The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
They don't have a program start 39 watt ballast. Look for the triads
The T5 Q&a Thread
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The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Unless you are raising low light critters try to keep it around 4" above.
Spikehs
Premium Member
Great, thanks... how does this bulb setup sound, going for a crisp white, w/ a hint of blue, and some good colors from the corals.
UV Actinic White
UV Super Blue Actinic
UV AquaSun
UV Super Blue Actinic
UV AquaSun
UV Actinic White
comments/suggestions? Thanks for the help, this thread has been great!
UV Actinic White
UV Super Blue Actinic
UV AquaSun
UV Super Blue Actinic
UV AquaSun
UV Actinic White
comments/suggestions? Thanks for the help, this thread has been great!
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
IMO that combo of lamps would look, well, nasty, kinda purple if not pink.
Try this
ATI Aquablue
UVL Super Actinic
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus.
Order a GE 6500K daylight as a spare lamps and mix and match to get the look you like. Try swapping out the Aquablue or a blue plus for a daylight if you think the starting mix is too blue for you.
The Actinic white has a pinkish hue to it. So does the Aquasun. Combining the 2 with the purplish super actinics is going to look weird, at least to me. The ATI Aquablue is slightly blue. The GE daylight is very white looking. The Blue Plus is a very 20K looking light that will wash the pinkish tint of the Aquasuns out nicely.
Try this
ATI Aquablue
UVL Super Actinic
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus.
Order a GE 6500K daylight as a spare lamps and mix and match to get the look you like. Try swapping out the Aquablue or a blue plus for a daylight if you think the starting mix is too blue for you.
The Actinic white has a pinkish hue to it. So does the Aquasun. Combining the 2 with the purplish super actinics is going to look weird, at least to me. The ATI Aquablue is slightly blue. The GE daylight is very white looking. The Blue Plus is a very 20K looking light that will wash the pinkish tint of the Aquasuns out nicely.
bkiba
Premium Member
I have a question about the icecap 660 ballast.
The retrofit from reefgeek (4x39W, 36"fixture), there is a model that comes with the icecap 660. The standard model comes with 2 ballasts but from what I can see the icecap one only has one ballast. Is the icecap capable of running the lights independently for a dawn/dusk? Or is it all on/all off?
http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104430.html
thanks!
The retrofit from reefgeek (4x39W, 36"fixture), there is a model that comes with the icecap 660. The standard model comes with 2 ballasts but from what I can see the icecap one only has one ballast. Is the icecap capable of running the lights independently for a dawn/dusk? Or is it all on/all off?
http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104430.html
thanks!
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Well, Grim, you should get a set of AquaScience bulbs to put up against the ATIs. I found out what was what... ATI used to have their bulbs made by NARVA, the best maker out there, but NARVA got screwed in the process somehow so they quit making ATI bulbs. Thats all. So ATI took their bulbs to Sylvania and tried to copy the NARVAs there, but they arent as strong or long lived of a bulb.
I dug up more long-term tests and found the Aquascience to hold output anywhere from 5-10% higher than the ATIs from the start.
I dug up more long-term tests and found the Aquascience to hold output anywhere from 5-10% higher than the ATIs from the start.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I sun or daylight, 1 actinic or super actinic, Aquablue and Blue Plus.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Gee, where have I seen that posted before, oh yeah, IT WAS ME
As far as I know NARVA is still making the lamps D&D and Geisemann are selling. The word I got was ATI had some financial issues and NARVA got left holding the bag.I am not getting excited about test done using a lux meter. You could have a lamp with a strong output in the sweet spot for lux (555nm) measure higher yet offer much less usable light for corals.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
Yes
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8679282#post8679282 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
Gee, where have I seen that posted before, oh yeah, IT WAS ME
I am not getting excited about test done using a lux meter. You could have a lamp with a strong output in the sweet spot for lux (555nm) measure higher yet offer much less usable light for corals.
Well, to favor a lux meter, the bulbs would have a lower K rating, but the aquascience bulbs are all listed as higher K ratings (and the spectral plots to go with), so if anything, they should be at a disadvantage from the get-go... yet they post 70,000 lux while the ATI post 65,000K in the same test.
Theres only one way to settle this... I am going to buy some of both and take some readings in the 'black box' I am making with the Apogee meter.
Robert Patterso
New member
What would be the best way to get good coverage on a
84L x 24W x 30dp tank. Using four 250w mhs now, would like to cut back on 250s without sacrificing coverage or intensity.
84L x 24W x 30dp tank. Using four 250w mhs now, would like to cut back on 250s without sacrificing coverage or intensity.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
The stuff I read seemed to say the sylvania lamps looked more blue but the translation was a little rough. The K ratings the companies list mean nothing, its just thrown out for marketing. If I was still running T5's I would order a couple of the lamps myself but I need to start thinning out some of the excess equipment I have now, not adding more
.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
Thats a tough one... not long enough (8') to use twin banks of 4' bulbs, but not short enough to use 5' bulbs. I think your best bet is going to be to use 8 rows of bulbs (of you go all T5) ... using 3' bulbs and 4' bulbs to get 7'. You could interlace them a bit, like bricks in a wall, to avoid any 'black division lines' from where the 3' bulbs end, and the 4' bulbs begin, but thats all I can think of. Thats 8x54watts + 8x39watts = 744 watts of T5s over a 260g... not bad. Due to the tank being long and narrow, I dont see you being able to reduce the number of halides without doing away with them all together. Its not that easy to make one halide cover 3.5 feet of tank when its only 2' thick and you want to have rows of T5s going over it leaving you with a 3.5' long by what?... 12" deep opening? Sorry, but I think its going to be all or nothing with that tank's dimensions.
hahnmeister
In Memoriam
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=8681798#post8681798 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by The Grim Reefer
The stuff I read seemed to say the sylvania lamps looked more blue but the translation was a little rough. The K ratings the companies list mean nothing, its just thrown out for marketing. If I was still running T5's I would order a couple of the lamps myself but I need to start thinning out some of the excess equipment I have now, not adding more
Isnt that the truth. Im a reefgeek, plain and simple. I have equipment laying around that I cant even use.... its just there for testing/modding, and Im not getting paid for it. I think a few of us need to band together and start an independent 'reef equipment testing lab' company. Sanjay, you, me, a couple others... we could at least get free test samples or charge some form of payment for this stuff, you know? I ended up ordering the Apogee QMSW-SS (allows me to have both electric and sun modes), and its nothing in comparison to the $$ocean optics$$ I bought (I just needed something that I could take readings with that didnt need to be hooked up to the computer to take readings... of course, the 'woman' just ordered a Mac laptop tonight anyways)
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
You would need to run Ice Cap T5 retros, probably 8x39 watt systems side by side.
If heat isn't a concern you could probably go with 3 175 watt Iwasaki 15K halides in Lumenarc reflectors and be good, those lamps are insanly intense for a 175 and the lumenarcs spread the light out better than 2 feet per lamp with good intensity.
The Grim Reefer
Ready for some NOBALL!!!
I got the T6's running on the new tank. I have it set up so 2 daylights are at the rear and 2 blues are at the front. Going for bright as hell SPS xone on top of the rocks and the deep blue look down on the sand. Even so the 2 blue lamps are good for a smidge over 100 on the sand
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