Optimal Orientation of MH Bulbs?

[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.

[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]

Yeah those look like the ones. Mine are 12" long.

Originally Posted by TheReefGeek

Are they these?

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

[StirCrazy]

In a 48" tank with two bulbs you should mount then front to back to get the maximum light distrubution. also you should shift the base of the bulbs as far back as you can as more light is thrown forward from the bulb than back wards.

a different case would be in a tank like mine where it is only 3 feet long and two foot wide I have them mounted like you do in that case as there is only 1 foot between the tips of the bulbs.

Steve

[danny zubot]

Ok my turn. I have a 36x18" tank with only 1x 400 watt MH ver it. My current relector is only a bit larger than 1 foot squared, and my bulb is perpendicular (front to back).

The reflector I'm changing to when my canopy comes is 36" long so the bulb must face parallel. How far off of center should my bulb be to cast optimal light on the center of the tank? Also, the new reflector doesn't have one of those "V" shaped light deflectors that go above the bulb. How much do those actually effect my lighting?

[StirCrazy]

Originally Posted by danny zubot

Ok my turn. I have a 36x18" tank with only 1x 400 watt MH ver it. My current relector is only a bit larger than 1 foot squared, and my bulb is perpendicular (front to back).

The reflector I'm changing to when my canopy comes is 36" long so the bulb must face parallel. How far off of center should my bulb be to cast optimal light on the center of the tank? Also, the new reflector doesn't have one of those "V" shaped light deflectors that go above the bulb. How much do those actually effect my lighting?

your not going to be able to cast optimal lighting with one bulb on a 36" tank. If you go by the rule of thumb 2X2 foot for each SE bulb, you will see that like my Garage tank, no matter how you place the bulb on the tank you are going to have areas that have much lower light intensity.

the way I would do it if I were you is on an empty tank or maybe the kitchen floor flash your light up with white paper under it and see how the lighting patteren is.. then you can shift it around to the point you are happy with it.

Steve

[GMGQ]

FYI, despite the interesting swing in the voting, I decided to change the bulbs to front/back aka Perpendicular to the front of the tank. And I lowered them 6 inches:



The tank is definitely brighter, and I think the lighting is more even now. We'll see how my corals like it.

[TheReefGeek]

Your pfo optimal perpendicular reflectors are meant to be mounted perpendicular, so that is how they should go, I assumed you would have changed them after learning that.