Anyone Thinking of Dumping LEDS and going back to Halides

[AcroporAddict]

The problem with plasmas is you have to greatly reduce their power, like by 75%+, to get anything higher than a 5500-6500K rendition out of them (assuming that has not changed). So if you do run one you will supplement with actinic lighting at additional cost.

When they can run at full or near full power in the 15-20K range, then they will be a viable option vs LED/T5/Halides, IMO.

 

[power boat jim]

Didnt plasma TVs go out of fashion since they were super expensive and ran very hot. Would that be a fair comparison to a plasma light or is it totally different?

 

[James77]

I think it was a combination of being heavier and thicker, more energy use, plus the reflective screen they had at the time. I don't think the power consumption was that much better, maybe a couple more dollars a year. That reflective screen did it for me, I had my TV in a sunny room with 4 windows.

 

[AcroporAddict]

Since we are on the topic of plasma lighting, here is a new American Reef video about plasma lighting just put up on March 8. Company profiled is Chameleon Growth Systems, horticulture and reef lighting. Warning: vid is about 40 minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahOkcF16gM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

 

[nynick]

Since we are on the topic of plasma lighting, here is a new American Reef video about plasma lighting just put up on March 8. Company profiled is Chameleon Growth Systems, horticulture and reef lighting. Warning: vid is about 40 minutes long.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EahOkcF16gM&feature=youtube_gdata_player

Turned it off when he was talking about the red and blue grow lights and compared them to what humans eat. "If we only ate 2 types of food we would not flourish".

This doesn't even fit into pseudoscience.

 

[AcroporAddict]

Turned it off when he was talking about the red and blue grow lights and compared them to what humans eat. "If we only ate 2 types of food we would not flourish".

This doesn't even fit into pseudoscience.

Oh well, just an FYI about what is currently offered, pseudoscience or not. The light is kinda targeted at aquaculture facilities, meaning they can use it to grow corals because plasma puts out good par and undoubtedly grows corals, but they would probably be brown and require some other light to color up prior to being sold.

I fast forwarded through. The products they sell pertinent to reefers is a plasma light coupled with 4 Kessil blues. Cause plasma run at any percentage level really beneficial, unless it has changed, is gonna be a really yellow daylight and be ugly (IMO), and you are gonna need blue light for any decent look.

Link to their website/reef product:

http://chameleongrowsystems.com/Solar_Genesis-V_-_Product_(aquaculture).html

 

[albano]

Turned it off when he was talking about the red and blue grow lights and compared them to what humans eat. "If we only ate 2 types of food we would not flourish".

This doesn't even fit into pseudoscience.

+1... I rarely eat blue foods!

 

[sirreal63]

We did have a TOTM in the recent last that included 4 plasma units.
http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/107-tank-of-the-month

 

[AcroporAddict]

We did have a TOTM in the recent last that included 4 plasma units.
http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/107-tank-of-the-month

I wonder how they incorporated into his light cycle? He states they replaced his Solaris , but not much more. Plasmas get bluer the more they are dimmed down.

 

[sirreal63]

Here it is Dave...

My Plasmas come on at 50% and ramp up to 100% over a 2 hour period.
They are at 100% for 8 hours.
Then they ramp back down to 50% over another 2 hour period.

My MHs turn on one at a time, 30 min apart. (beginning when my Plasmas are at 100%) Each MH is on for 8 hours.

I run two different bulbs because I like the extra brightness the 12K Reeflux add. When I had all 20K Radiums it all glowed really cool but it was just too overkill blue for my taste. I was also wanting to compare the color and growth they put out side by side. I've tried many different bulb combos over this tank. I did use two 10Ks and two radium 20Ks for quite awhile. I decided to try the 12Ks a couple years ago and I really liked them. Thinking I might go all 12Ks next bulb

 

[AcroporAddict]

Thanks Jack!

 

[sirreal63]

I almost went with a plasma light, someone close was selling one mounted in a LumenArc reflector, it looked promising but I had no way to keep it from looking like the FrankenLight. Aesthetics do sometimes come into play.

 

[AkoAung]

Oh well, just an FYI about what is currently offered, pseudoscience or not. The light is kinda targeted at aquaculture facilities, meaning they can use it to grow corals because plasma puts out good par and undoubtedly grows corals, but they would probably be brown and require some other light to color up prior to being sold.

I fast forwarded through. The products they sell pertinent to reefers is a plasma light coupled with 4 Kessil blues. Cause plasma run at any percentage level really beneficial, unless it has changed, is gonna be a really yellow daylight and be ugly (IMO), and you are gonna need blue light for any decent look.

Link to their website/reef product:

http://chameleongrowsystems.com/Solar_Genesis-V_-_Product_(aquaculture).html

there are some shots of plasma light by other sites. even though its rated at 5500k it's got a bluish cast and looks comparable to MH. current lights emit a brightness that's close to a mid day sun so that's bright by anyone's standards. remember it is full spectrum, and has got uv-a and violet so fluorescence will happen should corals have that protein. plasma is like a child of LED and MH possessing advantages of both so I will keep waiting for the next dev in this tech. unless LED comes up with UVA diodes at cheap prices.

 

[AkoAung]

I almost went with a plasma light, someone close was selling one mounted in a LumenArc reflector, it looked promising but I had no way to keep it from looking like the FrankenLight. Aesthetics do sometimes come into play.

yup. unless your setup can hide the lights like displays at aquariums. that's how LED makers have been selling their lights - slick packaging.

 

[rtparty]

there are some shots of plasma light by other sites. even though its rated at 5500k it's got a bluish cast and looks comparable to MH. current lights emit a brightness that's close to a mid day sun so that's bright by anyone's standards. remember it is full spectrum, and has got uv-a and violet so fluorescence will happen should corals have that protein. plasma is like a child of LED and MH possessing advantages of both so I will keep waiting for the next dev in this tech. unless LED comes up with UVA diodes at cheap prices.

Why do you need UVA? It's not there with MH or T5s. It's all filtered out by the glass before reaching the corals.

UVA does little to nothing for corals.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Just for the record, I would NEVER spend that much money on LED's & if not for the cheap Chinese ones I would probably still be running MH/T5's.


Salty, how did you cover the bottom of your hood to get heat convection out? Did you use glass or plexi on top of the tank or did you slide them in somewhere below the lights in your hood?

I have been in the hobby long enough to know to go the cheap route on everything EXCEPT lighting. You go cheap, you get cheap.

Clear lexan lens in the hood maybe 2" off the water. (the lexan that is)

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

One more point to make about "spending that much money".
In the 20 months I have had the Illumina it has nearly paid for itself in lowered
electris bills. Not only am I not running 1,134 watts, but my AC runs less as well. Now that my halides are the tank, next months bill will be considerably higher.

 

[jda]

UVA does indeed get emitted from fluorescent and MH bulbs - just like IR. It gets filtered by the water, but can reach depths of 3 meters in the wild. Some corals, including lots of SPS, create colorful pigments to reflect it. Just because many believe that UVA is not used by the diatoms to create energy does not mean that it does not have an impact on the color.

There is also the strong possibility that it does get used up a bit and spit back out in the low 400 range to also help color. Most of the research about energy creating spectrum being from 400-700 is dogma based on visible spectrum and probably needs revised IMO. ...but what do I know? I did not even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

 

[Uncle Salty 05]

Spoken like someone that did!:beer:

 

[rtparty]

UVA does indeed get emitted from fluorescent and MH bulbs - just like IR. It gets filtered by the water, but can reach depths of 3 meters in the wild. Some corals, including lots of SPS, create colorful pigments to reflect it. Just because many believe that UVA is not used by the diatoms to create energy does not mean that it does not have an impact on the color.

There is also the strong possibility that it does get used up a bit and spit back out in the low 400 range to also help color. Most of the research about energy creating spectrum being from 400-700 is dogma based on visible spectrum and probably needs revised IMO. ...but what do I know? I did not even stay in a Holiday Inn Express last night.

UV light is filtered by the glass we use on the fixtures. I'm sure small amounts of UV light get through but not much. This is why the glass is so important to use. You can cause serious harm to yourself and anyone else that looks at an unshielded halide bulb.