yes, another light question

xsdbs

xsdbs

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Oct 16, 2006
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is there such a thing as a very efficient MH light system? I am thinking about adding a MH to my tank that already has 4 85 watt T5's and good reflectors. I was told that I have enough lighting for my tank (150gal) but I like the look that MH's give in the water.
 
With MH, effeciency = electronic ballast (Icecap), non-effecient = Magnetic ballast (PFO M80 ballast, what I run).

What that means is with an electronic ballast a 250w MH will use 250w, with a Magnetic Ballast a 250w can use up to 400w of power depending on the bulb used.
 
That and using a good quality reflector, like Lumenarcs, Lumenbrights, etc. to get the most light out of any particular setup. By using them, you are wasting much less of the light emitted and ensuring that much of it goes into the tank. Another option is to look into lower wattage, but high intensity bulbs. One such instance is the Iwasaki 15000K lamp, which is extremely bright, but only 175w. It is even brighter than many 250w lamps. So you have several ways you can get the maximum efficiency out of metal halide lamps. Using all of the above will translate into the highest efficiency setups.
 
Amphiprion said:
That and using a good quality reflector, like Lumenarcs, Lumenbrights, etc. to get the most light out of any particular setup. By using them, you are wasting much less of the light emitted and ensuring that much of it goes into the tank. Another option is to look into lower wattage, but high intensity bulbs. One such instance is the Iwasaki 15000K lamp, which is extremely bright, but only 175w. It is even brighter than many 250w lamps. So you have several ways you can get the maximum efficiency out of metal halide lamps. Using all of the above will translate into the highest efficiency setups.
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Don't mean to hijack your thread, xsdbs but Amphi, can you shed some light on this?

What does bright mean exactly? For the longest time I thought that lower kelvin means yellower light, which is better for corals (but not as pretty to look at), and the higher kelvin is brighter whiter/bluer lighting, nicer to look at but not as good for corals as less k's.

Through the years however, higher kelvin seems to be what everyone's doing. I remember when 6500k was almost a standard, now it seems like 14k is closer to what most people are using. . .

can you (or anyone who wishes to jump in) care to explain it?
 
Well, by brighter, I mean the physical amount of PAR the lamp is emitting. Lower kelvin lamps are usually (not always) brighter because of the lesser amount of blue in the spectrum. Blue light is higher energy light, so it actually requires more electricity to create, resulting in less actual light with the same wattage when compared to whiter lamps. Again, this isn't always the case, but it is the vast majority of the time. The bluer lamps are a move more toward some aesthetics, while others do so because of a slight edge on the absorptive efficiency of bluer wavelengths in (likely) many corals. Of course, the latter is much, much more complex than that, but it won't help to go into it here. But generally, more PAR translates into more photosynthesis, which is usually (but not always) a good thing. From what I've seen on many reefs, at least shallower ones (almost all Caribbean, only been to Pacific once in Hawai'i), ~10000K is the best "look" in simulating it, while still being visually appealing.
 
Cheech said:
Don't mean to hijack your thread, xsdbs but Amphi, can you shed some light on this?

What does bright mean exactly? For the longest time I thought that lower kelvin means yellower light, which is better for corals (but not as pretty to look at), and the higher kelvin is brighter whiter/bluer lighting, nicer to look at but not as good for corals as less k's.

Through the years however, higher kelvin seems to be what everyone's doing. I remember when 6500k was almost a standard, now it seems like 14k is closer to what most people are using. . .

can you (or anyone who wishes to jump in) care to explain it?
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no problem Cheech, you brought up a very good question which retreived a great answer from Amp. I like the idea that I can use a lower wattage bulb and get great output. THANKS
 
xsdbs said:
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no problem Cheech, you brought up a very good question which retreived a great answer from Amp. I like the idea that I can use a lower wattage bulb and get great output. THANKS
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The lamp I mentioned is undeniably bright, but the color isn't necessarily everyone's cup of tea. You should review bulbs not only based on intensity, but whether or not you actually like them. I tend to like the whiter lamps, as opposed to blue, but that's my personal preference. Other lamps, like the Reeflux 12000K, while the corals look good, the color of the light itself to me, at least, looks terrible (on a Reeflux ballast). Again, that's my personal opinion. As far as corals go, they grow under them just fine, as the lamp has so-so PAR.
 
I think that what I am looking for is brighter, I like the look of the water reflection and movement which I don't really see with the T5's. I have seen some of the lower kelvin and I don't really like the yellow look.
 
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