The Truth...Spider Reflectors Vs Lumenmax

[Horace]

Before you go out and buy some spider reflectors thinking your going to save some money and get even close to the performance of a good reflector, think again. Here are some numbers from our tests.

-------------------------------------
Bulbs, ballast and reflectors that were tested.

SE Reeflux 250w 10k
SE Hamilton 250w 14k
SE Coralvue 400w 20k

Lumenmax 2 reflector 9 inches above the water
Standard spider reflector at 12 inches above the water

EVC 250w electronic ballast
Coralvue 400w electronic ballast

Tank is a 75g, 48x18x20, and lights were in a canopy that was painted white.

First I took readings at just above the water surface.

Reeflux 10k with spider reflector 700 par
Reeflux 10k with Lumenmax 2 maxed out par meter (par meter reads up to 2000par)

Hamilton 14k with spider reflector 468 par
Hamilton 14k with Lumenmax 2 1500 par

Coralvue 20k with lumenmax 2 maxed out par meter (par meter reads up to 2000par)

Next tests were conducted at ½ inch under the water surface.

Reeflux 10k with spider reflector 380 par
Reeflux 10k with Lumenmax 2 little over 1400 par

Hamilton 14k with spider reflector 268 par
Hamilton 14k with Lumenmax 2 710 par

Coralvue 20k with lumenmax 2 1500 par

Next tests were conducted at 6 inches (the top of my SPS on the side with the lumenmax 2 only)

Reeflux 10k with Lumenmax 2 1280 par

Hamilton 14k with Lumenmax 2 540 par

Coralvue 20k with lumenmax 2 1320 par


Last tests were done on the sand bed.

Reeflux 10k with spider reflector 170 par
Reeflux 10k with Lumenmax 2 452 par

Hamilton 14k with spider reflector 108 par
Hamilton 14k with Lumenmax 2 332 par

Coralvue 20k with lumenmax 2 480par

Conclusions

It becomes very obvious from the results that reflectors are the most impotent aspect of lighting a reef. The output was over 4x in some tests just with a different reflector. Also I was very impressed with how well the reeflux 10k performed against the CV 20k.


The sand bed measurements were taken in both our tanks closer towards the glass and not in the middle so the maximum par was not obtainable and the lumenmax 2 has a better par spread than the reef optix.3.

One more thing to add, all the results above were the absolute max par that I could find and do not represent the par spread all over the area under the reflector that changes quite a bit as the probe is moved around.

 

[motorhead428]

Awesome info, thanks!

 

[ReefRockerLive]

You get what you pay for! Thanks Horace for the comparison!

 

[manderx]

i'm not trying to defend the spider, i'm done with those and will never recommend one ever again...but the test was a bit unfair. the luminmax as 3" closer to the water. plus you *can't* make any meaningful comparison of individual reflectors by taking only one measurement at each distance. you *gotta* measure over an area otherwise you are only getting a hotspot (especially since you admit you moved it around to find the highest reading). for example, i bet just by *barely* bending the spider to focus the light into a tighter band i could get it to read several times higher than the luminmax, even though it's obviously less total light being thrown down into the tank. look at sanjay's old reflector tests (especially the 3d graphs) to see why.

and in the beginning of your write-up you say 'tank' but later on you say 'tanks'. did you test one reflector on one tank, and the other on the other tank? that's another no-no. i also get the feeling you are testing a shiney new luminmax against an old spotty spider (keeping the bulb/reflector clean is the most important aspect of reef lighting).

 

[GSMguy]

thats enough for me im switching
any chance of testing an ushio 250w 20k

 

[taketz]

You guys might want to have a look here for more info about ballasts, bulbs, and even reflectors...

http://www.reeflightinginfo.arvixe.com/index.htm

 

[hahnmeister]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9462461#post9462461 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by manderx
i'm not trying to defend the spider, i'm done with those and will never recommend one ever again...but the test was a bit unfair. the luminmax as 3" closer to the water. plus you *can't* make any meaningful comparison of individual reflectors by taking only one measurement at each distance. you *gotta* measure over an area otherwise you are only getting a hotspot (especially since you admit you moved it around to find the highest reading). for example, i bet just by *barely* bending the spider to focus the light into a tighter band i could get it to read several times higher than the luminmax, even though it's obviously less total light being thrown down into the tank. look at sanjay's old reflector tests (especially the 3d graphs) to see why.

and in the beginning of your write-up you say 'tank' but later on you say 'tanks'. did you test one reflector on one tank, and the other on the other tank? that's another no-no. i also get the feeling you are testing a shiney new luminmax against an old spotty spider (keeping the bulb/reflector clean is the most important aspect of reef lighting).

Agree 100%. Reflectors can only be compared with a grid. Take a PFO mini-pendant or SLS reefoptix, it will shred the output of the lumenmaz close to the bulb... peak values over 4000 are possible with 10,000K bulbs. But thats only because the reflectors are more compact so the light will be more concentrated up top.

But those sand values are a real-world, and somewhat valid comparison then.

 

[DrBDC]

Here is an excellent article comparing reflector styles:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/feature.htm