MH and T5 or VHO or PC?

[XburningempiresX]

oh yea..oops sorry they will be around 48" i think T5's come in 46.5" and the PC or VHO would be 48"

my next problem will be how to mount them all so that the MH are too obstructed by the T5's or VHO.

how far above a tank should the T5's or VHO be?

[BuckWheat]

my VHO's are 6"

[AquaticCo]

Ok, here's my $.02, while I agree that T5's are very bright you are going to have a hard time finding anyone who can mount more than two in a fixture along with metal halides. T5's are also HO bulbs and not VHO bulbs. High output vs very high output. This is why a 48" T5 runs 54 watts and a VHO runs 110-watts.

Buckweat is correct ohms law prevails you are looking at 54 watts vs 110 watts per bulb for VHO vs 96-watts for pc's. VHO's have the highest wattage, but they also loose thier intensity after about 3". Power compacts are brighter and consume less energy and that is my choice.

My $.02

Doug

[XburningempiresX]

thanks doug, hehe no i am throughly torn as to which option ot go with... oh well i am sure more people out there with more comments that will lead me in yet another direction i was planning on mounting the MH perpendicular to the tank.. if that makes any difference.

thanks all,
Steve

[reefcam]

Hi Doug,

I guess how are you determining that PC are brighter and consume less energy? Than T5 or VHO or both? If you have done some measurements, please share your results. I'm going to do one this weekend.

thanks
Jim

[AquaticCo]

Hi Reefcam,

How are you doing your tests? Are you using a lux meter? As far as test results go between all three there has been little comparison done by the so called experts in the field. As I'm sure you will agree lighting is more a personal preference exspecially after the par values of the corals have been met.

I can say from my personal experience running all three different types of bulbs that the T5 using an IceCap ballast puts out a great deal of light and has a very nice effect. However, I have only found one true manufacturer of a true actinic T5 lamp. So you are limited here.

As far as coloration goes the VHO is superior but In my opinion the PC runs cooler is brighter and uses less energy. The PC uses 96 Watts where as the VHO's use 110-watts. Again ohms law. Less power consumption.

Attached is just some of the data that I have come across.

Doug

http://www.coralreefecosystems.com/l...tion%20pattern

http://translate.google.com/translat...language_tools

[BuckWheat]

Originally posted by AquaticCo
VHO's have the highest wattage, but they also loose thier intensity after about 3". Power compacts are brighter and consume less energy and that is my choice.

Doug

Good information but not all quite true:
T5's come in standard wattage & HO. Actually T5 is a type of PC, as stated above. Loosing their intensity @ 3" is like comparing apples to tomatoes, PC drop off watt for watt about the same it is more intense in a smaller confined area, not enough to argue about. PC's are smaller and Compact being ideal for certain designs, same goes T5 but they come in available longer bulbs and all require good reflectors. The short PC puts out a VHO for that size diameter bulb, which makes them so darn bright for such a small bulb in a compact space. It takes more T5 & PC to equal the big VHO T8's intensity pattern, none of these are as efficient as MH, & adding electronic ballast makes them even better. A 96 W PC will consume 96 watts of electricity per kilowatt hour, A 54W T5 will consume 54watts per kwh, 110 VHO will Duaa use up 110 watts per KWH! OK

[reefcam]

Hi Doug,

Okay, wasn't sure what you were comparing the PC to. I agree that PC (and T5 ) are brighter than VHO. That's part of the reason why I swapped out my VHO for T5.

As far as the testing, my buddy said he got a PAR meter, which I'm a bit confused, but then I'm not a light person expert. I thought most light meter test for LUX. Guess I'll find out. He also said that it can be used under water, which will be cool.

Thanks for the links. I'll have to sit down and read them. After reading a few posts on T5, I thought I just jump in and really like the results of T5.

I remembered when PC came into the reef hobby and a LFS here started using them, but after a year, switched back to MH.

BTW, Steve, I'm not advocating that T5 are suitable for clams and SPS. In my main tank, I am running 4 x 400W MH and 6 x 160W VHO. In my prop tank which are 12" high, they are running T5. I still recommend MH for clams and SPS. So I hope I didn't confused you. For your tank, you can go with 96W PC and still keep clams and SPS.

Lighting to me has always been interesting as everyone has their own answer as to what is best. Well, best is what works for your setup and environment. I did think about putting T5 in my main tank, but decided to put it off mainly because I don't want to be changing the light environment in my main tank.

Check on other boards and search for lighting and you will get many answers as well.

You have only touch on 1 aspect of lighting, which type of bulb (PC, MH, T5, VHO, NO). Then there's the what kelvin should I be using. And that's another loaded question. If you can visit as many tanks similiar to yours, then from the presentation of the tank, you can decide what will work best for your tank.

I may not advocate T5 in a year. But for now, this is the new stuff I'm using. I'm still a firm believer of MH and VHO combo.

Good luck.
Jim

[BuckWheat]

Nice charts BTW, the VHO has a very broad intensity pattern. so yes you get a small difference but in a 4 ft tank I'd rather have that longer curve!

[reefcam]

Buckwheat,

I'm not dismissing what you are saying, but if I put an AMP meter on my IC660 with 4 x 110W = 440W, then the meter should read-out about 3.8A, according to what you just said. But when I did put an AMP meter on my setup, it measured 1.8A. Why? Where did the 2A go?

i know that IC660 is an electronic ballast, but people keep telling me they are more efficient. Great, but what does that mean. Bulb runs brighter or more to spec. But then how does that affect the power input.

[BuckWheat]

http://ohmslaw.com/ohmslaw.htm

your measuring 216 watts, where are you doing your measurments? Line input or trying to read off the outputs?

PAR ratings is what we want to measure for corals, Kelvin is temperature readings, which we perceive as colors. LUX is the Human measurement as to what we see; Einstein's is the true measurement of light intensity.

[BuckWheat]

Efficiency as in electronic ballast is more of the power is consumed putting out viable light for a lack of better terms.

[BuckWheat]

http://www.reefs.org/library/talklog...ee_060202.html

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-03/atj/index.htm

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...02/Feature.htm

http://www.reefs.org/library/article/c_bingman3.html

http://www.aquarium.net/0897/0897_6.shtml

http://www.aqualink.com/marine/t-reef.html#3

[BuckWheat]

Ok it took a while but I found it, Please guys read this one! It pertains more of what your looking for!

http://www.reefsanctuary.com/forums/...light=lighting

[reefcam]

I'm measuring the AMP from the line in. From the outlet to the ballast.