Optimal Orientation of MH Bulbs?

[Delphinus]

Alias Wavefront -- fabulous. I should have guessed. There was a time I was into designing 3d modeling techniques and animation and visualization although when then steady paycheque came with more mundane things I ended up not pursuing that career line (although there are days I still regret that .. oh well).

I was watching Cars on the weekend and in the opening there was "Pixar - Celebrating 20 Years" and suddenly I realized-- Oh my God-- I'm old.

The problem with Pixar is that they make all other animation films look .. well .. bad. They are awesome. And Alias makes awesome tools. There was a time I would have gone to work for them .... oh well, water under the bridge now!!

...

Anyhow, as far as less light making it to the front of the tank, I didn't really notice that myself. Mostly the shadow that's cast by the socket goes out horizontally anyhow, so no concerns about a dark spot in the tank or anything like that. Also you usually don't have anything right up to the front glass anyhow since that's your viewing pane, so I don't think it's a huge concern. Maybe try it both ways and see if you notice a difference but my guess is that you wouldn't really notice.

[Samw]

Assuming you have the PFO Optimal reflectors mentioned by Joe Reefer and will mount them at 6", I vote for perpendicular. If you have the parallel reflectors, then I would change my vote to parallel. If you have another brand, I would follow what the company recommends (probably parallel).

PFO Website from 2003:

http://web.archive.org/web/200304221...ofit+Items.htm


"OPTIMAL REFLECTOR(Reeflector): This reflector is designed to mount perpendicular to the front of the tank. It is made with 95% reflective aluminum and will put about 40% more light into the tank than a standard flat sheet of reflective metal. "


"PARALLEL REFLECTOR : The parallel reflector is designed to mount parallel with the front of the tank using fluorescents. It is made with 95% reflective aluminum and will put about 25% more light into the tank than a standard flat sheet of reflective metal. "

From Sanjay's Testing I Believe:

Light Distribution for Optimal reflector:


Light Distribution for Parallel reflector:


Using the optimal reflector at 6"-9" from the water surface, the area with the brightest light is greater along the X axis. Notice the shape of the oval near the center is wide.

Using the parallel reflector at 6"-9" from the water surface, the area with the brightest light is greater along the Y axis. Notice the shape of the oval near the center is tall.

Thus, at 6"-9" from the water surface, it is better to mount Optimal reflectors perpendicular to the tank and Parallel reflectors parallel to the tank.

At 12" from the water surface, it looks like both should be mounted parallel.

Info taken from:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issu...03/feature.htm

.

[TheReefGeek]

Great info, didn't know about their Optimal reflector. Now I wish I had that instead of the parallel one!

[GMGQ]

Yes mine are the Optimal type. Thanks so much for this info! Definitely the way to go then.

Originally Posted by Samw

Assuming you have the PFO Optimal reflectors mentioned by Joe Reefer and will mount them at 6", I vote for perpendicular. If you have the parallel reflectors, then I would change my vote to parallel.

[TheReefGeek]

GMGQ, where abouts did you buy the Optimal reflectors?

[GMGQ]

When I was building my stand and hood, I actually found a pre-made hood w/ the new reflectors and new Icecap MH ballasts on ebay from the states.

That hood was to be hung from the ceiling, so it wasnt applicable to my setup. But it was cheaper for me to buy that hood and take the parts from it, than buy the (2) reflectors and (2) IC250 ballasts locally.

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

GMGQ, where abouts did you buy the Optimal reflectors?

[TheReefGeek]

Gotcha. What are the dimensions of the reflectors?

[TheReefGeek]

Are they these?

http://www.aquariumsupplycompany.com...76/2761741.htm

[GMGQ]

Haha, yeah man, A|W is awesome. But it's so true that it's hard to find a job in the field these days. In our class, one of my buddies Finally got a job at EA -- 3yrs after the course. He knew someone there, who got him interview after interview, and gave him tips and stuff. So he eventually made it in. Another friend is doing top secret models for a local company which is contracted by the US Army. So that's TRES COOL. I personally just do some freelance work for my other buddy's software company on the side. Speaking of Pixar, I couldnt believe the Toy Story 10yr anniversary DVD set came out last year :S I still love "Geri's Game" the best!

Originally Posted by Delphinus

Alias Wavefront -- fabulous. I should have guessed. There was a time I was into designing 3d modeling techniques and animation and visualization although when then steady paycheque came with more mundane things I ended up not pursuing that career line (although there are days I still regret that .. oh well).

I was watching Cars on the weekend and in the opening there was "Pixar - Celebrating 20 Years" and suddenly I realized-- Oh my God-- I'm old.

The problem with Pixar is that they make all other animation films look .. well .. bad. They are awesome. And Alias makes awesome tools. There was a time I would have gone to work for them .... oh well, water under the bridge now!!

Yeah good point, I'm just over thinking it. I'm sure it's negligible. The other issue would be the extra routing of the wiring... Guess I'll have to find some clips.

This will be my weekend project!

Anyhow, as far as less light making it to the front of the tank, I didn't really notice that myself. Mostly the shadow that's cast by the socket goes out horizontally anyhow, so no concerns about a dark spot in the tank or anything like that. Also you usually don't have anything right up to the front glass anyhow since that's your viewing pane, so I don't think it's a huge concern. Maybe try it both ways and see if you notice a difference but my guess is that you wouldn't really notice.