Lumen brite vs lumenarc for large tank

[BradR]

Need to light a 4'x7'x30" tank. Was considering one bank of three 400W mh's vs two banks for a total of six 400W mh's. There is only 18" between the hood and the top of the tank. Keep mostly SPS but also some softies. Any thoughts on these two reflectors?
Thanks!

 

[joe blo]

i was juggling the two of those until a friend convinced me to get the new lumenmax elite, they are not set up yet so i can't say for sure how well they work. i've heard the lumenbright have more of a spotlight effect and the lumenarc has better spread.

 

[mm949]

lumenbright is a much better reflector(+par) if u space them 24" or less apart.....lumenarc's are nice if u are cheating on the spacing

 

[dew2loud1]

Lumenbright is coming out with a new XL reflector that takes two bulbs, check it out on reefspecialty's forum

Personally I use lumenbrights and love them

 

[powderbluetangy]

The lumenbright is a horrible reflector unless you want to single batman and hold it up in the air! Get the lumenarc's it is the best reflector by far! Par is not the only thing that grows coral. If you think that then you need to do a little research. I started with lumenarc and changed to lumenbrights aka Spotbrights and hated them and so did my corals I quickly tossed them and put my old ones back on thank God i didnt sell them.

 

[microbubbles]

how do you mean, powderbluetangy?
i use the lumenbrite 3's and they provide a much more even spread than my old lumenarcs... i use the mini DE versions and they are way brighter than my old 400's on full-size lumenarcs. lumenarcs used to create all these hotspots where the 2 lights would bleed over each other and i couldn't use that space for fear of killing something. sure, the lumenarcs might be a little prettier (and a whole lot bigger) but that's about the only advantage i saw. i think maybe you're the one who should do some more research

 

[dew2loud1]

Lumenbrights need to be at least 16" from the surface of the tank to work well. If you're hanging it 10" above you are going to deal with spotlight issues. Ours are 17" above the tank so we have absolutely zero heat transfer and two 400's cover a 50"x40" tank.

I haven't had batman come yet, but I haven't dared shine them out the window either, didn't want to upset the neighbors.

 

[Crazy One]

I was just wondering what height they need to be to distribute the light pattern evenly. Is the tank depth on your tank 40" or 50"? (dew2loud1)

I'm going to run 3 or 4 of the the lumenbrights with 400 watts on reeflux 12k bulbs, I very curious how this is going to penetrate the depth of the tank and distribut the light pattern.
I'm thinking of a way to design a rack system that will raise and lower with an elecrtic actuator on a timer. We'll see how that goes.

 

[dzhuo]

assuming you hang the LB 16" off the surface, how much of an area a single LB cover? is the mini pretty much the same as the large as far as coverage goes?

 

[jjk_reef00]

Thanks for sharing all this info.
Anyone else have any feedback/opinions.

I have an acrylic tank 96" x 29" x 24" (LxWxH)
I am considering 3 of these for this tank I don't have room for 4 because of the support braces.

What do you guys think?

 

[jjk_reef00]

I will go with 400 Watts HQI.
I'm thinking phoenix 14K bulbs.

My openings in the top of the tank are the following:
2 openings 20" x 20"
center opening 21" x 22"

I was thinking about using the large pendants (19").

I will have plenty of room to mount them high above the tank (10" up to 30")

 

[Dejavu]

Heres Sanjays new reflector study. I think you will find your answer here .

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2009/1/review

 

[dew2loud1]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14158477#post14158477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Crazy One
I was just wondering what height they need to be to distribute the light pattern evenly. Is the tank depth on your tank 40" or 50"? (dew2loud1)

They recommend at least 16" from the water, my tank is 30" deep, 40"x50" are the LxW. I have clams on the bottom without a sandbed so penetration is not a problem at all at 30".