Radion G5

[FrostedShells20]

I got a sweet offer for a Radion xr15 G5 that's been used for around $300. Does anyone have any experience with the G6? Should I take this offer or save some money to get the G6?

[MrP]

$300 is about what used G5's go for. If it includes a mount, it would be a good deal. I own 2 of the G5 blues. The AB+ setting is really blue, not a nice blue, but a weird Windex blue. I toned down some of the blue and turned up the white which helped quite a bit. They are still nice lights. I'm going to use them until they die. I don't see a need to upgrade. 

 

I don't have any experience with the G6 but they supposedly have a better spectrum and a wider spread. If that matters to you, then it would probably be worth it to save up for a G6.

[The Rainy Day Aquarium]

I believe Ecotech sells upgrade kits to turn your G5s into G6s (new led boards and lenses, etc.) but I haven’t looked into the price difference of that vs buying a new G6; probably comparable.
 

I like to think of Ecotech products like Apple and their iPhones. The latest and greatest is awesome, but even a few generations back are still solid performers and you can always save some money with going used.

[Tamberav]

11 hours ago, FrostedShells20 said:

I got a sweet offer for a Radion xr15 G5 that's been used for around $300. Does anyone have any experience with the G6? Should I take this offer or save some money to get the G6?

 

G6 spectrum is closer to g4. Yes, they have come around full circle lol

 

The spread on the G6 is greater then G5 which can be a bad thing... if you don't have a wide tank/need the spread, then it is wasted as light spill. This is more true on nano's obviously. It also means hanging lights closer to the tank to make best use out of the spread without spilling and I am not sure how much you can move the arms. 

 

G5/G6 power is the same.. so technically increasing spread without increasing power leads to a par loss but more even par over a bigger area.

 

So again, it depends if you need that spread.

 

G4's are actually many people's favorite. Again, if you don't need the spread... it isn't THAT much different then G6 and may be superior in some cases. 

 

This is my understanding anywho... I have some G5 pro's. They are nice but wish I had gotten Reefi uno 2.0 since those lights are like Xr30 power at Xr15 price haha 🙂 They were not out at the time though. 

 

 

TLDR: G6 is a side grade to G5 imo 🙂 and G4 is still a good light too. 

[FrostedShells20]

5 hours ago, Tamberav said:

 

G6 spectrum is closer to g4. Yes, they have come around full circle lol

 

The spread on the G6 is greater then G5 which can be a bad thing... if you don't have a wide tank/need the spread, then it is wasted as light spill. This is more true on nano's obviously. It also means hanging lights closer to the tank to make best use out of the spread without spilling and I am not sure how much you can move the arms. 

 

G5/G6 power is the same.. so technically increasing spread without increasing power leads to a par loss but more even par over a bigger area.

 

So again, it depends if you need that spread.

 

G4's are actually many people's favorite. Again, if you don't need the spread... it isn't THAT much different then G6 and may be superior in some cases. 

 

This is my understanding anywho... I have some G5 pro's. They are nice but wish I had gotten Reefi uno 2.0 since those lights are like Xr30 power at Xr15 price haha 🙂 They were not out at the time though. 

 

 

TLDR: G6 is a side grade to G5 imo 🙂 and G4 is still a good light too. 

Yeah I don’t need a crazy spread as its going on a 14 gallon peninsula. The guy dropped the price to $250 so I’m probably going to pull the trigger.

[FrostedShells20]

12 hours ago, The Rainy Day Aquarium said:

I believe Ecotech sells upgrade kits to turn your G5s into G6s (new led boards and lenses, etc.) but I haven’t looked into the price difference of that vs buying a new G6; probably comparable.
 

I like to think of Ecotech products like Apple and their iPhones. The latest and greatest is awesome, but even a few generations back are still solid performers and you can always save some money with going used.

If I remember correctly the upgrade kit is another $200 so it’d be a nice option down the line if I want a step up

[Reefkid88]

Honestly,I would go for the G4 over the G5/6 12 times out of 10. 

 

 Or like mentioned,I would go for a Reefi Uno. Amazing doide choice,incredible control,great looking fixture and for the price it blows the Radion's out of the water. 

 

 I feel like most people use the new G5/6 Radions because its cool . I had a G4 XR15 and wish it really would have worked for my setup but it didn't. 

[Tamberav]

6 hours ago, FrostedShells20 said:

If I remember correctly the upgrade kit is another $200 so it’d be a nice option down the line if I want a step up

 

I would never run a g6 on a 14g so don't step it up haha 🙂 Light spill for days...

 

I am not sure the mount works on a peninsula. I don't think you can turn the light? Someone correct me if I am wrong. Unless you don't mind putting it on the side of the tank or hanging it another way....

 

The OLD ones you could turn but not sure G5/G6 have this ability with the tank mount. Basically what I am trying to say is the led part of the lights are a rectangle shape but to put it on the back of a peninsula, the rectangle would be going the wrong way. I don't use the RMS mount though so I can't confirm. 

 

It seems that radion is more interested in big tanks, not nano's. I suppose prime and kessil fills that niche just fine. 

 

[MrP]

8 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

I am not sure the mount works on a peninsula. I don't think you can turn the light? Someone correct me if I am wrong. Unless you don't mind putting it on the side of the tank or hanging it another way....

 

The OLD ones you could turn but not sure G5/G6 have this ability with the tank mount. Basically what I am trying to say is the led part of the lights are a rectangle shape but to put it on the back of a peninsula, the rectangle would be going the wrong way. 

 

They can be rotated. Remove the 4 screws and turn the RMS slide the other way and you're good to go.

[Tamberav]

8 minutes ago, MrP said:

They can be rotated. Remove the 4 screws and turn the RMS slide the other way and you're good to go.

 

Thank you, I thought it has a part with grooves and only went one way for some reason. I am using the rail 

😛

 

I was trying hard to remember what it looked like under

 

[FrostedShells20]

5 hours ago, Tamberav said:

 

I would never run a g6 on a 14g so don't step it up haha 🙂 Light spill for days...

 

I am not sure the mount works on a peninsula. I don't think you can turn the light? Someone correct me if I am wrong. Unless you don't mind putting it on the side of the tank or hanging it another way....

 

The OLD ones you could turn but not sure G5/G6 have this ability with the tank mount. Basically what I am trying to say is the led part of the lights are a rectangle shape but to put it on the back of a peninsula, the rectangle would be going the wrong way. I don't use the RMS mount though so I can't confirm. 

 

It seems that radion is more interested in big tanks, not nano's. I suppose prime and kessil fills that niche just fine. 

 

haha I've always wanted a shot at the radions. I liked my primes but it felt like there was too much shadowing underneath certain corals. Could also be my chronic "bad reefer moments" flaring up though. I was thinking of using their track mount to hang up.

[FrostedShells20]

10 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

Honestly,I would go for the G4 over the G5/6 12 times out of 10. 

 

 Or like mentioned,I would go for a Reefi Uno. Amazing doide choice,incredible control,great looking fixture and for the price it blows the Radion's out of the water. 

 

 I feel like most people use the new G5/6 Radions because its cool . I had a G4 XR15 and wish it really would have worked for my setup but it didn't. 

I don't think I've ever heard of the Reefi Uno. Sounds promising though. 

[Reefkid88]

1 hour ago, FrostedShells20 said:

I don't think I've ever heard of the Reefi Uno. Sounds promising though. 

https://www.reefi-lab.com/product/reefi-uno-2-0-pro/

[FrostedShells20]

21 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

https://www.reefi-lab.com/product/reefi-uno-2-0-pro/

Wow it looks great! Has this company always been around?

[Reefkid88]

They have been around for awhile now,at least probably 4-5 years maybe longer. 

[Tamberav]

17 hours ago, FrostedShells20 said:

Wow it looks great! Has this company always been around?

 

He is a sponsor on humbles forum.. you can see photos, spectrum, I think par maps and so on. 

 

https://humble.fish/community/index.php?forums/reefi-lab.115/

[FrostedShells20]

That light is on the list for my next build it seems. Looks amazing. Also, I have a Neptune Apex Jr, is there a way to link the Radion to the Apex?

[Tamberav]

2 hours ago, FrostedShells20 said:

That light is on the list for my next build it seems. Looks amazing. Also, I have a Neptune Apex Jr, is there a way to link the Radion to the Apex?

 They are making or made a module to sync with them. I am assuming connection issues will still be a problem since the mobius servers suck and it appears still to rely on that. Hoping I am wrong though. 
 

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/mxm-mobius-wireless-control-module-neptune-systems.html

[Reefkid88]

 Sheesh,add another $125 to this mix that will virtually be useless because Mobius never works hahaha ?! Thats worse than a smack in the face. 

 

 When I had my G4 XR15,it was Mobius and just trying to get the light to connect to the app took like an hour. So bad. 

 

 Is there no way to turn Mobius off and make adjustments via a computer an cable like bad in the day if you didn't have ReefLink ? 

[Tamberav]

4 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

 Sheesh,add another $125 to this mix that will virtually be useless because Mobius never works hahaha ?! Thats worse than a smack in the face. 

 

 When I had my G4 XR15,it was Mobius and just trying to get the light to connect to the app took like an hour. So bad. 

 

 Is there no way to turn Mobius off and make adjustments via a computer an cable like bad in the day if you didn't have ReefLink ? 

No. G5/G6 chips are Wi-Fi capable but nothing you can do but use möbius. 
 

Don’t have to change lights often but I would never want my power heads or return on it. 

[MrP]

FWIW, I've been using Mobius for almost 3 years. I have 2 Radions, 6 Versa pumps, and a Vortech pump. No issues connecting any of it. There has only been one time that there was a Mobius outage and I wasn't able to access the app but everything continued to operate as usual. I'm not saying that Mobius is a great app, I'm just stating my experience with it. 

[Tamberav]

31 minutes ago, MrP said:

FWIW, I've been using Mobius for almost 3 years. I have 2 Radions, 6 Versa pumps, and a Vortech pump. No issues connecting any of it. There has only been one time that there was a Mobius outage and I wasn't able to access the app but everything continued to operate as usual. I'm not saying that Mobius is a great app, I'm just stating my experience with it. 

 

Buy a lottery ticket!! ha! 🙂

 

The best is when the radions randomly turn on at night or they lose the right time sync and are not on/off at the right hour. Maybe some of the lights are haunted... 👻

 

Overall they work fine though but you have to laugh.. my nanobox and my AI's never did this silly crap. 

[MrP]

6 minutes ago, Tamberav said:

 

Buy a lottery ticket!! ha! 🙂

 

The best is when the radions randomly turn on at night or they lose the right time sync and are not on/off at the right hour. Maybe some of the lights are haunted... 👻

 

Overall they work fine though but you have to laugh.. my nanobox and my AI's never did this silly crap. 

I think my Radions have lost time sync maybe once but My AI Primes lose sync all the time. I have the Primes on 4 different tanks, all set to turn of at 10pm. I'm constantly having to go into the app and sync them with the current time. Oh well. Live and learn. Once all of this crap dies, I'm definitely going to stray away from AI/Ecotech. Those Reefi lights appear to be some decent lights.

[Tamberav]

14 minutes ago, MrP said:

I think my Radions have lost time sync maybe once but My AI Primes lose sync all the time. I have the Primes on 4 different tanks, all set to turn of at 10pm. I'm constantly having to go into the app and sync them with the current time. Oh well. Live and learn. Once all of this crap dies, I'm definitely going to stray away from AI/Ecotech. Those Reefi lights appear to be some decent lights.

 

I am with ya there... I don't hate my current lights but will explore other options when it is time to. 

 

Now I am giving my AI lights a side glance... 

[FrostedShells20]

I've heard about the mobius app issues but I'm kinda in denial about it lol. Listening to first hand experiences makes me wonder if its worth it haha.