Wanted to share a comparison of the SKY and Radion G5 XR30 Blue on a real world system.
Tank is 36x30x24. Both lights were mounted 8" off of the water line. Glass was cleaned before each test. Due to the 30" width, the lights were mounted front to back. All pics taken with iphone 13 and polyplab lens.
The lighting is a bit of overkill, but 1 would be insufficient to cover the 30" width.
Par measured with an Apogee 510. Pumps were off for PAR measurements. I tried to get the meter level for each measurement, but take them as approximations rather than absolutes.
Par values are in the respective area of the tank (sand bed, top of coral, etc) not at the the same height.
Here are a few pics of the tank to give an idea of the PAR measuring positions (SKY with a360x):
Par maps:
Pics at 100% all channels:
Pics of night time viewing setting with Kessil a360x or shimmer:
My overall impressions:
PAR: Radion without diffuser is slightly brighter, Radion with diffuser is slightly dimmer.
Coverage/ Uniformity: Slightly better with the SKY. In particular see the right area which is highly shadowed by the rock.
Shadow Reduction: SKY has slightly softer shadowing
Shimmer: Without the diffuser the Radion without diffuser shows disco. SKY has the flattest look. Radion with Diffuser shows almost no shimmer.
Glare (light shining in my eye while standing in front): More glare from Radion without diffuser. Radion with diffuser slightly less glare vs SKY.
Color of fish: Very similar
Color of Corals: Very similar
Noise: Both are quiet. The SKY is absolutely silent, Radion has slight noise when the fan kicks on.
Control: Both are easy to use. SKY is easier if you already have APEX. Radion is better if you want to tweak individual color channels. For example, With the SKY it would be nice to adjust the Blue to Royal ratio.
In the end, both lights look and perform similar when set to what I like.
Tank is 36x30x24. Both lights were mounted 8" off of the water line. Glass was cleaned before each test. Due to the 30" width, the lights were mounted front to back. All pics taken with iphone 13 and polyplab lens.
The lighting is a bit of overkill, but 1 would be insufficient to cover the 30" width.
Par measured with an Apogee 510. Pumps were off for PAR measurements. I tried to get the meter level for each measurement, but take them as approximations rather than absolutes.
Par values are in the respective area of the tank (sand bed, top of coral, etc) not at the the same height.
Here are a few pics of the tank to give an idea of the PAR measuring positions (SKY with a360x):
Par maps:
Pics at 100% all channels:
Pics of night time viewing setting with Kessil a360x or shimmer:
My overall impressions:
PAR: Radion without diffuser is slightly brighter, Radion with diffuser is slightly dimmer.
Coverage/ Uniformity: Slightly better with the SKY. In particular see the right area which is highly shadowed by the rock.
Shadow Reduction: SKY has slightly softer shadowing
Shimmer: Without the diffuser the Radion without diffuser shows disco. SKY has the flattest look. Radion with Diffuser shows almost no shimmer.
Glare (light shining in my eye while standing in front): More glare from Radion without diffuser. Radion with diffuser slightly less glare vs SKY.
Color of fish: Very similar
Color of Corals: Very similar
Noise: Both are quiet. The SKY is absolutely silent, Radion has slight noise when the fan kicks on.
Control: Both are easy to use. SKY is easier if you already have APEX. Radion is better if you want to tweak individual color channels. For example, With the SKY it would be nice to adjust the Blue to Royal ratio.
In the end, both lights look and perform similar when set to what I like.
