexpensive cable not module. The other things are just options but with the AI starting at half the price makes buying such things easier and there purpose goes far beyond just matching a Radion.

And btw the Radion is not the BK of LEDs, it's the vortech of LEDs with comparable models like Tunze with what's better only coming down to personal preference. BKs are timeless, Radions will be obsolete in less than a year.

http://www.h2oplusomething.com/index...ment&Itemid=64
Why do these tests state otherwise?

Myself I will take nicer colour spectrum for a bit less par but each to there own. Have you checked out the thread on RC where people were complaining about the poor AI colour spectrum?

My guess is the AI Vegas will soon be the best fixture out there very soon!

I agree that after playing around with LED colors the red and green are key to reduce the need to run the whites as high which drown out color. But I just don't see the value of paying twice as much for $50 worth of parts. It does however come down to what you have already for controllers and what you're willing to do or sacrifice. For straight out of the box the Radion has value for sure but each person will have to decide if that's the case for them personally.

Perhaps, problem is with these damn LEDs is the next fixture is always around the corner and likely the next best thing. The problem I have with the Vega is that is looks to make the sol obsolete, not likely to see much more for upgrade kits.