# Radion XR15 Freshwater



## Tim Harrison (2 Jun 2015)

I've noticed that this is becoming a popular choice, but I share the same concern as Tom Barr about it not having enough red spectrum for freshwater. Mr. Teapot has got stunning results in Green Pekoe Pond and is happy with it. Anyone else road tested it or got any thoughts/experience.


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## George Farmer (3 Jun 2015)

Nice bit of kit. I reviewed it for PFK. A little over-emphasis on blue (default) for my taste but it is adjustable to bring out more red.

http://www.practicalfishkeeping.co.uk/content.php?sid=6599


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## Iain Sutherland (3 Jun 2015)

hey troi, i have one running on the 60 at the moment.  Im having issues connecting it to my pc but believe the lead is faulty, otherwise the colour rendition is good and seems bright enough.  I hope to do some par reading at some point as visually its far dimmer than than the aquasky rip off.
reds wise it seems good.  Growing reineckii mini and the red looks good and erios which like high light....

Any other info you want buddy just ask.
Ill try get some pics up later


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## JohnC (3 Jun 2015)

hiya,

as both Troi and Iain both know i'm musing over which LED for my 90cm new setup and thinking of the aqualantis units which also have lower red spectrum output. I've missed Tom's comments about his thoughts on the need for more red output for freshwater aquatic plants. Can you cross link me if it's not too much trouble.

I'm interested in if this is more an aesthetic discussion or growth related. Personally i've always preferred the cooler lamp look. And since both the chlorophyll a and b absorption spikes are weighed towards the blue end of the spectrum i'd assumed that lower red output would be ok if the overall output of the lamp was giving enough PUR to give decent growth. 

Cheers,
John


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## Tim Harrison (3 Jun 2015)

Thanks for that George, a very helpful review as always.

And thanks also Iain, I'd be very interested in the PAR readings, and pics would be great. I was also wondering does it have onboard memory...once it's been programmed can the PC lead be removed?

Hi John, post #5 http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=701049 and this with Clive's comments http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/ecotech-radion-xr15w-freshwater-led.34419/ post #8

Ed:
With regard spectrum, well both growth and aesthetics really. There's no doubt it can grow plants - take a look at Mr. Teapots Green Pekoe Island and Iain's 60. Like you John, I'm interested whether it can create something approximating to Arcadia plant pro T5 bulb but without compromising growth, because I'm guessing the blues would have to be turned down a fair amount which will reduce PAR.


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## JohnC (3 Jun 2015)

Troi said:


> Thanks for that George, a very helpful review as always.
> 
> And thanks also Iain, I'd be very interested in the PAR readings, and pics would be great. I was also wondering does it have onboard memory...once it's been programmed can the PC lead be removed?
> 
> ...



Cheers,

Reading through now but I still feel I'm missing a chunk of back science from Tom. He's repeatedly asserting that plants need 10 - 20% ish blue and 60 to 70% red for best growth but when i look at the way plants absorb light i see the opposite. 



 

I'll keep reading back Tom posts (sorry for the hijack). 

Best Regards,
John


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## JohnC (3 Jun 2015)

still reading. all ive found so far are tom's preferences to make his red plants pop under redder light. 

side point i've also been doing a fair amount of research into cynobacteria since i was at a world water conference the other week. research points to cyno using the green, yellow and orange end of the spectrum. boosting the red's = faster potential cyno growth?


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## Tim Harrison (3 Jun 2015)

That's certainly part of it, but the point he's actually trying to put across is that much of the units output is redundant and that it hasn't really been optimised for freshwater...I think he has a point.


			
				plantbrain;6518170 said:
			
		

> Why pay a lot for a nice LED light that has only 2/3rd's of the power going to where it's needed?
> 
> It's not hard to include different emitters on the base design. Or offer a modular switch out like the lens so the user can customize the different emitters.
> 
> ...



Ecotech has countered by saying...


ITC Aquatics - Jez said:


> As for some of the LED colour (UV) choices, the intention with the fresh water light is to offer people choice to light their aquarium as they like. So for some applications the UV channels help saturate shrimp colours or bring out detail in certain fish. One of the things we have learnt from the Marine hobby is people love the flexibility full spectrum brings to their aquarium rather than being limited to a few warm whites and a couple of reds. The cluster in the FW are not the same as the marine and favour freshwater species.



I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it, and the best way I can think of doing so is asking those who have used it

Interesting work on the cyanobacteria, by the way...


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## JohnC (3 Jun 2015)

Troi said:


> That's certainly part of it, but the point he's actually trying to put across is that much of the units output is redundant and that it hasn't really been optimised for freshwater...I think he has a point.
> 
> 
> I'm just trying to get to the bottom of it, and the best way I can think of doing so is asking those who have used it



yup same. i still cant workout, other than for aesthetics and that the statement tom makes elsewhere that different aquatic plants will require different amounts of the spectrum, that having A LOT of the blue end of the spectrum will lead to higher plant growth for most of the plants since their photosynthetic uptake is weighted to that blue end as per the graph i've put above.  wasted thou, i'm struggling to find the backing for that and ive been googling most of the afternoon. thinking beyond the looks just at growth, surely light in the yellow and orange range is wasted. blue makes the plants grow most as does the red to a lesser degree.

hence why you could grown plants for optimal cost per bulb under just red and blue lights. I also found elsewhere on plant forums - blue light induces vegetative growth, red light induces flowering. interesting to note.

Study on lettuce leaves indicating the blue led's produce better growth.

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3975419/

in my case i'm looking at the cheaper aqualantis lights, which as you pointed out, have much more of a blue dominance in the spectrum listed, but when i look at the reading i see a light with potentially a strong PAR in the right area. Just lean on the red end. Leaner still then this Radion.

Still like you, i'm very interested in this since i'm about to twitch. the whole discussion is making me lean back towards the arcadia OTL. If i can get confirmation people have turned the pink down. 

I should really take this back to my own thread.


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## Jose Duarte (3 Jun 2015)

Hi Troi,

I've just assembled a new planted aquarium with 2 of those linked together and connected to the Internet with the Reef Link, and despite cannot make any comments in regards to growth (yet), I can only tell that the comments about the red spectrum are completely unfunded.

http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/9-3-4-platform-journey.36982/

With these lights you can fully specify what spectrum you want at what intensity for how long. I don't think there are any lights in the market as "configurable" as these ones.

For the purpose of this thread I've taken some photos with my iPhone to the aquarium with the different Radion spectrum selected (note that the color isn't fully realised in the photos as it is live):

"Royal Blue"





"Blue"





"White"





"Green"





"Red"






There is another option of selecting UV, but obviously we couldn't see it!  Also, when I select any of the colors the room just goes totally the same color!


If you want my opinion (disregarding growth), these lights are top banana!

Cheers,
Jose.


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## Tim Harrison (4 Jun 2015)

Cheers Jose that's really helpful...they really do have an amazing range and controllability...I'm almost sold. Your tank is going great guns too.


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