AI Sol's or EcoTech Radion??

J

Jason7181

Member
I am looking at getting either one if these for my 90G build. Which one do you think will be better for clams and some SPS? I can get 2 Radions for $1274 so there is a big price difference.
 
For radion info contact skullv here in the forum he has 2 over his 75g and it looks awesome. Check his thread also as he has par reading.
 
100% out of those two choices Radion. The spectrum on the SOL ruins it of me before I even consider anything else about them. Two Radions will be perfect for a 90g and will allow you to keep anything you want anywhere you want. If you aren't trying to buy RIGHT now I might also wait and see how the new Ecoxotic PRO fixtures look. They will also offer RGB lighting and should offer much of the core stuff that the Radions offer. Basically the light and power without the thunderstorm and pump control.

While the Sol used to do be the top of the line industry standard they are now overpriced for what they offer. If you do end up wanting to go with a "budget" fixture go with the Apollo over the Sol ten times out of ten. If AI doesn't offer a wider amount of spectral choices in the "Phoenix" they are going to lose nearly if not all of the high end LED market share. As of right now none of the demo products they have shown at the various trade shows have included a wider spectrum. That is unless you count the 100% warm white nano fixtures they have put out.


P.s. If you are factoring black Friday pricing into the discounted price of the Radions make sure to read the fine print. For exmple premium aquatics is NOT including ecotech products in their black Friday pricing (ecotech will not allow it).
 
SkullV said:
100% out of those two choices Radion. The spectrum on the SOL ruins it of me before I even consider anything else about them. Two Radions will be perfect for a 90g and will allow you to keep anything you want anywhere you want. If you aren't trying to buy RIGHT now I might also wait and see how the new Ecoxotic PRO fixtures look. They will also offer RGB lighting and should offer much of the core stuff that the Radions offer. Basically the light and power without the thunderstorm and pump control.

While the Sol used to do be the top of the line industry standard they are now overpriced for what they offer. If you do end up wanting to go with a "budget" fixture go with the Apollo over the Sol ten times out of ten. If AI doesn't offer a wider amount of spectral choices in the "Phoenix" they are going to lose nearly if not all of the high end LED market share.


P.s. If you are factoring black Friday pricing into the discounted price of the Radions make sure to read the fine print. For exmple premium aquatics is NOT including ecotech products in their black Friday pricing (ecotech will not allow it).
Click to expand...



I am going to have to buy lighting within a month. Do you know when the Ecoxotic come out?
 
While I agree with most everything Ted said above (SkullV) I have to argue that the Dimmable Apollo are not readily available, and this is the one advantage to the AI Sol if time is short to make a decision. I believe you can get either Apollo or AI Sol very close in price for current offerings and should choose the Dimmable one. The one thing I don't like about my Apollo is the all or nothing lighting. I wish I could dim down to about 75-80% it would be perfect there.
 
FishBeard said:
While I agree with most everything Ted said above (SkullV) I have to argue that the Dimmable Apollo are not readily available, and this is the one advantage to the AI Sol if time is short to make a decision. I believe you can get either Apollo or AI Sol very close in price for current offerings and should choose the Dimmable one. The one thing I don't like about my Apollo is the all or nothing lighting. I wish I could dim down to about 75-80% it would be perfect there.
Click to expand...

That's true, and is the entire reason I was refunded for my portion of the original Apollo group buy. I wouldnt buy a non-dimmable fixture personally. Bill at ReefLEDlights has indicated that the dimmable fixtures should be in stock this month.
 
If I had the money I would go radion. I've seen both fixtures in tank and with the extra color LEDs u can really Tweek it to u liking. U can make it corals really pop. But right now I'm happy with my diy fixture.
 
poidog said:
I do like the color the AIs put out. But I'm a sucker for blue.
Click to expand...

Don't get me wrong, I love blue. I have my blue LEDs turned all the way up, but you need more than just blue to get corals to properly fluoresce and it also looks better to the human eye (which realistically is why we are even doing this). The SOL makes green corals look great, but reds, yellows, oranges, blues, look washed out and pastel.
 
Yea, I think it's Joe? At Apollo I talked to by email about the new ones, will be very limited at first and you still need an apex controller and bus cable for dimming, it won't be built in like the original plan.
 
FishBeard said:
Yea, I think it's Joe? At Apollo I talked to by email about the new ones, will be very limited at first and you still need an apex controller and bus cable for dimming, it won't be built in like the original plan.
Click to expand...

Oh really? I knew they were having problems with the original drivers but I didn't know that it would be to the extent that they wouldn't have 1-10v capability at all. Very interesting.

Keep in mind that the sol requires an additional controller to dim as well though.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top