holdendaniel
New member
is anybody here using plasma light> any info on products i have seen the luxim but cannot find any pricing on it. any input from those who have used or seen the plasma units please help
Plasma lighting
- Thread starter holdendaniel
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noobtothereef
New member
from what ive read plasma bulbs dont have the right spectrum for reefing, they may be in the works though.....not sure on that
jd474
New member
Wait a year. Current cost is ~$1000/fixture, which will come down, and the units are to be much improved (much like LED technology, it is changing quickly). At full power they run ~5700K, but are fully dimable, and can easily be dialed down to whatever Kelvin you want. Also, the output should be increased, as the bulbs are currently mounted vertically, and should be horizontal in the new fixtures, giving higher PAR values. The initial testing I've seen are promising (compared to MH lighting), but again, wait awhile.
holdendaniel
New member
got a link to his tank thread im in need of lighting over my tank here in near future so trying to decide on pacific sun led lights or plasma
holdendaniel
New member
what light spectrum do you all prefer to view your tank at?
noobtothereef
New member
5700k is pretty yellow in the spectrum, and if dimmed that would lower the k even further wouldnt it?
das75
New member
some old links: plasma bulb and over a tank
jd474
New member
No, it raises it, they can be dimmed to 20K if desired, but it cuts the output fairly substantially. Like I mentioned, wait a year, I think they will be dramatically improved.
As a side note, the other issues are if any part of the unit go out, the entire thing has to be replaced. With other lighting options you can replace the capacitor or entire ballast if need be, but plasma lights are different. The other problem right now, is that the ballast can't easily be mounted remotely (it's affixed as 1 single unit). If you do decide to mount the ballast remotely, the chord HAS to be 18", or a multiple of 18" in length, and after 36" you lose 5% with every additional 18" length. No one has been able to explain why exactly this is, but the manufacturer claims it has to be in order to work.
I wouldn't just dismiss them yet, the technology is still in it's infancy, and once a larger market gets behind it, they're going to get better.
Beaun
It's pronounced Bone
Also saying that it is 5700k is misleading, it is a full spectrum centered around 5700k so it is not as yellow as you might expect it to be. Also, its not like people dont use actinics with MH bulbs to get more blue in the light. They are also supposed to be significantly more effecient when compared to MHs. We are just seeing the first few fixtures coming out, I would give it a year or two to see where they have progressed. Think about how far LEDs for aquariums have come in the last few years.
holdendaniel
New member
yes very true thank you so much
blasterman789
New member
They use actinics to typically pop colors - not supply PAR. A daylight centered plasma bulb would otherwise be about as effective as a daylight balanced halide. Actually, from looking at spectral graphs of the few plasma bulbs in production they have higher CRI than corresponding MH, which means more wasted light corals can't use.
A 14k halide throws most of it's energy into 440-460nm light, which is right in the guts of the most sensitive coral PAR band. Plasmas on the other hand are orientated towards visual lumens, which means lots of green and red light that doesn't do us any good.
A 10K induction style reef light on the other hand would be very cool and last as long if not longer than LED.
Beaun
It's pronounced Bone
I didnt say people use actinics for PAR they use it to suppliment blue color, you just reiterated what I already said. Also, every coral is different and not all use the same bandwidth of light; if they did we would all be using the exact same bulbs. Plasma lights are supposed to be more like natrual sunlight in that it produces a broader spectrum then MH's are so they should be able to hit the ideal spectrum for more corals.
Beaun
It's pronounced Bone
Article on reef builders today showing off the sfiligoi plasma arc light with 4 T5 actinics.
(take out the space between reef and builders, there is one near the end too)
http://reef builders.com/2010/07/07/sfiligoi-vision-cycling-power-levels-italian-plasma-arc-light-fixture/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reef builders%2FCTjt+%28Reef+Builders%29
(take out the space between reef and builders, there is one near the end too)
http://reef builders.com/2010/07/07/sfiligoi-vision-cycling-power-levels-italian-plasma-arc-light-fixture/?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reef builders%2FCTjt+%28Reef+Builders%29
blasterman789
New member
You're joking, right? - chlorophyll is chlorophyll and the only thing that differs is the ratio of A-B in various algaes. This was covered in HS biology class.
Any light source high in 440-460nm light will have high amounts of PAR for coral. If the light doesn't have significant amounts of spectral in this band it won't grow coral well. It doesn't matter what other spectra you mix in to give it a visual color temp.
The reason we use different bulbs is mostly for marketing reasons. A 14k brand 'A' and a 14k brand 'B' halide pretty much have the same main spectral peaks because the technology to make the bulbs is an industrial standard. It's the purity of the materials used that causes the other spectral bands.
So say the guys with marketing degrees. We heard this crap with CFLs, and I don't see anybody growing acropora with high CRI 'Sunlight CFLs' .
The bulb you linked to looked pretty, but I'm going to wait until I see massive SPS growth, or spectral graph to confirm it. It's also a hybrid light requring T5's which defeats the purpose, IMHO
TheFishMan65
New member
blasterman you need to check your facts!
Bolding added to emphasize point.
buffalo123
New member
How about some pictures and what the issues you are having are
