Lighting

[spencermoose]

I am using some new spiral CFL's over my 75 instead of MH... giving it a shot and if it does not work, then I will end up using MH.

Here are the specs:
Using two bulbs for the time being (going to add some actinics when I get the money).

- 105watts (400watt equivalent/replacement)
- 5,000 lumens each
- 6,500 kelvin

They have a lamp life of 8,000 hours. These bulbs are huge approximately 5" diamater and 12" in length.

I do not have any coral or anything in the tank just yet, but the lighting with the two bulbs alone looks awesome.

Has anyone ever used these or have any comments?

 

[corman1313]

the only thing i might worry about is the light being intense enough to reach the bottom of the tank or even half way down for lower corals later on.

 

[spencermoose]

I think I was reading somewhere that the actinic lighting's blue spectrum reaches the depths of the tank the best? Hence I am going to add some actinic T5 (either 2 or 4). It is pretty darn bright with just the two of the lights... I'll see about posting some pics in a bit. Might have to invest in a par meter too, just to see how much light is getting down there.

 

[corman1313]

actinics do reach far down but corals grow more off of the white light and not the blue but what you could try is if you get the 4 bulb t5's, you could put 2 10k bulbs and 2 actinics. if you go that way you could supply the tank with enough light with just those, that would be plenty on a 30. Yeah if you can get some pice post them up

 

[spencermoose]

Here are some pics as promised... took them almost two hours ago with the flash off... so this is all the lighting coming from the two high watt CFL's

One of the bulbs

Fullshot of tank

Right Side of tank

Left Side of tank

 

[spencermoose]

sorry, got the sides of the tank mixed up (as I am sure you will be able to tell if you look close) ha ha :lol:

 

[corman1313]

your right the tank is really bright, I guess lets see how those corals do and go from there.

 

[corman1313]

what was the reason you didn't want to use mh's?

 

[puffin04]

I can think of a million reason why not to use metal halides!!!!!!

 

[puffin04]

Personally i would look into T5 i dont think that is going to be enough light for most corals but it will depend on what you get! You would also need to add atentics as well since the corals will look washed out from the kelvin rating on them. I dont think it is necessarily a bad idea but proceed with caution! You will make a nice genie pig for this experiment!!!

Steffen Sparks

 

[corman1313]

t5's are good but to even get close to the intensity of halides you need a lot of bulbs. puffin whats wrong with halides?

 

[spencermoose]

I have a metal halides over my current 30g, and I was actually thinking about incorporating that light fixture into the hood of the 75g (just want to get everything over from the 30 first).

I love the look of metal halide, but I wanted to look into something that:
1. Does not cost so much (the bulbs for larger SHO CFL along with mogul socket, wiring, and made reflector from solar tubing cost around $60 each).
2. The heat output from the halides
3. Energy Cost of the halides

Those are the main reasons, but as puffin says, this has really turned into an experiment... and I don't mind being the guinea pig! ha ha

The 2 bulbs that I have over the tank are 400w equivalents. I am by no means thinking they would replace halides, but offer a good all around cheaper alternative. Like I say, I will definately be adding some actinics.

Here is the website where I initially got the idea from to try out the SHO CFL's.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Lighting.html

I put a smaller piece of my colt coral in the tank along with a tiny mushroom, and they both seem to love it.

 

[underwateroasis]

Yes metal halides are great for the glimmer and the over all color. But they put out too much heat, eat too much electricity, and can be quite intense on first corals added... You can also look into LEDs there is a thread on here and if you would like i can find if for you. It also gives you the glimmer effect as well.

As for your corals look to see if they are stretching for light. You will notice PE (polyp extension), keep posting pics as this will help. Thanks

Steffen Sparks

 

[puffin04]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15647028#post15647028 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by underwateroasis
Yes metal halides are great for the glimmer and the over all color. But they put out too much heat, eat too much electricity, and can be quite intense on first corals added... You can also look into LEDs there is a thread on here and if you would like i can find if for you. It also gives you the glimmer effect as well.

As for your corals look to see if they are stretching for light. You will notice PE (polyp extension), keep posting pics as this will help. Thanks

Steffen Sparks

Yeah what i said!!!!!

Steffen Sparks

 

[corman1313]

mh aren't just for glimmer and color, look at the tank of the month, that's great growth under mh, Add a couple of fans and the heat issue is taken care of, my tank barely hits 80 degrees now and my lights are only 2 inches above the water because of canopy space. As for electricity, i mean if that's what you are worried about then i think you are in the wrong hobby. Then again i am curious to see if these lights work. Every light source has its pros and cons with people, as for me mh work great.

 

[underwateroasis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15650119#post15650119 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by corman1313
As for electricity, i mean if that's what you are worried about then i think you are in the wrong hobby. Then again i am curious to see if these lights work. Every light source has its pros and cons with people, as for me mh work great.

LOL so funny!!!! I have close to 600 gallons of saltwater at the house mostly reef tanks!!!! And i am very energy efficient!!!! You get Slapped with a 450 dollar electric bill like my friend Seth and you would change your sweet little tune!!!!!! I would say in the next few years metal halides will be obsolete technology. I think they are following into this category now. I think LED will pave the way to more energy efficient lighting. As for fans i think they can work that what i have used but would prefer a chiller hence the electric issue. I run my tank in the low 80s since the corals seem to like this temp. Thanks

Steffen Sparks

 

[corman1313]

Ok Steffen Sparks!

 

[spencermoose]

now now guys. I don't think we need a fight or an argument, we are here to share our successes and what works and what does not... and of course our love for the hobby. Right?!?!

There are always pros and cons to any type of lighting. I know that this is an expensive hobby and it is very addicting... hence the reason why I love it soo much! My partner says that for me it is not a hobby anymore, it has become an addiction! ha ha. I put quite a bit of money into my 30gallon. So money can be a factor. So in the energy savings I am just looking for something that is more "green". I am in charge of the "green" part of where I work and I am constantly looking to be more "green" friendly. I now the saying that you should not bring work home, but I thought why not in this case?

So anyways, a little update!

I still have not moved everything over from my other tank, but will do so on my next day off work (which is the latter part of the week). There has been an outburst of diatom in the tank, which in my opinion is great... time to get the larger clean up crew... yay!!

The two corals that I have in the tank are doing great and still looking good.

I will be posting more pics of the progress soon... probaby tomorrow since I get out of work a little earlier than today.

So all is good and going well so far!

On a side note, if anyone wants to donate some corals for this little experiment (as I do not really have that many to move over since I lost a few of my others in the ammonia spike that occured in my 30 a couple of weeks ago) I will not deny them! :rollface:

Also if you are interested in stopping by and taking a look at the tank, setup, etc, just let me know... my door is always open (unless I am working... which is pretty much the story of my life, ha ha).

 

[Dangerous Ace]

Some thoughts on the lighting...

PC's will penetrate the water enough for your corals but I'm not convinced on the wattage and especially not the color spectrum. If you look at most PC hoods for a 48" tank you are looking at 130 watts minimum and for a 75 usually double that. The spectrum you are using will aid in the growth of the corals but the colors are going to be washed out. If all you are doing is softies I'd say it may be doable but I much prefer the bluer light for color over the 6500's for growth. Another issue you may run into with spectrum is algae growth. 6500's are great for freshwater plant growth but will also aid in algae growth thats undesirable. You may have issues with diatoms that won't go away and maybe even cynobacteria blooms. The bulbs may be rated for 8000 hours but after about 6 - 10 months they will start shifting to more of a yellow color.

Hailides aren't for everyone, my electric bill this month was over 200 dollars (500W MH, 220W VHO and a 1/8 hp chiller) in a 1 bedroom apt, and if you don't mind the lack of shimmer my vote is for t-5's. If you're looking for a green solution and you obviously have some DIY skill check out some of the threads on LED's. http://smgsllc.com/ is a local guy and has some DIY plans and parts for LED's. His lights are on display at SW Reef. Beautiful shimmer.

Also check out the lighting forums on ReefCentral. Everyone is trying to get away with the cheapest most energy efficient setup that will maintain and grow corals. There is a reason no one is doing what you are.

Brian

 

[MileHighFish]

Are you planning on keeping sps, lps or softies? I think with careful selection of live stock you will be fine. Be Careful when you read the bulbs stats you compare actual #'s.. Those bulbs put out like a 400 mh, but a 400 mh can put out 20,000 - 40,000 lumen's depending on ballast, k, brand etc. But on the low side a 800 watt setup (fairly common) is putting out 40,000 - 80,000 lumen's compared to 10,000. Comparing the two there is no comparison, but like said before there is other factor to deal with heat cost etc. I have seen my chiller click on maybe 5 times through the summer, fans do wonders and remember most of us run the MH light much less then the VHO/T5's.. Mine are on 5 hours a day, vho's 12 hours. I like the led lights at SW, but the coral seems to be declining and not thriving. I think in a few years they may take off, but they are not cheap as far as start up cost is concerned, and watt for watt to really compare with 400's or 1000's it would take huge #'s of leds putting out 1 - 3 watts each, monthly savings would be Nil. To be real green and save cost etc. I think us New Mexicans should take advantage of our 300+ days of sun and use light chimney's!! Good luck either way and let us know..