Reflector advice

M

Michael_Wamsley

I know this should go in the lighting forum, but I thought I would get a better response here :) Thanks!

My situation is this. I have grow out tanks that are 3 ft long, 2 feet wide, and 10 inches deep. I have been using T5's with great success, but I am changing to the Iwasaki 175 for multiple reasons. I will have 2 one each tank and wanted to know your thoughts. I can keep the bulbs as low or as high as needed... I just want the most amount of light getting into the tank with an even spread.

With 2 bulbs on each 36"x24"x10", should I do the Lumenarc III or the LumenBright (mini or regular)? Why do you think so and what are the advantages/disadvantages of each?

If you do not like either of these two and there is another reflector you would suggest what would it be?

Thanks again for the input,
Michael
 
I have a Lumenbright regular and really like it. The one thing I like is the ability to hang it higher (bulb is 14" above water) to reduce water heating. It also distributes the light evenly.
 
I think the Mini would be fine over your tank. A guy on RC has three minis with 175w bulbs over his reef for the past six months, and his tank is doing great.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=12621865#post12621865

I'm using the large LuminBrites over my tank, and have the bulbs 18" off the water.
 
No, because I was thinking about the width and depth. Here's some more of my research on this topic Michael.

http://www.melevsreef.com/par_readings.html

And a recent picture of your blue tort.
tort_michael_0516.jpg
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Michael

I am pretty sure that either reflector will work for you. The lumen brights were designed for the aquarium industry, the Lumen arcs orginally were for greenhouse operations. The lumenbrights seems to create a spotlight effect unless hung fairly high up above the tank. That is why some are saying 18 inches high. But on a 4 foot tank, especially a grow out tank I think you will need two per tank. each will cover about 2 feet, and not much more. Unless you want a foot on either end without much light coverage. You could put blastos and other low light animals there.

Good luck

Gary
 
Oh, I completely agree. I didn't state it in my reply, but in the original post you asked

With 2 bulbs on each 36"x24"x10" said:
So I answered which reflector I would use, but definitely meant two of them.
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i have the same size prop tank....i run one large l3 lumenarc. I tried to use a lumenbright and the sides do not get all the light.

http://www.dfwmas.org/Forums/viewtopic.php?t=35764&highlight=dna
 
Well now I have a new question. The authority on lighting suggested that I might want to investigate the LumenMax ELITE for my specific needs. Does anyone currently run these?

Also Marc, the testing you did was part of a larger study on the reflectors with a group of people correct? I thought I read a national post last month showing all sorts of data on different reflectors (5 I think) and comparing them. Did they study the LumenMax? Do you have the link for this post?

Thanks again!
 
@Michael_Wamsley wrote:
Well now I have a new question. The authority on lighting suggested that I might want to investigate the LumenMax ELITE for my specific needs. Does anyone currently run these? Also Marc said:
I'm running LumenMax 2's on my tank because I don't have the space to mount lumenbrites up high enough. The elites are the "larger" version, both have the new german hammertone-looking material.

Lumenmax/Lumenarc reflectors tend to spread the light out wider at the expense of some light penetration.

With a ten inch deep tank, just about anything will work for you.

IMO you can't go wrong with any advanced lumen*whatever reflector. They are all light years ahead of the spider/parabolic ones.
Click to expand...
 
the elites just came out you might want to post on RC as you might get a better result there if anyone has any experience with the new reflectors
 
@Michael_Wamsley wrote:
Well now I have a new question. The authority on lighting suggested that I might want to investigate the LumenMax ELITE for my specific needs. Does anyone currently run these? Also Marc said:
No, my testing was just something I wanted to do for myself. I don't mind sharing those results in a larger study, but that wasn't what happened.

In the meantime, here's more information from the article that appeared in Reefkeeping last month:
http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-06/review/index.php
Click to expand...
 
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