- Today on BRStv Investigates,
we've got an update to our first XR30G5 Blue video,
where, if you want to know what this latest
LED lighting module from Ecotech Marine is all about,
this video is for you.
You won't find information this in-depth anywhere else
and this time, our BRS review comes complete
with real world data back settings for you,
that you can use successfully on your tank.
(upbeat music)
Hi, I'm Randy with this Friday's BRStv Investigates.
We put popular reefing gear, theories, and methods
to the test by experimenting on our own tanks,
so you don't have to experiment on yours
and today, we use our new light testing format
with over 1000 data points
to create BRS recommended settings
for this Ecotech Radion XR30 Blue
from proper mounting height,
all the way to suggestions for using one
on an LPS tank or SPS dominated reef.
Our goal for our BRS recommended light testing criteria
is to find the answers to the most important questions
reefers have when adding a new light to their tank,
such as, how high should I mount them?
How many do I need?
How do I space them properly?
And what are the right settings for my tank type?
Using this data, we're looking for easy to achieve,
plug and play results for anyone
considering this light for their tank.
Using our testing methods and data
from our 60 gallon and 120 gallon test tanks,
we'll develop answers to those important questions
and provide you with BRS recommended settings
that we would use on tanks similar to ours
or if your tank is slightly different,
you can still use today's data
coupled with some effective adjustments
to dial one in for your specific system.
By the time we're done today,
you'll not only be armed with the information you need
to decide if the Radion XR30 Blue is for you
and how to successfully implement it over your own tank,
but we'll also give you our feedback and review
of the Radion G5 Blue's performance.
In that spirit, before we even get started into the testing
and data for the Radion Blue,
I think we can arm you with that first piece of info
to help you decide whether the Radion Blue
is the right light for you
or if you might want to consider the Radion XR30 Pro
and the answer to that question is simple.
If you'd like a tank with more blue hue to it
that has been synonymous
with Ecotech's popular AB+ Spectrum,
go with the Radion Blue.
However, if you favor more of a white spectrum look
to your tank, the Radion Pro is the light for you.
But you aren't making life changing decisions here
because either can be adjusted to a whiter or bluer tank.
The benefit of the Radion Blue
is that every last LED was selected
for max performance in that AB+ Spectrum,
and because of that, it will
end up being the most efficient.
The Radion Blue LED array is so well optimized
to mimic that spectrum similar to Ecotech's original AB+
that you can use 100% of each eight controllable channels,
then adjust the overall point intensity up or down
to hit your desired par range,
which is where we're going to set them
for the handful of today's tests.
As we've done in previous light tests
and following our standard light testing format,
we start by finding our BRS recommended mounting height
by mounting the light six inches above the water,
taking a grid of par measurements,
then raising the light one inch at a time
and continue testing.
We find that mounting height sweet spot
when we've satisfactorily reduced the center hot spot
directly under the light
and more evenly spread the part of the outer edges,
meaning that we don't want to see par numbers
in the center that are lower than the outer edges,
nor do we want to lose more than 15%
of the overall par average
from light spilling out of the tank.
With the Radion XR30 Blue mounted
at six inches above the water,
we see a center hot spot average of 829
and an average in the outer edges at 389,
already showing a distribution performance
that exceeded my expectations
and outperforming other lights we've tested
at such a low mounting height.
At seven inches off the water,
we reduce the hot spot by 152 par to 677
and gained 22 par in the outer edges to 411.
Again, showing very flat light distribution performance.
Moving up to eight inches, the center improves to 584
and almost eliminating the hot spot
and the improved distribution provides
an outer edge average of 415.
While, at nine inches,
there are now multiple points in the outer edges
that are higher par than the points in the center,
meaning that we're now losing efficiency
and we probably gone too far,
which makes BRS recommended mounting height
for the G5 XR30 Blue eight inches above the water
for this two square foot area.
Up next, we look at our second question to help you decide
how many Radion XR30 Blue modules you'll need,
whether you need fewer lights to properly cover tanks
full of lower light demand corals like LPS and softies,
or whether your long term dream
is to have a tank full of large, mature SPS colonies
that require more consideration
into overcoming shadowing and shading
as they grow from frags
into large, show tank, quality pieces.
With that, our BRS recommendation for ample coverage
over an LPS tank type
is going to be one fixture for this two square foot area,
like a 60 gallon cube,
or two G5XR30 Blue fixtures for a two foot by four foot tank
like this 120 gallon test tank.
To simplify that further, we would
use one G5 Blue for every 24 inches of tank.
Our BRS recommendation for lighting an SPS dominated tank,
we're talking about a tank that's already packed
with full size, mature SPS colonies
that might struggle with shading within the colony branches
and underneath established ones,
given the spread and distribution numbers
we're about to show you,
we'd recommend using three XR30 Blue fixtures,
mounted perpendicular over our four foot tank example,
or mounting one every 16 to 18 inches of tank length.
Note that we're not recommending three fixtures
just the sake of par requirements,
which you can easily do with two,
but rather three fixtures is the end game recommendation
for achieving a blanket of light
across the entire tank that produces
the most stunning SPS tanks.
Next, we're gonna talk about properly spacing
those multiple XR30 Blue Radions
with a test that we developed where we
evenly mount the lights over our four foot tank,
tank a grid of par measurements,
then spread the lights further apart from each other
until we decrease the hot spot in between
where the lights intersect in the tank,
while at the same time,
improve the par distribution to more evenly
cover the outer edges.
Generally, we would reach our testing end point
when we've improved the par averages on the outside edges
to within 75% of the par average
in the center of the tank.
For the first test in our LPS tank goals,
we mounted two Radion G5 Blues horizontally
at 16 inches on center from left and right edges
where we can already see, just by the par heat map,
that these lights are spaced too closely together
with an average par on the edges
coming in at only 54% of the average par in the center.
We move the lights outward to 15 inches on center
and see a slight improvement to the center hotspot,
this time with the outer edges testing at 62%,
edging us closer to our goal.
Spacing the lights out, again, to 14 inches,
we now see a far better spread across the 48 inch tank,
yet still, the outer edges are less than our goal,
but now, within 70% of the center,
so we continue the test.
Finally, when we push the lights out
to 13 inches on center, we see the
distribution performance we're looking for
where the average par in the edges
are now with 81% of the center,
meaning that this is the BRS recommended spacing
for two XR30 Blues, and we can expect
that there won't be substantial changes in par,
whether we're placing our LPS Corals in the center,
or near the far in left and right edges
of this four foot tank.
As for the same light spacing test
using three XR30 Blues mounted perpendicularly,
we divided the tank evenly and mounted our lights
at 12, 24, and 12 inches on center,
where in this configuration, the outer edges
reach only 63% of the center,
with the majority of the light
intersecting right in the center of the tank,
and obviously, spaced too closely together.
This time, we only need to move the two outer lights
closer to the edges of the tank,
each by one inch to 11, 24, and 11 inches on center,
and we've made a significant improvement
into the average par on the outer edges
to 69%, yet there's still room
for improvement towards our 75% goal.
When we space the lights out by one more inch
to 10, 24, and 10 inches on center,
we hit that goal exactly,
with the average par on the edges now within
75% of the center, meaning that spacing
three G5 XR30 Blues in this configuration
is going to be our BRS recommendation
on tanks similar to our four foot, 120 gallon tank.
Now that we have mounting height, number of fixtures,
and spacing figured out, we start down a path
to answer our fourth most important question
reefers have after getting a new light
which is "What settings and intensity
do I use for my tank?"
Because answering this question is really
what all of this investigative testing is all about.
Keeping that in mind, we're about to explore
BRS recommendations for spectrum settings
and where we'd recommend setting the LED colors,
photo period and how long we suggest
running your lights during the day,
and then what intensity we suggest
setting your lights to during the peak hours of the day
to achieve par goals for LPS Lower Light Corals
or SPS Higher Light Demand Corals.
Let's get started by testing the available spectrum
from the XR30 Blue where
there are eighth controllable color channels
spanning 100 individual LEDs
that Ecotech has optimized to create
a similar spectrum to their popular AB+
that they've used in their own coral lab
experiments over the past years.
As I mentioned earlier in today's video,
when we talk about the LED configuration
being optimized for AB+,
what we're talking about are the ability
to turn all eight channels to 100%,
and then control the overall intensity
or brightness up or down until
we hit the par target that we're looking for.
For me, this completely takes the guess work
out of flipping switches
and hoping that I got the spectrum right.
I'd even go as far as to say, in creating a light
like this, where all I need to be focused on at home
is renting a par meter and setting my overall intensity
is the closest thing to plug and play
that I could hope for from LED lighting manufacturers.
I say all of that to say this about the Radion G5 Blue,
although we can control each color channel on its own.
For today's spectrum testing, we're going to trust
Ecotech's LED array and compare the spectrum
they produce with all channels set to 100%,
and how that compares to the gold standard
ATI Blue Plus T5 Bulb, and then test how the G5
blends the spectrum all together,
by measuring it under a tank full of water
with turbulent service agitation.
Starting with the spectrum produced
with all channels at 100%,
this is pretty darn close to the Blue+ T5 Bulb spectrum,
yet with more emphasis on the peaks
in the 450 to 455 range, but overall,
a relatively wide offering.
As for blending that spectrum together,
the Radion G5 Blue shows a much improved performance
over previous Radion generations,
without a diffuser, testing only subtle shifts
across 10 testing points.
Obviously, there is substantial improvements
in the Radion XR30 Blue, with far less dramatic
spectrum shifts that would only improve
when coupled with the new G5 diffuser.
All right, so we've got our spectrum settings
and what we would recommend for setting
the colors of your Radion Blue lights,
again, all colors at 100%.
And next, we're going to dial in the par output
of those settings over a 60 and 120 gallon test tank.
But, before we get to that,
we'll first share the BRS recommended
photo period for how long we suggest lighting your tank
and I'll say that this one is pretty standard
for many of the BRS tanks around here.
Using the combined knowledge and experience
around the office and across the 50 plus tanks
we have running here, as a starting point,
we recommend a nine hour peak photo period
where the lights run at their highest intensity,
coupled with a 30 minute ramp up and ramp down period.
Of course, the time of day your lighting schedule starts
can be changed as needed,
our goal being that we want to enjoy
as much of our tanks as possible,
so we choose to light them when we're around them most,
which, for an office environment,
means that they're on during the normal working day.
Here the Mobius template takes care
of all of this for you with the AB+ template.
When setting up your Radion Blue for the first time,
first, you choose your total photo period day
including the sunrise and sunset which,
for our recommendation, run time would be about
a 10 hour total to account for the ramp up and ramp down.
Choose the AB+ template that will default your lights
to the BRS recommended spectrum settings
during the peak of the day
and then you're done.
All that's left to do is get a par meter,
adjust the overall point intensity
during the middle of the day to your desired par goals,
which we're about to share next so you don't have to.
Getting started with our BRS recommended settings
for LPS and lower light demand corals,
our goal is to achieve 75 to 150 par
throughout 70% or more of the entire tank
from top to bottom,
meaning that, for this 60 gallon cube
with a singular Radion XR30 Blue
mounted at eight inches,
we're able to achieve that goal
with an overall point intensity setting of 20%,
where 88 out of 108 data points hit our target,
making 81% of the entire tank, from top to bottom,
optimized for a par range of 75 to 150.
Applying those same principals to our 120 gallon tank
with two fixtures, again, we set the midday point intensity
to 20%, where we find 158 out of 198 points,
or 80% of the tank, in our same LPS goal.
With this setting, it's still a little
on the hot side in the upper parts of the tank,
but down in the middle and near the bottom of the tank,
both of those levels hover around 95% of points
in that target par range.
Up next, we have our BRS recommended settings
and intensities for SPS dominated tanks where again,
we're looking for 70% or more of the entire tank
within our SPS goal of 200 to 350.
Kicking off our BRS recommended SPS settings
on this 60 gallon cube, we set our midday
overall point intensity to 60%,
where we tested 76 out of 108 testing points,
or exactly 70% of the entire tank
within that 200 to 350 par range for this two foot cube,
which a majority of those points in the middle
and upper parts of the tank, where most reefers
typically mount their SPS.
Looking at the same criteria on our 120 gallon tank,
we mounted three Radion Blues at our
BRS recommended height and spacing,
and then chose an overall point intensity setting
of 35% in order to achieve 145 out of 198,
or 73% of this entire tank within
our SPS target goal range.
With these BRS recommended settings,
most of you can get really close
to your specific tank's lighting sweet spot.
Even for those of you with slightly different sized tanks
who can use this data to make more educated adjustments
and confirm by renting or buying a par meter.
All right, so what are some of my personal thoughts
on today's performance of the Radion Gen-5 XR30 Blue?
First and foremost, if it's any indication
of how impressed I was with this
new light form and function,
I'm putting all of our BRS recommendations
to the test on my own 60 gallon tank
in this office, and installing a 30 Blue
over it, which for sure will be chock-full of sticks
and hopefully large, mature SPS colonies.
Outside of that, I can't be more happy
with the Mobius control platform,
coming from someone whose set up
dozens of Radions in the past,
I think it's great that Ecotech
had us reefers in mind when they created the G5 Blue,
where I already know that I personally enjoy
the Bluer look of the AB+ spectrum,
and now I can connect to my light,
choose my photo period,
adjust the peak intensity,
and my lights are done.
Minus a few extra short steps,
this is as close to plug and play
that I could've hoped for,
and I'm excited to hear what you guys have to say
after you get your hands on them.
Understandably, not everyone will choose the blue hue
of the AB+ using the Radion XR30 Blue,
which can be adjusted down,
but there is a pro option for the same cost
and very similar performance, which we provide
our BRS recommended settings for
and show you how to set up in this playlist
right over here.