DIY Lighting Rig Design (basics)

[Boomsling]

Im still putting together all the equipment needed for a reef tank.

Pricing up the lighting now, and those halides are expensive. This brings up some questions when trying to design a cheap lighting and keep the costs down.

As I work in shopfitting I have access to a lot of commercial lights and fittings. Ive linked each type to a example I found on the web.



1) Why cant Halogen lighting be used. Is it a spectrum or frequency range problem?

2) Also found what I think to be a Mercury vapour light Are these any good?

3) Compact fluroescents. Can these colour ranges be directly compaired to a kelvin rating.

eg,

Daylight 860 = 14000K
Coollight 840= 12000K


I think thats about it, but If there are some words of wisdom about anything to consider when design your own set up please share.

Thanks



Boomer

 

[Paul B]

Halogen lighting is just incandescent lights and the spectrum is incorrect. Mercury vapor, which is used for street lighting is also the wrong spectrum, You can get compact flourescents in the correct spectrum. I used mercury vapor fixtures and changed the ballasts for MH lamps. (I am an electrician) The socket is the same,
(usually) the ballast is about $40.00 and the lamp is about the same depending on the spectrum. The MH lamps are not that expensive but they only make a few for the pet industry in the spectrum we need and they are all hand made.
Paul

 

[Boomsling]

Thanks for the reply.

Its still working out cheaper to use 4 x 54W compact fluro's instead of one 150 halide.

Whats the advantage of halides over compact fluro's then?

Do Halides run very hot?

Do these have the correct spectrum or are there special 'marine only' type lamps?

 

[Paul B]

The lamp pictured does not have the correct spectrum. The correct ones will be about $20.00 each. MH lamps get very hot. The advantage of MH lights is that you can get far more lumens of light from a much smaller lamp than you can with flourescents.
The cost of 4 compact flourescent lamps are about $80.00 and one MH lamp is about $40.00, the MH will give you more light for less money. The MH fixture will cost a lot more than the flourescent fixture. It just depends on what you are keeping and how much room you have above the tank. Do not use those $5.00 lamps, they are worthless in a reef tank.
Compact flourescents (of the correct spectrum) do a nice job too, it's up to you.
Paul

 

[Boomsling]

thankyou Paul.

Last link I promise

Would it be better to mix 2 x 54w Blue Actinic & 2 x 54w Daylight Plus Lamps?

 

[Paul B]

I would go with one actinic and three daylight. It really does not tell you the spectrum of these lamps though.
They may ba fine.
Paul