Overdriving Bulbs?
- Thread starter buford
- Start date
der_wille_zur_macht
Team RC
Don't mean to be picky, but for the sake of correctness - overdriving a bulb means you are supplying it with more power than it is designed for. It has nothing to do with the ballast being electronic (you can power bulbs at or above their spec with either electronic or magnetic ballasts).
And, technically, you are increasing the power consumption (from 54w to 80w in your example) - wattage is a measure of power consumption, not a measure of "output."
But yes, the general idea is right.
Overdriving does not especially give you that much PAR value to the tank. Boosting a 54 watt to 80 should give you 33% more illumination but in actual practice it is less than half that amount. It does reduce tube life by about half so, unless you really need the extra light, then you might not wish to do it.
MH lamps have there place but it depends on your livestock. For most tanks T-5's can do the job.
I have thought about the mh- I keep spme sof corals now under the pc lights (I have 2 coralife 4x65 on top of my 75 gallon), the lights just produce so much heat in the canopy, I don't plan on keeping hard corals just maybe some soft corals and an anenome or 2. I keep reading hoe effecient the T5 setups are and that they do not produce the heat the pcs or mh do.
Not really Buford,
All lamps produce quite a bit of heat. Florescent do it over a wider area, that is all. The big difference is MH light also produce a lot of radiant energy so fans and such don't remove it. They directly heat any solid or liquid object they strike and therefore transfer heat directly into the tank. With any type light, having the ballast remotely located in the cabinet, or some other location, helps dissipate heat that can accumulate in the tank.
All lamps produce quite a bit of heat. Florescent do it over a wider area, that is all. The big difference is MH light also produce a lot of radiant energy so fans and such don't remove it. They directly heat any solid or liquid object they strike and therefore transfer heat directly into the tank. With any type light, having the ballast remotely located in the cabinet, or some other location, helps dissipate heat that can accumulate in the tank.
rickh
New member
Your PCs aren't bad lights you just have to consider what you want to grow. The worst thing about PC is that the bulbs only last 1/2 as long as T5.
I have a T5 tank and a PC lit tank.
The T5 tank contains mushrooms, Zoas and some SPS. Everything is doing fine except the mushrooms have moved down the rocks as far from the light as they can go. The T5 are bright, cool running, last a long time and use less electricity.
The PC tank has Mushrooms, Zoas, LPS, Leathers and huge Montipora Caps at the top. PC are bright , but need replacing offen. I wouldn't try SPS under PC, but you could if you don't mind replacing a lot of tube$.
If you go with the MH you will need 2 bulbs to get full coverage. Your canopy will have to be modified/replaced. A chiller will be in your future when you get sick of playing the endless top-off game. Many thing to consider. R
I have a T5 tank and a PC lit tank.
The T5 tank contains mushrooms, Zoas and some SPS. Everything is doing fine except the mushrooms have moved down the rocks as far from the light as they can go. The T5 are bright, cool running, last a long time and use less electricity.
The PC tank has Mushrooms, Zoas, LPS, Leathers and huge Montipora Caps at the top. PC are bright , but need replacing offen. I wouldn't try SPS under PC, but you could if you don't mind replacing a lot of tube$.
If you go with the MH you will need 2 bulbs to get full coverage. Your canopy will have to be modified/replaced. A chiller will be in your future when you get sick of playing the endless top-off game. Many thing to consider. R
Clams and a few SPS but not too many at that.
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