Lighting Poll

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Fish

and the consensus there is that T5ho without good reflectors is about the same as PC, but T5ho with good individual reflectors (like sunlight supply or icecap) is stronger than halide. Infact, there are instructions for how to acclimate your tank when you switch from halide to T5ho so that your corals aren't burnt.

look at the main company there.. IceCap... this wouldn't be the first time they underhandedly spread false info to sell there product.

Originally Posted by Fish

For example, I have been told that the 96w Tek fixture over a 30gal tank might be too intense for some softies, but even a 175w halide wasn't too much light over my 20gal. And a more recent post claims that halide drops off quicker as it gets closer to the bottom???
I Or are all the RC posts just over-hyping T5?
Thanks,.

I would have to say way over hype.. that would be saying that T5's are brighter than the sun. A big clue is that if a T5 drops off faster with depth it is less intense.

Originally Posted by Fish

ps - I should add that in the same thread, it was reported that halides with a new kind of "luminarc reflector" are brighter than the Tek T5ho.

the problem is that companies rig tests, by comparing there absolute best T5 output against a MH output it is very easy to make the MH seam like it has less output.. I can do it here with the same bulb... it is all the angle and location you take your readings from.. thats why when I was testing bulbs I made a fixed bracket that I could only adjust to ensure it was directly under the middle of the bulb.

Ok now for the "T5s make my tank brighter than MH" argument... yes it is true, visually there is an appearance that it is brighter but in reality it is not.. the reason for this is that like VHO and PC a T5 spreads light evenly and if you have 5 bulbs over a tank you are lighting the whole tank evenly reducing shadows so it gives the appearance of a brighter tank. With MH you get more shadowing on the edges depending on the reflectors spread and because it is a point light source there is more shadowing on the edges, but if you look at what really counts, intensity, MH wins hands down.

If anyone in Victoria has an actual T5 set up with 10 or 20K bulbs I can bring my jig over and do some actual PAR measurements to show how much difference there really is.

Steve

[Fish]

Steve,
I should have been more clear - I never said that that Icecap claimed 'so and so' about their reflectors - I said that Icecap reflectors are better. That is the result of par readings comparing their output to that of the Sunlight Supply/Tek reflectors and the Aquatinics reflectors. This information is from the RC thread, and it has had over 4,600 posts so far. Allegedly, T5 bulbs are a complete waste of time without high quality reflectors. All I was wondering is what was going on with some of our members here.
I pride myself on keeping an open mind in this hobby and it has helped me overcome some misconceptions that people have. For example, I chose to ignore the "canister filters are not for saltwater" doctrine and a lot of nano hobbyists have benefited from my nano design.

I still remember when all the stubborn old PC users would get in 'lighting fights' and post pics of how they could keep anemones just as well as the halide guys and gals. I was/am a strong proponent of halide and watched as each one of them eventually made the switch as well. I believed that halide was, hands down, the best way to go and I wouldn't recommend anything else. However, at the same time, I never assumed that mankind had reached the pinnacle of aquarium lighting and that halide is as good as we are going to get.
It sounds like that's how you feel about it:

"I would have to say way over hype.. that would be saying that T5's are brighter than the sun."

No one is saying T5ho is brighter than the sun. No one is saying (I hope) that halide is as bright as the sun. What I am suggesting is that T5ho, with the proper reflectors, is brighter than halide. Of course I would love to see some canreefers do the testing, that way I wouldn't have to blindly accept the findings of our American counterparts. However, from seeing Nate and Paul's Tek fixtures, I don't see how a 175w halide bulb could ever possibly put as much light/PAR into the tank as 175w of T5ho. And the very fact that the readings on a halide need to be taken directly under the bulb is another point for T5 in my books - I would really like my whole tank to be well-lit; left to right, front to back, and not just in a certain spot.

I don't mean to be argumentative, I was just hoping that some of the people who were disappointed with T5 could qualify their results. If they were using good gear like the Tek or Aquatinic fixtures, than I've got a real problem because all that info on RC was baloney (and I wasted multiple hours of my life reading it). If however, they were using ebay or catalina specials with cheap reflectors, than I'm not too worried, because the T5 experts themselves have said that their performance would suck.
Hopefully together we can figure it out.

Peace,

- Chad

[Pan]

heh, now add to this discussion the LED fictures...ie solaris ( ithink thats them)

[Fish]

aww crap... no wonder I can't sleep at night ( :

Solaris looks awesome and has great possibilities! - too rich for my blood though. Who knows, maybe LED is the future....?

[Doug]

Comparison is actually hard to do without using some measuring device as Steve mentioned. I believe the thread on Rc Chad mentioned, does have lots of par measures.

I will agree with Chad, that my 4 T-5,s are brighter than my two 175w halides. No disputing that. What they will measure at the tanks bottom is another question.

Then again, I,m comparing with 14K 175w bulbs. If I used the new Iwasaki 14K bulb, I would assume the halides would be brighter. So there,s the problem.

My friends 250w 14K halides is not as bright as all his T-5,s. A pair of 400w 14K,s are a bit brighter but throw a pair of 65K Iwasaki,s on and wholley mackeral.

[Reefer Rob]

If somebody in the Lower Mainland has a light meter and they want to take some measurements, they could measure my lowly 324 watts of T5s I have now, or wait until I set up my 180, it will have about 800 watts of T5 lighting over it. That sounds like more fun

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by Reefer Rob

If somebody in the Lower Mainland has a light meter and they want to take some measurements, they could measure my lowly 324 watts of T5s I have now, or wait until I set up my 180, it will have about 800 watts of T5 lighting over it. That sounds like more fun

Ok when you do this make sure it is a PAR meter not a lux or what ever meter. To bad you wern't on the Island as I do have a PAR meter.

Steve