About Geiseman Spectra
- Thread starter ssdawood
- Start date
The only thing you would need to do is swap your ballast out to a 250w ballast and change the lamp. Everything else will stay the same for you.
Is this going to be an all sps dominated system, or a mixed reef? Assuming by your signature it will be SPS, then I think a 400w will be fine (and actually my personal preferred setup) assuming the power consumption and heat is not a factor for you.
Is this going to be an all sps dominated system, or a mixed reef? Assuming by your signature it will be SPS, then I think a 400w will be fine (and actually my personal preferred setup) assuming the power consumption and heat is not a factor for you.
I would start the bottom of the fixture around 15" - 16"" from the water and maybe only run the MH for around 5hrs a day to start. You can slowly ramp up that time, as well as lower the fixture over the course of the next 4-5 weeks until you get to the photo period and height that you want. Without a chiller I definitely see a need for some sort of fan setup on the main tank or the sump area, or even both.
SPotter
Active member
giving up on the leds?
ssdawood
Member
Not giving up, I want to see first hand how good are metal halides. I have great color with
Pac Sun Pandora. But I still feel growth is slower. So I bought a Spectra and I am going to try it. Give it three months and then compare growth and color. If I am not happy then I will sell it.
You know with leds you have so many option of changing color intensity which results in changing spectrum. With metal halides it is so easy to put a radium bulb and enjoy.
Lets see if Halides are the best. Will keep you updated.
Pac Sun Pandora. But I still feel growth is slower. So I bought a Spectra and I am going to try it. Give it three months and then compare growth and color. If I am not happy then I will sell it.
You know with leds you have so many option of changing color intensity which results in changing spectrum. With metal halides it is so easy to put a radium bulb and enjoy.
Lets see if Halides are the best. Will keep you updated.
ssdawood
Member
You are right some days I am tired of reading of what setting to use. With leds it a trial and error right now. Pacific sun has nine color channels all individually controlled. Now imagine the outcomes.
Its great the light is so advanced but the drawback is you have to be a scientist to get optimum spectrum. Somedays I want to research corals not lights. And I realized I was giving more time to equipment than corals. So taking a break.
Ideally I would like to use Pacific Sun in summer months and metal halides in winter lol.
Its great the light is so advanced but the drawback is you have to be a scientist to get optimum spectrum. Somedays I want to research corals not lights. And I realized I was giving more time to equipment than corals. So taking a break.
Ideally I would like to use Pacific Sun in summer months and metal halides in winter lol.
Ted_C
Active member
Hi Jeremy
I have some additional questions regarding the spectra and infiniti fixtures.
Which is the newer model? Infiniti or Spectra?
They both seem pretty comparable in materials and components - why is the infiniti $400 more than the spectra? Dumb question - I know - you charge what Giesemann Charges - just curious really.
It seems the only difference between the two fixtures is the abilty to switch each t5 individually in the spectra versus working in pairs with the infiniti - can you confirm if there are any other features that I'm missing in my comparison?
Do you offer the upgrade to a 400W on both fixtures from the listed 250W? Cost?
On the 72" fixture - how many actual wall plugs are needed?
Last question - total overall power consumption of the 72" fixtures (when upgraded to 400W) would be 3600 Watts (including startup requirements). That's 30 amps total (which would need to be a dedicated circuit I assume). I use neptune apex as my controller. In regards to the previous question (how many wall plugs) - what's the best solution for Neptune Energy Bars to control this fixture?
I have some additional questions regarding the spectra and infiniti fixtures.
Which is the newer model? Infiniti or Spectra?
They both seem pretty comparable in materials and components - why is the infiniti $400 more than the spectra? Dumb question - I know - you charge what Giesemann Charges - just curious really.
It seems the only difference between the two fixtures is the abilty to switch each t5 individually in the spectra versus working in pairs with the infiniti - can you confirm if there are any other features that I'm missing in my comparison?
Do you offer the upgrade to a 400W on both fixtures from the listed 250W? Cost?
On the 72" fixture - how many actual wall plugs are needed?
Last question - total overall power consumption of the 72" fixtures (when upgraded to 400W) would be 3600 Watts (including startup requirements). That's 30 amps total (which would need to be a dedicated circuit I assume). I use neptune apex as my controller. In regards to the previous question (how many wall plugs) - what's the best solution for Neptune Energy Bars to control this fixture?
I believe the Spectra and Infiniti both came out around the same time, which was 2006 or 2007 I believe. The only difference between the two is that one is double ended (Infiniti) and the other is single ended (Spectra). Of course the single eneded fixture is just a bit larger in size because of it being a mogul based fixture.
As far as the pricing goes I am going through and doing an update on all of the fixtures. I believe some fixtures were priced inaccurately - both high and low.
For the upgrade price on the Spectra it would be an up charge if you're buying the Giesemann ballasts and bulbs. IF you're using your own ballasts and bulbs then the fixture itself is the same (bare fixture is cheaper than what's listed).
On the 72" fixture there are three wall plugs (ballasts). The T5's are ran on a pass through ballast, limited the number of cords.
For the 72" fixture running 400w lamps you would be looking at 1520w, or about 13.8amps total. To do this I would suggest running the fixture off of a EB4, although you're approaching the total limit of the Energy Bar which is 15amps total. What you could do to be on the safe side is run the T5's on your EB8, and then use the EB4 for the three halides, and then something else that is a bit less wattage than the 320w of T5. Regardless of all of that you will need a dedicated circuit for the three halides and something else smaller if you're on 15amp breakers in your house. If you're on 20amp breakers then it will not need to be a dedicated line for that.
As far as the pricing goes I am going through and doing an update on all of the fixtures. I believe some fixtures were priced inaccurately - both high and low.
For the upgrade price on the Spectra it would be an up charge if you're buying the Giesemann ballasts and bulbs. IF you're using your own ballasts and bulbs then the fixture itself is the same (bare fixture is cheaper than what's listed).
On the 72" fixture there are three wall plugs (ballasts). The T5's are ran on a pass through ballast, limited the number of cords.
For the 72" fixture running 400w lamps you would be looking at 1520w, or about 13.8amps total. To do this I would suggest running the fixture off of a EB4, although you're approaching the total limit of the Energy Bar which is 15amps total. What you could do to be on the safe side is run the T5's on your EB8, and then use the EB4 for the three halides, and then something else that is a bit less wattage than the 320w of T5. Regardless of all of that you will need a dedicated circuit for the three halides and something else smaller if you're on 15amp breakers in your house. If you're on 20amp breakers then it will not need to be a dedicated line for that.
Ted_C
Active member
Thanks Jeremy.
Yes - the listed wattage of all the bulbs would be ~ 1520 Watts - but according to some other literature I found on another site - these were reccomended by Giesemann directly - there are "extra" calculations to the wattage to account for start-up of metal halides and the wattage consumed by the ballasts
3200 watts equals around 30 amps on a 120V circuit.
Maybe at the time this was quoted - they were still using magnetic ballasts compared to electronic ballasts.
Maybe the start-up "peak" is so quick that it won't trip the EB4, EB8 and the dedicated 20 amp circuit. Tough to say unless someone has some real world experience with these.
Yes - the listed wattage of all the bulbs would be ~ 1520 Watts - but according to some other literature I found on another site - these were reccomended by Giesemann directly - there are "extra" calculations to the wattage to account for start-up of metal halides and the wattage consumed by the ballasts
3200 watts equals around 30 amps on a 120V circuit.
Maybe at the time this was quoted - they were still using magnetic ballasts compared to electronic ballasts.
Maybe the start-up "peak" is so quick that it won't trip the EB4, EB8 and the dedicated 20 amp circuit. Tough to say unless someone has some real world experience with these.
powderhound
Member
One more question for you on the spectra. On the 48 inch 250 unit is each set of 2 t5 bulbs able to be turned on independently? Like 3 bulbs then other 2 then mh then reverse the order off. What bulbs are included, and can we switch them out for others
