Reefbuilders LED Showdown; Reef Central LED Police

Revised 12-5-15

I do not know whether to laugh or cry when I read blogs such as this one:

http://reefbuilders.com/2013/01/18/led-showdown-round/

While this blog “showdown of LED lights” is intended only for those that came out in 2012, it has the implication that these are the best, which simply is not true when looked at scientifically and as per warranties.

Just because an LED such as the EcoTech Radion is released in 2011 does not mean it is inferior to those in 2012

As well many LED Fixtures that officially are older yet by a year or two are updated constantly with new emitters or other upgrades
An example here would be the TMC 1000 Ultra which is a few years old, but has the newest patented Cree XR-E emitters AS OF 2012.

Using the implied logic in this Reefbuilders blog, a Ford F150 that has been around for years, but has a new engine is somehow inferior to a new model truck from company XYZ.
Gee, I thought a 2013 Ford F-150 was different from a 1970 F-150 model, but if I used the implied logic from the “LED Showdown”, I guess I am wrong??!!

Also missing were the 2012 AquaRay Mini 400 & 500s.
While these are not the top of the line LED, rather more than a niche LED, these are still vastly superior to the Finnex with its Chinese made Epistar emitter. Sadly the Finnex made this list while the AquaRay did not.
See: LED Light Information; Finnex
As well the excellent TMC AquaRay Fiji Blue 600 also released in 2012 was also snubbed, hmmmm.

Interesting too as per the TMC AquaRay snub, AquaRay has released the new & incredible Ocean Blue ND Ultima; Review and 600 Ultima; Review in December of 2012, so this competition is skewed here as well. One might argue that these lights will not be available to most until January or February for most of the buying public, but this is splitting hairs.

Revision, August 2013;
Reef Builders is showing their ‘true colors’ with this inaccurate review of the AquaBeam NP 1500 Ultima. In this review they get some very basic facts wrong.
See:
AquaBeam Ultima 1500 NP; Review Correction Reef Builders

Revision December 2013

I suggest looking at these two posts from this website, the first factually looks at warranties and the second looks at the facts of PWM versus Current Reduction Drivers, with the vast majority of over rated LEDs utilizing “current reduction”, including most featured in this ridiculous Reef Builders Poll.

*Aquarium LED Warranties; Reef or Planted
*Aquarium LED Lights, Controllers; What is Best

Revision December 2014

I actually have to praise Reef Central for one thread that while some comments were the usual Reef Central anecdotal BS, in the thread below many of the comments were more scientifically spot on:
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2391677

One in particular caught my attention in that he [Bryopsis] called out the lack of knowledge of PUR and the so-called lack of popularity of the TMC line of LEDs in the USA, when in much more seasoned European aquarium keeping circles they are well known. The facts are, as also pointed out, that TMC does no spend $$ marketing like EcoTech and others do in the USA, more on simply developing a better product with a warranty 2-3 times longer than all others.

Here is a quote:
“They’re a household name in Europe. As far as I know, there’s only 1 distributor here in the states.

PUR is a completely appropriate topic though when it comes to lights. It’s still another measurement that means something. It’s not just a fancy word like AI, Radion, Kessil, Maxspect would like you to believe.
You might think PUR is unnecessary or the brand isn’t well known, I see the opposite of this.

Why does nobody use the balling lite system, or even the Triton method? I don’t see a lot on the Triton method, that doesn’t mean it’s irrelevant. That’s why I enjoy my time on the European forums more than the US forums. Any way you slice it, the Europeans and other countries have been keeping fish much longer than the United States folks. I surely won’t dismiss anyones methods etc, but I think the bottom line is they have more experience in the fishkeeping hobby. (by several hundreds years at least)

Over in the European forums you see these crazy tanks running for years with no water changes yet doing just fine supplementing additives.
In the USA, people say additives are the devil and I see the majority of people asking how to keep some of the basic chemistry in check.

I won’t make any assumptions on who’s right, but I see a lot of bickering on the US forums as compared to legitimate progress between multiple people in the Euro forums. It’s definitely something to think about.”

I should point out that there are some good LEDs in their “showdown”, but limiting this “competition” to just 2012 LED releases based on hobbyist preferences and snubbing one of the top notch LED brands used by many professionals makes for a VERY skewed competition.

In another ReefBuilders thread, a person commenting hit the nail on the head about how this website along with Reef Central are NOT places for those desiring scientific reasoning should visit.

Here is his comment (from; http://reefbuilders.com/2012/01/10/2011-led-showdow/):
You mean the purchased badge? Just like Ecotec purchased out reef central? Anyone dare say anything against ecotec and they get the ban hammer faster then the black plague.. Its too bad everyone else in this showdown didn’t get a chance to mass span everyone begging for a vote.

This person has exactly summed up my experience along with others.
Even EcoTech’s own emails ask those inquiring questions to go to this forum.
WHY; because they have bought and paid for this forum.

How otherwise intelligent persons can recommend a LED fixture that utilizes “cool white” emitters and uses “current reduction” instead of the vastly superior “pulse width modulation” to control their LEDs screams out that this forum is bought and paid for!!!!

If you disagree, you WILL get attacked at the very least with straw man arguments that attack the person, NOT the facts.

NOTE:
What is interesting is the comment I quoted from Reef Builders about the Reef Central “Ban Hammer” was scrubbed clean as well as all other comments!
You think they made too good a point and hit a raw nerve with the Reef Central LED Police????

Further Revision;
The Reef Central Link Police have struck again (as a ping back to this webpage found):

From this thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2386209

With again personal attacks at Reef Central on author credibility rather and address the facts, including comments such as this:
“No way TMC makes the best LED on the market. GHL and Ecotech”
AND “IF that were the case don’t you think there would be countless threads and posts referencing this relatively small player in the LED game “
REALLY?!

Gee, what about PUR? The SIMPLE FACTS of lost energy as heat instead of light? The use of PROVEN useless green emitters? Lack of PWM by EcoTech?????
TMC simply has not bought their way into forums such as Reef Central here in the USA. Even some simple investigation will show that EcoTech is a late comer to the high end LED market, not TMC (which is very popular in Europe, certainly not a small player).
As well science is NOT a popularity contest, sure if you want to be lemmings and follow these buffoons at Reef Central over the cliff go right ahead.

Reef Central continues to show itself as a dishonest, heavy handed forum, where SIMPLE scientific facts are thrown out the window in lieu of personal Ad hominem attacks.
They cannot even get simple facts straight of which LEDs were available on the market first.

In fact I remember when the EcoTech did come out, and I was discussing this light with others at an LA marine livesotck dealer, the others thought the EcoTech would not get very far because it lacked essential lighting elements and was much more gimmicky than the already well established premier TMC Aquaray lights. Admittedly we were wrong here, as we did not anticipate how well Reef Central would be able to pour the Kool Aid down the throats of so many gullible persons who read their awful forum, then cut and paste into other gullible forums such as PNWMAS!

Highly Suggested Further Reading:

–Why Aquaray LED Light Fixtures, Review? This is one of my posts outlining the facts that separate the Aquray lights I have come to support and all others.

–http://aap.atrixnet.com/?p=338
The above link has an excellent graph that plots the PUR of actual emitter used by the EcoTech.
If this does not convince any reader why the EcoTech is far from the best LED, I have some beach front property to sell you in Barrow Alaska!

–St. Marys Marine Biology LED Experiments
Professor Walter of St. Mary’s College of Maryland University LED Study.

Suggested Reading that I found for those looking for a more factual comparison:
–Aquarium LED Comparison
Make sure to look over the chart near the end of the article!

The bottom line, while this “showdown” might be entertaining to read; realize this is simply a good read while enjoying some good cannabis and nothing more.

Must Read Aquarium Information Websites

Posted on November 20, by fishservice

This is certainly not a complete list of aquarium help/information, but these are ones I CAN vouch for their sources.
Admittedly two websites (Aquarium Article Digest and Aquarium Supplies & Resources) have cited/interviewed me among others as their source of information.
This does not take away their credibility, as I know one website in particular (Aquarium Article Digest) uses dozens of resources and even guest authors (whom I do not know).

The other websites I recommend are based on what I view as simple yet good information.

I should also note that I started this website only recently to counter all the misinformation I find via customers who make me aware there-of.
I am far from an expert in websites (as the amateur quality of the website design shows), and in fact I am rare online. Much of my time online is ONLY after I have a client tell me about the “lasted thing they read online”, for which I investigate.
For this reason I am not always aware of all the good websites either, only the “bad” ones I am made aware of by my clients.

Since this blog over all often has a negative tone based on the reasons I get online in the first place (to explore strange advice my clients repeat to me that they found online), I felt having a positive post about websites I can recommend was long overdue.

Aquarium Article Digest

This article is especially excellent for its articles on lighting, such as “LED Aquarium Lights, Lighting Information“.

Aquarium Supplies & Resources

This article has a great listing itself of many top notch articles in this article: “Unique Aquarium Articles”

Sponge Filter; Information

While not a flashy website, I found the articles simple and “spot on”

Aquarium Medications

Great accurate article about the use of aquarium medications and treatments, as well as where to get them.
Again I found this website spot on with the article about Furan 2 interesting since this is a product I often find useful.

Fish Beginner

A client stumbled upon this neat little gem and told me about it.
I especially like this article from this website:
Aquarium UV Sterilizer Use; Choosing & Maintenance– This article includes simple but accurate information about choosing a replacement UV bulb

FishLore; Review, such as Melafix Dangers, Planaria

Posted on October 15, by fishservice

Revised 12/20/13

In this review, I will get even more controversial by reviewing a website/forum known as “FishLore” which seems to have a big following.

Personally I do not agree with this following based on what I have read. Much of this is when I have come across clients who have pointed out that they got incorrect information from their articles or forum.

My OPINION as to why they are popular is they give people what they want to hear, not necessarily what is best or even the facts. I will also concede from reading through threads that this forum is generally polite and quick to respond.

I base this opinion on clients and their responses to me when, I asked them why they even went there for aquatic information when there are better websites (& forums) out there.

In reading their “About” page, I think their intentions were good when setting up this website in 2004.
The problem is many of the articles are of the “cut and paste” nature, with no updates or worse no corrections when confronted with better science.

As well, I know of one moderator in particular who sent an email to another aquarium professional I have known for some years.

After taking a look at the thread, this guy seemed rather clueless as to what he was critical of. He never updated or corrected the misinformation he presented, even after evidence to the contrary was presented to him.

I do need to note that the guy also signed off with some very lame Obama quote that made little sense.

Worse, recently I was forwarded by a friend a url list from FishLore forum threads.

In these threads all the links of website my friend worked to keep and were placed by good intentional members were “chopped”, making these links useless references.

Many of these contained quotes for this website, sometimes that contradicted “official” information from FishLore.

What is sickening is when I read through FishLore I see this is clearly directed at my friends website, NOT others such as Amazon.com

This is both ethically and more importantly legally WRONG since one legally must source quotes as per the DMCA law.

THE BOTTOM LINE IS ANY FORUM SUCH AS FISHLORE THAT SUPPRESSES ACCURATE INFORMATION THIS WAY IS ONE ANY HONEST FISH KEEPER MUST AVOID!!!

What this website and forum have become in my opinion is a place for circular reasoning with no fresh input and while their forum might be polite, constructive criticism is never made within these forum posts when misinformation is spread.

As to FishLore; what I will do is point out a few points my disagreements. First my opinion based on my experience, then in more factual disagreements.

OPINION DISAGREEMENTS:

AquaC Remora Protein Skimmer Review
This is a product that FishLore seems to push, yet I have not found a single professional who is familiar or has used this product.

These are hyped up by by Fish Lore.

This is not to say it does not work, but simply not all that well.

The consensus is from my use and other service professionals I speak to (often picking up fish at LAX) is this:

“The Remora is much scaled down version of Downdraft style Skimmers which work well in the large industrial size environment in which they were originally designed for, however this design does not lend itself to small sizes well.

The Remora skimmer also can clog with time, is sensitive to water levels, tends to produce a watery muck instead of foam, is often noisy, and can be temperamental when used in a sump environment.”
Aquarium Lighting
Here, FishLore only gives an outdated look at LEDs, calling in essence the technology not quite there.

The fact is, the technology is there and the price has come down with better models. Also, the only shout out are to EcoTech, which admittedly is a good LED, but doesn’t compare to some other LED that are much better. EchoTech is still not the leader when it comes to actual PUR output, which is what really matters for any aquarium light.

The above can be regarded as opinions based on use, however the next section will move on more to facts or at least the best scientific information, since facts may be a bit gray at times for any one who is open minded to learn more.

FACTUAL DISAGREEMENTS:

UV Sterilization
This quote from Fishlore says it all:
“However, most hobbyists really don’t need one if they are doing things properly. Doing things properly would mean using a quarantine fish tank for new arrivals and performing frequent fish tank maintenance.”

Really? Most all professionals and shippers are in 100% agreement that to be without one is nearly down right dumb.

FishLore apparently has never read anything about Redox, fish immunity, or simply understanding that cutting down on potential pathogens in the water column can lower incidence of disease.

Keep in mind that even “good” bacteria can cause issues to fish when in the water column. Think of it this way: There are many bacteria that live in our soil, but we do not want them in the air we breath—–The same with fish.

See:
Fish Beginner; UV Sterilizer Use

OR:
UV STERILIZATION; UVC Irradiation for Pond, Aquarium

Or from a friends website, this review:
TMC Professional UV Sterilizer Review
Melafix Dangers
This is the thread in FishLore including the newer so-called updated thread that really leaves me questioning FishLore and the accuracy of the information they put forth.

There is so much wrong with their scientific method, that I will not address it and rather refer to another website.

However, as someone that HAS used Melafix with Bettas and other fish cited in their forum I can state that even at double the dose I did not have the issues cited.

No one ever questioned whether the Melafix, which should ONLY be used as First Aid as one would use Neosporin, was used for a disease. It was NOT intended for disease such as Columnaris. The end result with such incorrect use will be dead fish and with their flawed reasoning. They believe the cause must be the Melafix. This of coarse is simply INCORRECT.

The problem is then that Melafix is used incorrectly based on input from others.

Another question that was not addressed is pH and water mineralization as it is PROVEN that this plays a role in Melafix toxicity.

Finally, technically the oil used in Melafix is cajeput oil, not the Tea Tree Oil FishLore refers to.

See:
Melafix Dangers, Betta, Labyrinth Fish, Pencil Fish

& Melafix; Wikipedia
Aquarium Cycling; Raw Shrimp Method
I personally have less of a problem here than a couple of my friends in the professional Aquarium Service business, but FishLore is still incorrect and a decade out of date as per pushing the “Raw Shrimp” cycling method as an alternative cycling method.

I have used this method with no problems, but then I have very tightly monitored the cycling process with many water changes.

I do know that this is a risky method for a beginner or those who do not have time to monitor, as the risk of Saprolegnia is real AND proven.

See:
Aquarium Nitrogen Cycle Basics
Aquarium Planaria
Here again FishLore gets an important subject wrong.

Planaria are a Flatworm and I know of many who have treated with harsh chemicals due to this poor article, with the result of dead fish.

The facts are what FishLore is calling Planaria, Detritus Worms. These Detritus worms are generally harmless decomposers.

What frustrates me is this misinformation only seemed to spring up with the Internet. This problem where others think they know more on the subject because the Internet told them and it’s simply a matter of persons re-posting the same information over and over so that the search algorithms believe the myths are the truth and the truth is a myth.

PLEASE read these articles for more accurate information on this subject:

*Aquarium Planaria, is this correct?
*What are these small white worms in my aquarium?

In Closing, let me apologize to those I might have offended, but let me ask, WHY?

All I am attempting to do is put forth corrections that this website clearly refuses to do.
The Melafix thread is VERY clear evidence they are not interested in accuracy, especially in lieu of an email shared with me from a moderator.

Considering the fact there are many more accurate websites that constantly update and correct their information. Why should ANY aquarium or Pond keeper visit FishLore?

Are UV Sterilizers Good for an Aquarium?

Posted on October 2, by fishservice

Question; Are UV Sterilizers Good for Aquariums?
As a generalization, this is a question that really should not be asked anymore based on research of the benefits of Level 1 Sterilization that includes disease prevention & control, fish immunity based on redox balance, and water clarification.

However while there are few reasons not to have a UV Sterilizer on your aquarium, most of the reasons NOT to have one of these devices is based on myths that simply will not go away despite verified controlled use of these devices.
The other reason to NOT have a UV Sterilizer is the plethora of low cost quality “Category C” UV Sterilizers which in truth are only UV Clarifiers made by companies such as AquaTop, Jebo, Green Killing Machine, and others that simply do NOT provide level 1 sterilization; ONLY clarification.
You need to look for a “Category A”, or at the very least a “Category B” UV Sterilizer if you want to see some actual Sterilization results beyond clarification.

Social media and internet users need to beware that most supposed UV Sterilizer Review web sites are nothing more than Amazon Affiliate sites where by publishers write web pages reviewing products sold via Amazon. These writers have NO professional experience whatsoever and in many cases have absolutely no idea what they are talking about!!
An example would be “7 Best UV Sterilizer for Aquarium – Top Picks (2019 Reviews)” [aquariumadviser.com/best-uv-sterilizer-reviews/].
5 of the 7 reviewed are not even true UV Sterilizers, rather Category C UV Clarifiers.
Even more worthy of note is the fact that the AAP Terminator/Advantage Category A UVs are missing. Why is this? the reason is quite simple, the AAP Terminator/Advantage IS NOT ALLOWED TO BE SOLD BY DISCOUNTERS INCLUDING AMAZON!!!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Back to the subject of this article, I will then look at based on my aquarium service business observations, as well as feedback from others I know in the business as to what are the positives and the negatives. With the negatives I will also look at negatives that are caused by UV Sterilizers of poor dwell time design, poor over all construction, poor quality, and simply poor installation.

UV STERILIZER POSITIVES (based on science and professional use, not here say)

At flow rates of 20-25 gph, depending upon dwell time inside UV Sterilizer, a UV Sterilizer will kill or render helpless most pathogenic bacteria
A UV Sterilizer will NOT kill beneficial bacteria since these aerobic bacteria reside in the substrate and filter media in a healthy established aquarium
A UV Sterilizer will NOT kill copepods in a marine reef aquarium.
Simple use proves this, as well, the science behind how a UV Sterilizer shows that when correctly plumbed, the UV Sterilizer would not be powerful enough nor would a copepod even get into the UV Sterilizer chamber based on how and where they live and correct pre-filtration prior to water entering the UV.
A UV Sterilizer WILL improve Redox Balance resulting improved fish immune response
A UV Sterilizer can help slow or occasionally even stop Oodinium, Ich or other single cell aquarium parasite infestation.
Level 1 Sterilization will slow many of these parasites, if only by improving fish immune response. Level 2 can even kill some single parasites, although not always completely.
However I should caution a prospective buyer that even the best UV should not be purchased with the belief this will put an end to future Ich, Velvet, Oodinium or related infestations. Purchase a UV as a tool to aid in control and prevention (keyword: TOOL)
A UV Sterilizer will clarify an aquarium with cloudy or green water

UV STERILIZER NEGATIVES

A UV Sterilizer is NOT a cure all to poor water chemistry as per Redox, over crowding often resulting in poor water clarity, poor disease prevention, and other poor aquarium maintenance management
If not correctly installed AFTER filter inline or in a sump loop, too high a flow rate, poor dwell time, poor UV Sterilization chamber design; you often will have useless piece of aquarium equipment.
This unfortunately happens way too often.
I have made countless “house calls” where a customer incorrectly installed the UV Sterilizer or purchased one of the countless junk UVs such as the Jebo or AquaTop and then would tell me the UV did not improve my fish’ health. This resulted in this customer stating ALL UVs are useless, when in fact they made this anecdotal opinion based on incorrect installation or use of poorly designed UVs that are NOT capable of Level 1 Sterilization.
A UV should not be used while planktonic foods are added to the water column. This is common in many reef aquariums.
However the UV Sterilizer can still be used and should be placed on a timer so that it is run two hours after the introduction of these foods.
Many UV Sterilizer have ballasts that do not last (such as the Coralife), or gimmicks such as baffles, twists, wipers, that do little or even lower UV irradiation efficiency.
Do not waste your money on these UVs, otherwise you may end up with a poor opinion of what a good UV can do for your aquarium.

Here is an excellent video by ReefGrrl that many might find very helpful too:

Got UV? I Do! Let Me Tell You a Little Bit About It

Here is another excellent video showing how the AAP/TMC large aquarium or pond UV is superior over the still excellent Aqua Ultraviolet UV of the same category [due to longer dwell time, price, and parts availability]:

Aqua Pond UV vs TMC AAP Pond UV Clarifier Sterilizer

What is also important to know is lamp/bulb maintenance.
To purchase a UV Sterilizer, including a better model such as the TMC and then to rarely if ever change the lamp will slowly result in a device that does nothing for your aquarium.
With 24/7 use, these lamps will already be at 50% in just 6 months, which is when they should be changed. After a year of continuous use the lamp is mostly useless.

The other issue in our competitive marketplace, is that many if not the majority of online and sellers, especially Amazon and Ebay, sell medium pressure and cold cathode UV lamps so as to make a better profit all the while keep the selling price lower than the wholesale cost of the better high output replacement lamps/bulbs.
To make the mistake of purchasing one of these lamps like so many do based on my home and office visits where the aquarium service client is complaining that their UV no longer works as well or that the fish are getting sick more often, is to purchase a UV lamp with 1/4 to 1/3 the useful UVC output! In my opinion this is self defeating!!!

For more on this subject, I STRONGLY suggest reading this article:
Actual UV-C Emission from a UV Bulb; Aquarium or Pond

Before just taking my word and observations, I suggest reading these resources on this subject:

*Aquarium UV Sterilizer Use
*Redox in Aquariums
*UV Sterilizer Review
UV Bulbs; Problems of Quality?

An amateur/anecdotal article about UV Sterilizers to AVOID that shows a complete lack of real research that unfortunately has been circulated:
blog.marinedepot.com/2017/03/the-truth-about-uv-sterilizers-and-reef-aquariums.html

Here are a few UV Sterilizer that I know from practical use work well and reliably.

*AAP/TMC Vecton, Advantage
*Aqua Ultraviolet
*Emperor Aquatics UV
*Gamma UV

Of the four above, I have had the highest longevity, least gimmicky features, and the highest dwell time with the AAP/TMC Advantage & Vecton UV Sterilizers.

Here are a few Economy UV Sterilizer that I know from practical use work reasonably well; at least level 1 sterilization and reasonable reliability:

*Via Aqua Terminator [discontinued]
*AAP/SunSun CUP Series (not the JUP series which do not provide level 1 sterilization)

UV Sterilizers to Avoid; either due to poor level 1 sterilization and/or poor reliability

*AquaTop
*Jebo
*Most SunSun other than the upgraded AAP CUP Internal UVs
*Coralife Turbo Twist [while a Category B UV, the reliability of the power supplies as tested by professionals make these over priced UVs ones to be avoided]
*Green Killing Machine

EcoTech and Aqua Illuminations LED Review

Posted on April 18, by fishservice

Revised 5-6-14

I will start this review of these two popular LED Aquarium Lights in a different way from my other reviews.

The reason is while these are nice, feature rich LED fixtures that produce good results, these are NOT the best and the scientific evidence is easy to find if you simply dig deeper than an aquarium forum or Google search. This IS well known in the industry science based information to back this statement up.
Yet, I was made aware by a couple of clients of personal attacks in forums against the authors of blogs/websites that bring up these points/evidence rather than deal with known facts or simple professional experience. While admittedly my experience and that of my friends in the professional aquarium service business who use many different LED Fixtures is anecdotal, this still counts along with known FACTS about current LED Aquarium Lights.

So after a little digging on the Internet and even more digging around by asking friends in the industry, I found a revealing fact, and that is these two companies; EcoTech and Aqua Illuminations, often speak at and sponsor forum and club meetings.
As well you have persons such as Sanjay Joshi heavily promoting these LED fixtures using his credentials as proof, yet ignoring the science of PUR & PWM while going over board on PAR readings produced by emitters producing high amounts of USELESS PUR light energy, while copious amounts of input energy is lost as heat due to the technology used to drive the emitters. Unfortunately I know of professionals with vastly more experience than this man [in one case 1978 versus 1992)], yet this person gets so much credibility? One reason I also suspect is catchy, cool photos that prove nothing. If someone produces great photos proving man never landed on the moon, would you believe this too [unfortunately this has been done too].

What does this mean? well for one I think the moderators and members lose most of their objectivity due to sponsorships and gullibility of reading pseudo scientific information as noted earlier. So when they read about a review that promotes the “wrong” LED and shows the short comings of EcoTech, Aqua Illuminations, and other LEDs, these persons resort to personal attacks.

Admittedly I cannot prove my opinion as to the ‘why’ of these actions, but I ask anyone reading to otherwise explain why it is primarily forums/clubs that promote these two companies LEDs while trashing those who question them?

So what are the known facts besides the observations made by me and so many others in my profession that show both these LEDs to be good LED fixtures, but not the best?

* Drivers/Circuitry:
Both the EcoTech and AI Sol do not attempt to use dozens of low output one watt (or less) emitters daisy chained together which further lowers the actual PUR output of each emitter.
Rather both these fixtures go the route of quality CRee emitters tied together with excellent circuity. This is important as unlike other light types, the more emitters in a circuit the more complex the drivers must be to keep very exact voltage for optimum useful energy output.
This is a problem with the Sky LED.
See my post about these LEDs: TaoTronics, SkyLED, Skkye Marine, LED Light Reviews.

However this is where the EcoTech MAY have a couple negatives; as I understand that when you have controls to vary RGB output, this results in less than optimal PUR light output.
I have to admit that I do not know for a fact that this is a problem, although this makes sense as an LED is not a bulb, rather a light emitting diode, and even small changes of voltage can therefore affect spectrum.
But what I do know is that I would rather have a factory set LED fixture where by the emitter output is EXACTLY what my reef inhabitants need without wasted green emitters to make a ‘pretty green color’ should I choose. I would also note that it would be easy for me or a client to inadvertently change the RGB setting to a less than desirable nanometer output.
For me, I have to agree with other blog reviews that this is not a desirable feature of the EcoTech Radion, but I would also state from my use that this is not a “game ender” either.

The other negative for the EcoTech Radion XR30, Radion Pro, & Aqua Illuminations is the need for a cooling fan that the AquaRay, and other high end LEDs that utilize the vastly superior PWM* technology do not require.
From my discussions with others who know more about electronics than me, this indicates more heat producing voltage spikes are being allowed in the emitter drivers.
These same voltage spikes also degrade essential PUR/Useful Light energy output and wastes energy that would otherwise go into lighting your aquarium.
In fact wasted energy as heat is probably my biggest complaint with either fixture and in fact is one of the more provable facts against these two LED fixtures, as it does not take much more than a 5th grade education to realize that ANY energy that is going to heat is NOT going to light your reef aquarium!

*PWM = “Pulse Width Modulation”
Reference: Aquarium LED lighting; PWM

* Emitters Used:

The AI Hydra Fifty Two uses (16)Cree XT-E Cool White, (4) OSRAM OSLON Deep Red, (4) XP-E Green, (12) Cree XT-E Royal Blue, (8) OSRAM OSLON Very Deep Blue, (4) SemiLED 415nm Violet, & (4) Edison Opto 400nm UV

While definitely an improvement on earlier AI LED models, the facts are that the standard binned Cree XT-E Cool White LED emitters used by AI are inferior when it comes to important PUR light production.
As well the use of UVA 400nm emitters is questionable, as at this time there is no science based evidence that this is a beneficial light wave length when it comes to PUR required by corals and in fact possibly burn corals.

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The EcoTech Radion uses Cree XT-E Cool White LEDs run at 5W each, Cree XP-E Blue LEDs run at 3W each, Cree XT-E Royal Blue LEDs run at 3W each, Cree XP-E Green LEDs run at 3W each, Semi LED Indigo LEDs run at 2.5 watts, and Osram Oslon SSL Hyper Red LEDs

As noted in another LED Review Website, that was attacked by the Trolls of one of the forums I referred to, the mixture of blues is the biggest selling point of the EcoTech Radion. The emitters used compliment each other very well in this LED fixture.
Reference: Aquarium LED Reviews; EcoTech

Now the down side: While the EcoTech attempts to get around the use of Cool White emitters by boosting output, the fact remains that cool white is even worse than the use of 6500K emitters for a reef aquarium.
You couple this with the totally useless green emitters and you have a lopsided PUR heavily favoring some excellent blue PAR, but more useless green than is necessary, which also comes from the cool white emitters.
On one positive note, the red emitters do salvage the PUR spectrograph, so this results in at least a reasonably capable Reef LED with some wasted green light energy.

Another interesting point about the EcoTech Radion, is that its emitter color mix is similar the TMC AquaRay Color Max.
The Color Max uses Uses 4 Daylight Cree XP-G (9000K); and 2 green, 2 red, and 2 blue Cree XP-E Power LED emitters.
YET, I have seen the Color Max panned for being more of a decorative LED light when while this is partly correct, it has a color mix very similar to the EcoTech Radion including a better daylight emitter. I find this hypocrisy among Reef Keepers rather amusing

* Emitter Patents:

This is where I have noticed attacks getting personal in some forum posts I was forwarded.
My guess is since they either cannot grasp this FACT of business or do not want to deal with it, they attack the “messenger” of these facts.
It is not rocket science that most businesses have development costs and when these business have new patent on either an existing product update or an entirely new product, they are to sell these to the highest bidder or those companies that have contracts for newest patents.

Where am I going with this? Well it is quite well established in the industry that TMC has patent rights for the newest Osram Olson & Cree emitters. The result is the XT-E emitters used by EcoTech or AI Sol is NOT the same emitter used by TMC.
The result? This also is not rocket science and that is the XR, XT and XP emitters used by EcoTech and Aqua Illuminations are certainly good and capable emitters, they simply ARE NOT the best available as these are simply the over the counter emitters ANYONE can purchase.
No different than an earlier generation electronic devise may work quite well, but is not as capable as the newest generation. This difference usually results in a less efficient emitter, lower spectral quality, or both.

* Warranties:

Both the EcoTech and Aqua Illuminations are only warranted for a year, not a lot for an expensive electronic device, especially when others have up to 5 year warranties!
A new post from this website looks at LED warranties, See:
Aquarium LED Light Warranties

* References, Recommended Resources:

Aquarium LED Light Reviews

LED Aquarium Lights, Lighting

TMC Aquarium LED Light Review

Ecotech Radion XR30 LED Light Review

YouTube; Why the AquaRay that uses PWM Technology is the Best LED

And finally, yes I too have a Bias; I am biased toward products that work BEST and have known facts to back them up!

My Aquarium Opinions

My unique experience with an Aquarium Service firm

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