Current USA Orbit Lighting?????

[monkey61672]

I was looking to purchase a (4) 96 watt 48" PC Hood for my 75 reef and not many companies make them. So far I have found Aqualights and Current-USA Orbit.

Does anyone have any history/experiences with Current-USA Orbit products???

Thanks
Scott

Oh yes I am affraid of a DIY project involving electricity and saktwater even though I have (6)corallife 96 watt ballasts lying around my house..LOL

 

[Joshua1023]

I have two Current pc fixtures on my tank. My only issue with them is that the cooling fans are pretty noisy. I don't know about Coralifes version though. Currents lights were alot less expensive when I was making the purchase.

 

[db_triggerfish]

i love it but yes the fan is a little too noisy. But which ever lights fixture or retrofit you go with make sure it has a fan(s)

 

[vtrider]

I got great growth out of mine,great fixture. their metal halides however....................

 

[drummereef]

I like mine on my 40. You have to remember to take into consideration what you want to keep. I keep a mixed reef successfully, but would not be able to keep an sps dominant tank with this lighting. Something to think about.

 

[monkey61672]

I was looking at two different vedors and they have conflicting dimensions.

Would anyone know how wide the (4) buld 96watt fixture is. One site says 11 inches another says 13.

That makes a huge difference over my 75 gal..

thanks again
Scott

 

[monkey61672]

Vtrider,
Which system do you have?

 

[FlipFlops24/7]

I like mine on my 40 breeder

 

[pjf]

T5 > PC

T5 > PC

I have small Current USA lights but not the larger combination fixtures. My recommendation is to purchase a 4x54w T5HO fixture instead of a 4x96w PC fixture. PC lamps produce ~60 lumens per watt whereas 54w T5HO lamps generate 93 lumens per watt (http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightingAnswers/lat5/pc1a.asp).

For example, if you were to compare the Current PC fixture with the Tek T5HO fixtures (www.reefgeek.com), you will find that:

A 48” 4-bulb PC fixture can generate 4 x 96w x 60 = ~23,000 lumens.
A 48” 4-bulb T5HO fixture can generate 4 x 54w x 93 = ~ 20,000 lumens.
A 48” 6-bulb T5HO fixture can generate 6 x 54w x 93 = ~30,000 lumens.

The T5HO fixtures use less electricity (wattage), have better reflectors and their bulbs last longer. Current USA also has a line of “Nova Extreme” T5 fixtures but I think the Tek fixtures have better reflectors and will give you much more light.

 

[monkey61672]

wow that is something to think about.

 

[pjf]

Individual Reflectors for Each T5 Tube

Individual Reflectors for Each T5 Tube

I think the 20,000 lumen T5 fixture will put more light into your tank than the 23,000 lumen PC fixture because of the better Tek reflectors. The Tek has individual reflectors for each tube. Get the tank mounts unless you can hang the fixture from the ceiling.

I have also heard great things about the Aquatinic fixtures but they decided to go wholesale and dismantled their web store.

 

[monkey61672]

thanks Pjf, I am very ignorant when it comes to the differents between W/G and lumen requirements. I have always gone by watts/gallon.

Is there a place I do some research on the differneces? Between PC and t5 ho, that one site does a fine job?

 

[pjf]

To obtain the efficacy (lumens per watt) of compact fluorescent lamps (CFL), refer to http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/info/documents/pdfs/lmc_vol1_final.pdf. Table A-1 (page 74) shows that pin-based compact fluorescent lights generate 42-77 lumens per watt.

To obtain the efficacy of T5 and T5 HO lamps, I use the following reference:
http://www.lrc.rpi.edu/programs/nlpip/lightingAnswers/lat5/pc1a.asp.

To figure out how much light is needed for a tank, I look at pictures of similar tanks where someone has used a light meter to measure the amount of light (PAR) reaching a certain spots in the tank. This picture of a 40-gallon breeder tank with a Tek T5 fixture and PAR figures belongs to “hahnmeister”:

Photosynthetic Active Radiation (PAR) is the light spectrum used for photosynthesis. It is measured in µmol•m²•sec.

To vary the light for different depths of the tank, I use a two-level lighting scheme also known as a “dawn-to-dusk” scheme. Half of my lamps are on all day and the other half is on only during mid-day. For example, my fluorescents are on for 12 hours from 7am to 7pm. My MH is on for 6 hours from 10am to 4pm.

The full lighting is important for the depths of the tank (PAR<100). If the full lighting is too bright (PAR>260) at the top of the tank, coral photosynthesis may stop (dynamic photoinhibition). Many corals, such as small polyp stony (SPS) corals, can tolerate dynamic photoinhibition and resume photosynthesis when the mid-day lighting turns off. This is why SPS corals are popular at the top of a tank. My PAR figures are from Dana Riddle’s article (http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/july2004/feature.htm).

I frankly believe that most reef aquarium lighting is too bright. The flexibility provided by most T5 fixtures include removing lamps, using lower intensity lamps (blues are dimmer), and using two timers to vary the light levels. If your tank is flat-bottomed with no live rock or shading, then your lighting needs are much less.