New Lumen Bright Reflector. ... any info on them

[LooseHip]

I just got one of these from reefspecialty as well. Mike is great to deal with. Anyway, it is for a 40 breeder which is 36" long 18" deep and 16" high. My breeder isn't up and running yet but I did hang it over my current 46 (36" length) bowfront to get an idea of what it would look like, and I was pretty impressed. Although it is a little dim in the corners it is not bad. A good place for lower light corals and I personally think it looks kind of cool lit that way. I may mount it on a sliding track so I can slide it back and forth we will see.

I had it about 16" off the water and adjusted it down to 12". 16" had too much light spill.

 

[Los]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11967222#post11967222 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sirreal63
Interesting...I haven't seen anything that shows LB's are a good fit for 36" coverage. Can you show me what you have seen that does show them to be a good fit for covering 36". I know of someone who just set up a 36x36 cubish tank with 2 LB's and the coverage is more like 24".

I think you are right. I've researched it a bit more and 36" wide is WAY too wide for the lumenbrights. Lumenarcs appear the way to go for these. Don't get me wrong; LBs are great reflectors and if I had a thinner/deeper tank - that's what I would get.

Hahn, are you monitoring this? You seem to be one of the more analytical folks out there and I'd love your thoughts on what is the cut-off width at which you'd definitely go with the Lumenarcs.

TIA,

Los

 

[Robert Patterso]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11971699#post11971699 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Los
I think you are right. I've researched it a bit more and 36" wide is WAY too wide for the lumenbrights. Lumenarcs appear the way to go for these. Don't get me wrong; LBs are great reflectors and if I had a thinner/deeper tank - that's what I would get.

Hahn, are you monitoring this? You seem to be one of the more analytical folks out there and I'd love your thoughts on what is the cut-off width at which you'd definitely go with the Lumenarcs.

TIA,

Los

I'm not Hahn but I can tell you I use the Lumenarc on a 36" long tank and have full coverage. I am putting 2 Lg Lumenbrites on 48x24x29tall tank. hth

 

[rbc1225]

A quick question here to make sure I am understanding the difference here. Looks like the Lumenbrights are more direct than the Lumenarcs, so that being said, I am working with a 220 gallon tank 6'x2'x30" deep and have a canopy over my tank. My current light inside the canopy is approximatly 5 to 6 inches off the surface of the water. This is due of course to the limited height that I have to work with inside the canopy. Now it looks like the Lumen brights work well if the lights are say 16" off the water surface but since mine are 5" to 6" off the water the Lumenarcs might be a better choice do to the spreading they provide? I will be using 3 of the reflectors as I currently have 3 400w XMs at 20k running.

Thanks
Rusty

 

[Los]

Thanks Robert. I appreciate your input.

Los

 

[psteeleb]

Rusty - think of the LBs creating a column of light and the LAs creating a wide cone. As you move the LA's up the spread becomes more. When you move the LB's up the spread is some but not nearly as much. As you are keeping them close to the surface, I would think either would work just fine. The 400's may be an overkill on the LBs though

 

[nreefer]

I wonder if you were to do par tests on the LB's at the recommended hieght and then LA's at the recommended height if the LB's would still come out on top?
You have to have the LB's so much higher off the water and that extra height will decrease the PAR in the tank, correct?

 

[ganjero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11973966#post11973966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nreefer
I wonder if you were to do par tests on the LB's at the recommended hieght and then LA's at the recommended height if the LB's would still come out on top?
You have to have the LB's so much higher off the water and that extra height will decrease the PAR in the tank, correct?

Incorrect, you actually have to hang them high to decrease par so you wont fry your tank. That is why these reflectors are good, you hang them high and will get the same PAR as other reflectors that need t be closer to the water, and by hanging them higher there is less heat going into the tank and more room for you to work in your tank.

That was explained several times in this thread.

 

[rbc1225]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11973130#post11973130 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by psteeleb
Rusty - think of the LBs creating a column of light and the LAs creating a wide cone. As you move the LA's up the spread becomes more. When you move the LB's up the spread is some but not nearly as much. As you are keeping them close to the surface, I would think either would work just fine. The 400's may be an overkill on the LBs though

hmmm just wondering if I did decide to use the LBs if I could cut back to 250s.

 

[nreefer]

Ok. The test that was done a few pages back with the 36" wide frag tank. Were both the LA and LB hung at the same height?

 

[ganjero]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11974122#post11974122 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nreefer
Ok. The test that was done a few pages back with the 36" wide frag tank. Were both the LA and LB hung at the same height?

On all the post with PAR mesurements they have what type of reflector and the distance.

If its the frag tank the one that you are referring to, yes the measurements were at the same distance.

 

[Nickde123]

I think alot of you guy's dont realize something. Ill use my tank for instance. It's 4'x3'x2. When I do my aquascaping I will NOT need a full 36" coverage for my MH's since my sps will be on the aquascaping NOT the bottom front of the tank. I will have other corals other then SPS, BUT you can grow them out with much less lighting then MH so what is the need to worry PAR reading right in the very front since there is NO ONE I have ever seen that had there rockwork right up against the front of the tank. Think abou it. Do you need that. NOW sa you have your rockwork built where the back of the tank has your rock on it like rockwall. Mount your reflectors more in the back then in the middle. Do you need to have all that intensity on areas that dont need it ? As long as it is lit up. Hey this is JMHO

 

[Marcello Salles]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11968248#post11968248 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by JRaquatics
The left side was lower because the nipple was faced down. The other 2 were faced upward. I wanted to show how nipple orientation does make a difference.

JRquatics, i think that you are missing the answer here.


The 86 PAR that Rickyrooz1 is talking about was measured using a Blueline 10K bulb !

Everyting changes when the Reeflux 12K comes into play ... am i correct ?

 

[KJAhp098]

Deuce67, are those T-5 supplement lights you have on there? Where did you get those from?

 

[Deuce67]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11977106#post11977106 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by KJAhp098
Deuce67, are those T-5 supplement lights you have on there? Where did you get those from?

Yes they are T5s. Not the best T5 setup but great for dusk and dawn effect. They are cheap Helios T5HO III. 35 bucks with lamps. Plug and play. Got them at dtpetsupplies dot com

 

[grandp10]

par test LB's

par test LB's

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11973966#post11973966 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nreefer
I wonder if you were to do par tests on the LB's at the recommended hieght and then LA's at the recommended height if the LB's would still come out on top?
You have to have the LB's so much higher off the water and that extra height will decrease the PAR in the tank, correct?

I did a par test on a 120 gal. 48"l,24"w, and 24"h. I had 1 mini Lumenarc w/ 400 watt Refflux 12k w/ bulb 8" off water surface. It tested about 1350 about .5" off the water surface. I had also a Lumenbright on the other side of the tank w/ same bulb and bulb being 14.5" off water surface. The LB tested about 1325 about .5" off water surface. The par value on both under water decreased very similarly, with LB loosing a little less par. Once I got about 12" under water the LB was anywhere from about 50-100 par more. I believe at about 20" depth the LB got even better par ratio wise compared to the LA (meaning that at that depth the LA had even less percentage of par compared to how the two reflectors compared at the 12"

 

[grandp10]

Also to add, the LA above the water was better par all over. Like I said though when you get a couple of inches under water the LB penetrates better and continues to spread more while keeping pretty good par, while the LA does not necessarliy penetrate that well and keeps trying to spread. I was quick to judge when I compared these reflectors by measurements above water. Then after concluding the underwater testing I think the LB is a clear winner.

 

[grandp10]

Just went back to Mike's (acropora nut) par reading on his LB's. I am not sure why his readings were so much more than mine. does anyone know if he was runnign bulbs nipple up or down. I noticed running nipples down I generally get 20 % more par. Plus I was running a different ballast, EVC electronic.

 

[JRaquatics]

He runs his nipple up. If you run the bulbs nipple down you will have more par dead center but if you run nipple up the par # will be at a wider range. This helps rid the dreaded hot spot. The 12k reeflux bulbs also look more crisp and less blue nipple up. IMO

 

[grandp10]

Thanks, JR you are a very valuable person to have on this thread between your experience with the reflectors and very quick response time. I may some time do another test between the nipple orientation, but (not trying to argue) I highly value your opinion. I believe when I did the test with the nipple down it gave more par in all areas, but everyone has their own opinion and experiences. Again thank you very much for the quick reply and info. Do you also think his ballast may make a difference? Was he running a dimmable ballast and slightly overdriving?