T5 Reflector Design

[avgjoe]

Why are there no T5 bulbs with internal reflectors? I would love to place some T5's about a inch off the water and not have to worry about the reflectors being destroyed by salt spray. If they were in the bulb they woulb be protected from this. Or maybe even a reflector that clips onto the top of the bulb (Hugging the bulb). Any of you DIY'ers try something like this? Not sure of the effectivness but maybe someone here has some answers.

 

[BeanAnimal]

In a nutshell... because internal refelctors kinda suck. They get more light downward, but do nothing for focus.

The reason T5s are so great is because the narrow bulb allows for a reasonable sized parabolic reflector to be placed over the bulb. The bulb is thin so it allows a fairly decent light spread without casting it's own shodow over a large portion of the footprint.

Put in even more blunt terms...

A diy T5 reflector is a complete waste of time, your only achievment will be getting less light to the water compared to to a similar setup with an engineered single bulb reflector placed higher above the water.

I suppose if a bulb did have an internal reflector and you packed them side by side, glass to glass... you could gain some headway. But at what cost? Not to mention you would need to clean the bulbs daily or you would lose what you gained.

 

[moonpod]

I thought another issue is that an internal reflector is a restrike machine?

 

[horkn]

well, since the aftermarket has already covered the reflector that clips onto the bulb, its kinda a waste of time to try to DIY reflectors.

also, with how effective t5ho are with the reflectors you can buy, there isnt a need to have internal reflectors, and even more bulbs and endcaps and ballasts than the way we do it now with one bulb per 3" of tank with the parabolic reflectors that are readily available. with more competition for manufacturred reflectors. I am sure that even more companies will make t5ho reflectors in the future, making the market even more favorable for the consumer.

icecap, or the atis sold by aqualux never had an issue with the reflector getting stained/ rusted by salt. the teks need to improve the quality of their product (clips rust, and reflectors stain)to keep up.

 

[avgjoe]

horkn: Where can I find this reflector that clips onto the bulb? I want to make sure we are talking about the same thing.

 

[horkn]

icecap, tek

 

[perpetual98]

You can see some here:

http://www.myreefshop.com/xcart/catalog/IceCap-23-T5-Reflector-p-30.html