LumenBright reflectors - What is the difference between them?

[Rouselb]

I always thought that the glass was for UV rays that the DE emit and that single ended did not need them

You are correct. The glass has always been on DE units for UV protection. IMO its to protect the reflector from salt and scratches. The more you clean the reflectors the more chance you have to scratch them or bend them. I like the idea. Im used to just wiping clean the glass on the Reef Optix pendants that i had for years.

 

[Green Thumb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14472279#post14472279 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rouselb
You are correct. The glass has always been on DE units for UV protection. IMO its to protect the reflector from salt and scratches. The more you clean the reflectors the more chance you have to scratch them or bend them. I like the idea. Im used to just wiping clean the glass on the Reef Optix pendants that i had for years.

Just curious as to why you stopped using the reef optix pendants? Im looking for info on these and cant find many reviews. Thanks

 

[cpllongjk]

Dont make the mistake I did and go with DE fixture. SE fixtures have many more bulb choices. With DE, without supplemtation your somewhat stuck with 2-3 bulbs; phoenix 14k, helios 20k, xm 20k.

Other bulbs are out there, but in my opinion those are the most popular because of color and par values.

 

[Rouselb]

The Reef Optix DE units are great. I had amazing PAR and color. My LFS sold me the Reef Optix when i setup the tank, I would highly recommend them, great construction, dont rust, look great hanging my themselves. Get the magnetic ballast (Blue Wave), they are beast. You can get a lot of PAR, the mag ballast draws 330W for a 250W rated ballast. Its a monster. But it will kick out over 200 PAR 26" deep. I still have one of the pendants i use on a frag tank. I wish i would have kept the other 2. You do need to run supplemental lighting for most of the 10-14k bulbs that are DE. I had read a lot about the LumenBright reflectors, and i have been changing things on my system to make it more energy efficient. Now i have the LumenBright reflectors that push more light down into the tank. Im using 270W for a 250W rated ballast. So im saving roughly 180W and i completely removed my supplemental lighting (T5 on Icecap 660) thats another save of 245W. You can see how fast that adds up when you have 3 lights. The nice thing about the new ballast is you can control the amount of power, there is a knob on the CV, and it will drop the power to 150W and increase the power to 270W. I think the major belief is that DE dont have a great bulb selection, but it depends on what color your looking for. If you are like me, i like a white color, not a blue tank. So i used AB 10K bulbs which are sweet for PAR, and Gmann 14K bulbs which are the same spectral plot but with more blue. They were also PAR monsters. Just threw in the T5 bulbs to add some blue highlights.

 

[Green Thumb]

Thank you for your responce. I have the option of buying 4 x 150W DE reef optix 3 pendants for my standard 180gal.

Im also looking at the new "Lumen" style reflectors in which case I would be getting only 3 x 250W SE.

Seems I share the same tastes in bulbs as you. My favs have been the XM 10Ks which I plan to use along with T5HO's on a ice cap 660 ballast for supplementation.

So the issue here is, is it worth it for me to go with 4 MH's the would oblige me to get 4 ballasts and 4 new bulbs every year but in the end I would save 150W on the electrical bill?

Or should I go with 3 x 250W with the bigger more efficient reflectors?

Surely there are advantages to both but asking somebody who has had both types of reflectors can give me some better insight.

150W 6 hours a day over the course of a year (bulb life),.. in the end how much am I really saving?..

Thanks for your insight.

 

[Rouselb]

If you have a 180 gal tank, its most likely 24-26" deep. You will need 250W to have decent PAR values in the sand. Any 10k bulb will give you great PAR in the sand if your are running 250W bulbs and LumenBright reflectors.

Just to give you an idea. On my setup:

Old Lighting:
(3) 250W DE HQI = 990W @8 hrs a day
(4) T5 HO on Icecap 660 = 245W @ 12 hrs a day
Equates to $46.25 yr

New Lighting
(3) 270W SE = 810W @8 hrs a day
Equates to $27.59 yr

Total Save is $18.66 yr
With almost the same PAR values in the sand. I know it doesn't seem like allot, but trust me, it adds up real quick. I pay the electric company roughly $80-90 a month just to keep the tank running. It used to be much more before i started paying attention!

 

[Green Thumb]

Tank is 24" deep. So in your oppinion 4 x 150W lights wouldnt be enough to light that deep? Even with the reef optix 3?

 

[Rouselb]

No, it wont be enough. You will want LPS and maybe even clams in the sand at some time. You need 250W for 24" deep. Even softies like moderate light, and i have found that some leathers like my Fiji yellow really open up under 250W.

 

[Lomholt]

a little update!
I have ordered some lumenbright reflectors, actually two of them. Running two 400 watt MH and would like to hear what boulbs you can recommend?
The dealer says that he has som very good bulbs named "Marine Lux" 14 k. Are they ok?

 

[Green Thumb]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14497497#post14497497 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rouselb
No, it wont be enough. You will want LPS and maybe even clams in the sand at some time. You need 250W for 24" deep. Even softies like moderate light, and i have found that some leathers like my Fiji yellow really open up under 250W.

Thank you. So having used the reef optix 3 do you think if I convert these pendants to 250W DE instead of 150W and only put 3 instead of 4 of these on top of my 72x24x24 180 gallon tank that they will spread light well enough?

I guess as you mentioned the newer "Lumen" reflectors are more efficient so maybe I should just get the lumen brites or equivalent, might be worth spending the extra$

I can get the reef optix 3 for like 80$ each from a friend, whats 50 bucks more in the long run?..

 

[jjk_reef00]

I love my single lumen bright large pendant. I've had it set up for 2 weeks over my 30"x30"x36" cube (LxWxH).

I have more than enough spread and my tank lights up like a Christmas tree!
I think the 2' x 2' spread must be for the mini's. My old aqua medic hqi pendent was getting 2'x2' spread, so the corners of my cube were dark.

Now everything lights up great. Just make sure you hang the reflector high enough above your water.

 

[Rouselb]

Most people who try the LumenBright reflectors really like them. They tend to focus more light down into the tank ( the numbers that i have seen is 16% ). I know you can get a deal on the lights, but i think you will be much happier in the long run if you go with the 250W LB setup. Lighting is the most talked about thing on RC. Everyone has an opinion on the reflector, ballast, and bulb. You need to find what works for you. You cant go wrong with the LB or the RO, if they were both 250W and you got a deal on the RO then that would be your best option. Bulb choice is going to be your next hurdle. That one is much harder because everyones personal preference is different. Some like a blue tank so the corals pop more, and others like a white tank where things look more natural. I tend to stay in the 10k-14k range to maximize growth. I started with 10ks, moved to 14ks, im now using 12ks, and i plan to go back to 10ks. Different ballast will make the bulbs appear different. A magnetic HQI will make bulbs look more white, and the electric ballast typically will make the bulbs appear more blue. The CoralVue ballast that i currently have allows you to dim the power, so the bulbs will burn more blue or white depending on the power you put through them.

 

[Green Thumb]

Thanks very much for your opinion. In the end I figured this was going to be it. Im not trying to cut corners with this build.
Which is why I also looked at the dimable ballasts. How do you like those coralvues? Do they come in 220V? One criteria that Im after is if the units run silently or not? Are they an electronic ballast?

Thanks again for being so helpful.

 

[Rouselb]

The CV dimmable ballast are nice, you can adjust the 250W ballast from 150W to 270W. I dont believe you can get it in 220V. They are electronic and silent.