Kessil

Lighting tip

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sfsuphysics

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Posted this in the SPS section at RC but figured I'd get the locals take on things.

Hopefully I won't start a huge flame fest here, but what is a better form of lighting? I remember hearing DE bulbs were better because of being smaller and penetrating deeper, but now there seems to be a big switch back towards the SE bulbs. I've heard of "less yellow" (for 10kK specifically), but what about the lighting intensity? Also do those lighting comparison places (I'm thinking Sanjay's specifically) take into account the reflector setup? So would a Reef Optics III (DE) give significantly more light into the tank than a spider reflector(SE)?

Then there's the question of ballast, is there really any reason to have an electronic one? Does it do anything "special" for the bulbs? Make them last longer? I know magnetic ran MHs tend to be brighter because they overdrive them slightly (or electronics underdrive) but anything else? I mean ok sure more heat on magnetic ballasts and the bulbs as a result of having more current running through them but is there a reason to want electronic ballasts?

I'm just thinking of upgrading soon to from 175w bulbs to 250w bulbs and just wanted to know what the lighting freaks (aka SPS keepers) think.
 
Fwiw - Seabay will be have Sanjay Joshi at the next March meeting.

Mike let me know if you want to give any of the above a spin. I have 250w electronic se and de and just purchased a magnetic de as well.
 
I heard that DE doesn't last as long as the SE bulb. There aren't that many DE bulb to choose from. I have icecap ballast and SE bulb. I like it because the ballast is very cool. SE is pretty bright too me. :D
 
Look at Sanjay's reef lighting info page and do a two bulb comparison. I think you'll find the highest intensity will be from a 250w de on an HQI ballast.
 
Well the M80 magnetic ballast seems to be the most output, but that's because it over drives the bulbs, so I get brightness during the life of the bulb at the expense of a shorter lifed bulb. I've been told that the SE bulbs tend to have more of a diverse choice to choose from though, not to mention while yes pendants are nice they are very limited to their range and anything beyond 2x2 gets zilched out as far as lighting. Not to mention $100 for a damn pendant? WTF is up with that? I think I might stick with my "spider" reflectors and SE bulbs. Not to mention I already have sockets so the only thing I'd really need is a ballast(s). So spend $100+ on electronic, or $80(ish) on magnetic HQI or $50 on non-HQI. Well I'm still not convinced either way on what I want to do *laugh* although I am leaning more towards the SE bulbs because it'll be cheaper in the long run (I already have reflectors & sockets), and people who want to get rid of their stuff tend have the older stuff... although ballasts are cheap enough that usually its not worth it to buy someones leftovers.
 
There is no better! Its what you like.

I ran 5 250 DE's on M80 for years, but recently switched to 2 400 SE's with lumenarcs. The new set up blows away the old.

There. Now if you don't do it the way I am doing it you are wrong! :D
 
Hehehe, I can't see spending $100+ on a luminarc though! Although Looking at them they don't look terribly difficult to fabricate, so when I get some time I can whip a few of those together.

Wasn't there an article(s) on AA or something that showed the distribution of the various reflectors?
 
Easy enough to make. Someone trace a pattern so those of us with access to sheetmetal shops can DIY(for personal use, not for sale, of course) :)
 
Mike - talk to SanFran Todd about the pattern to construct one as I know he was at one time going to do the diy version of the Lumenarcs. The original thread on RC got yanked cuz of similar design or copy right infringement or something like that.

I recall it took very little effort to make (tool wise).
 
Yeah I remember that thread, infact I did originally have the plans, but since that time deleted them, but looking at them you can see what the basic shapes are, and being as there are no curves it can scale up/down without issue. But yah, some sheetmetal with some rivots and you're 90% done.. then glue something like this http://www.nehydro.com/products/0193.html and you got yourself a lumikearc :D
 
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