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#1
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![]() a little background info - my tank is 36"x24x12" (shallow 45 gallon). I have a 6 bulb teklight but it will only light 15-17" of the tank so I have put it up for sale to purchase a 4x39w t5ho retro (running 2 blue plus, purple plus and aquablue special) along with two 175 halide units. This will all go up in a hood so that is 11" tall but floats 6" above the tank. heres a pic to help you visualize
![]() Questions for all you halide pro's...
random but related question - can those Lumatek dimmable ballasts be dimmed by a controller (ie Reefkeeper with ALC module) or is it just a manual knob you turn? also - if you have any of the equipment i need for sale feel free to PM me. I am in Ontario but am willing to pay for shipping if the price is right. thank you all in advance for you help. Happy Reefing -Vince |
#2
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![]() bump so this doesnt get lost
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#3
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![]() WIth regard to your questions below I have added my comments in bold.
Quote:
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#4
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#5
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![]() On my 40g carpet tank which is 24x24x12 I run 175w with Iwasaki 14k. It's a good combo, great colour, slams out the PAR second to none and no heat issues as it's a fairly small wattage all things considered.
That said ... Despite how much I love the Iwasaki lamp, it is a HUGE pet peeve how insanely difficult this lamp is to acquire. It is almost always a special order item and it's one of the most expensive lamps out there to boot. I'm sure any electrical savings are lost against the purchase price of the lamp. They do last longer than your average halide but that's small consolation when you're bugging vendor after vendor to see who's willing to sell you one. ... Ok I just had to check, I just checked a bunch of online vendors and the only one who lists it at all is premiumaquatics.com in the States. A good price at $70.. http://premiumaquatics.com/store/mer...vc?Screen=SRCH ... not sure what shipping or duties will be like (I assume it's subject to duties on import since it's not made in North America and thus NAFTA exempt .. but I'm not sure). I had hoped that after 4-5 years since this product was introduced to market that it would have caught on by now and with increased demand comes increased supply (or in additional wattages like say 250w or 400w) but no such luck. In the end 175w is obscure enough that it's a victim of it's own obscurity - because 250w is not much more in wattage and there are much more choices available, in the end nobody buys 175w and so people don't realize what a gem of a light this is and thus there's no incentive for the manufacturers/distributors to increase the product line or availability. Bit of a vicious circle.
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-- Tony My next hobby will be flooding my basement while repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall and tearing up $100 bills. Whee! |
#6
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![]() Thanks for the info Delphinus - any recommendations on reflectors/ballast?
I only have about 10" of reflector space if put in 4x t5s. The lumenarc mini's are about 14" wide but i hear they are the best. The other option is those narrow 7-8" wide reflector similar to the ones in the t5/MH units giesmann and other manufacturers make or a spider reflector I am thinking that regardless of the light i use, i should utilize the best possible relflector to ensure optimal efficiency. No point in wasting electricity/ bulbs if i am not getting the most i possibly can out of them. Maybe i should reduce down to a dual t5ho setup with a 14" reflectors? any thoughts on this ballast? It says its an e-ballast but i wonder if they are as feature packed/effiecient as the lumatek e-ballasts. Lumateks are dimmable but unless i can hook it up to a reef controller the dimmable function is useless to me. http://www.championlighting.com/prod...at=1277&page=1 |
#7
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![]() I second the Iwasaki bulbs...
They are commonly known as "par busters" and Sanjay Joshi, who is the par guru in this hobby, has tested these and he himself was suprised they put out a par comparable to many of the 250W bulbs he tested at the same time. In order to maximize their potential, I think you need an electronic ballast. If you do a search on this site for "par busters" you should find a link or two to the article itself. |
#8
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![]() Any idea what sort of "look" you're hoping to go for? Over 12" of height the two t5's would be enough for supplemental lighting and dusk/dawn effects but if you're hoping for a more hybrid setup with more t5's then maybe the loss of efficiency in the reflector is a small price to pay for that enhanced versatility overall. I guess the real question is the spread of the spiderlight, at 36" you're probably looking at two lamps for the length, but at 24" wide it might be at the threshold of how far those reflectors can throw lights towards the edges.
I have a bunch of reflectors and 175w ballasts I was thinking of selling (but they are Reef Optix 3 (spider/parabolic type) and cap/coil ballasts so if you're set on electronic and lumenarc style then this of course doesn't help you, but OTOH if you're looking for something more economic to let you mix and match before settling on a final equipment combo .. drop me a line.)
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-- Tony My next hobby will be flooding my basement while repeatedly banging my head against a brick wall and tearing up $100 bills. Whee! Last edited by Delphinus; 12-23-2010 at 04:10 PM. |
#9
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![]() looking for a 14-15k look. Really crisp white with some subtle blue and lots of pop (hence the t5's)
--so i can got with 4 t5s and two spider/parbolic reflectors and a dual 175w eballast --go 2 t5s with two lumenarc mini (or similar style) pyramid reflectors and dual 175 eballast. anyone have experience with blueline e-ballasts or Lumateks? I like the versatility of having 4 t5's for i can tune the color with some different bulbs as needed. next question - with the spider reflectors or the reef optix 3 units what kind of spread will i get if its only 8-12" above the water? I am going to do a two or three island look with the rockwork so i can centre the reflectors respectively or put them on some rails so they have adjust-ability in case i change the rock work. I dont plan on having stuff right up to the edges of the glass, probably have 2-4" of dead space all the way around. |
#10
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![]() For your reading pleasure....Sanjays testing of the Iwasakis
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2005/12/review#h12 |