what does "parabolic" mean

reefermike1 · 02-05-2007, 08:47 PM

ok so looking into reflectors. some say parabolic, some dont. what exactly is parabolic??? 2 reflectors are 95% reflective, one parabolic one not, whats the differance???

Spanky · 02-05-2007, 09:00 PM

Mike, it just means it curved.

Curved in a way that when the light hits it, the light leaves it perpendicular to the reflector.

reefermike1 · 02-05-2007, 10:05 PM

so then it is worth getting one that is parabolic?? im guessing one thats not parabolic would just reflect light randomly, where a parabolic reflector would direct the light a bit better?

Wiskey · 02-05-2007, 11:28 PM

There are allot of different reflectors out there,... the good ones there are almost always reviews on, people testing them with Par meters.

What kind of light is this refector going to be for?

Whiskey

reefermike1 · 02-06-2007, 10:41 AM

well im really not sure yet, i was thinking about getting better reflectors for my pc lights. or just upgrading to tek t5s. i just cant get over the fact that 4 24"t5 is 96 watts, and 4 24"pcs is 260watts. so im still having a hard time thinking the t5s would be better with so much less wattage. but in either case i wanted to know what parabolic was

Weatherman · 02-06-2007, 10:46 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reefermike1

well im really not sure yet, i was thinking about getting better reflectors for my pc lights. or just upgrading to tek t5s. i just cant get over the fact that 4 24"t5 is 96 watts, and 4 24"pcs is 260watts. so im still having a hard time thinking the t5s would be better with so much less wattage. but in either case i wanted to know what parabolic was

With high-quality reflectors on both, 4, 24" PC bulbs will put out more light than 4, 24" T5s for the simple reason that 4, 24" PC bulbs cover a larger area. The exact efficiency of each setup would have to be determined using a Kill-A-Watt and a PAR meter.

reefermike1 · 02-06-2007, 10:56 AM

maybe i could get an opinion then. i have 4 24" pc lights, on top of a 24" tall hexagon tank. my reef consists of softys and lps, with a couple monticaps on top. everything seems to be fine in there. and im happy with it. but if 4 t-5 bulbs would be just as good, while using less wattage with bulbs that last longer, then i could justify getting t5s. or for less than $50 i could have pfo parabolics on my pc bulbs, while currently i have crappy reflectors out of a pc fixture that i scrapped. or just keep the crappy reflectors if i go with the "if it aint broke dont fix it" theory. i really dont want to go with mh lighting and cant afford a solaris so.

any opinions on what should be done?

Weatherman · 02-06-2007, 12:18 PM

It really seem like we have to jump through hoops to get the most out of T5s…

We need to get the right kind of ballast (not too much, or we are wasting energy, or too little, or we won't get good PAR), then the right kind of reflector (apparently Sunlight Supply isn’t good enough, now it’s IceCap, or nothing), then we need fans to keep the bulbs at exactly 35C (let the bulbs burn too hot and the light output goes down and their life is shortened).

No wonder top-of-the line T5 fixtures are so expensive!

IMHO, just get some nice, individual PFO reflectors for your power comps. T5s seem to need their own little ICUs to give any better results.