comparing reflectors based on light intensity

[surfn]

this website is sorto old....but i just came across it again b/c i was trying to figure out what reflector to go with for my cube. (24"x24"x20")

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/feature.htm

i'm having a hard time trying to decide b/w a lumenarc III, lumunarc mini, or a 24" PFO parralel reflector.......and i gota say i'm starting to lean more and more towards the PFO.

PFO parallel reflector:
pros:
-spreads light just as good as the lumenarc according to that website
-has cut outs for actinic lighting
-is open ended so you can easily add a fan so heat wont build up in the center, thus allowing me to lower the reflector closer to the tank
cons:
-doesn't quite reach the corners like the lumenarc does (but i bet the cut outs for actinics would reach those corners very well, and in fact.....not having bright light in those corners could be seen as a good thing if putting low light corals there)

lumenarc:
cons:
-dont like how you have to raise it up so high in order to get air through it.
-builds up a tremendous amount of heat inside the reflector
-not able to mount actinic bulbs directly to the reflector without major DIY
-focuses intense light directly down the center if mounted low, but intensity seems to fall off dramatically away from the center when compared to the PFO parallel (unless you raise it up very high to get more balanced light spread)




any other suggestions? (this is for SE only)

 

[fishes2889]

Parrallel reflector. Just like you said, you can get fans on it and able to put some actinics & the Lumenarc, you cant !!...IMO

 

[surfn]

Parrallel reflector. Just like you said, you can get fans on it and able to put some actinics & the Lumenarc, you cant !!...IMO

yup, thats the side i'm starting to sway to. i've owned the 36" version of the PFO parallel and i LOVED it. the intensity and light spread was very well balanced, and didnt create any "hot points" (accept directly under the bulb obviously, but it wasn't that noticable)

i've also owned the lumunarc mini and hated it! it focused light straight down the center, and the spread of intensity fell off dramatically. i.e. you would have to raise the reflector up at least a foot over the tank to get better light spread (i.e. a foot from the bottom of the refelctor to the top of the tank)

and after only operating a couple of minutes the bulb was hotter than anything i've ever seen. i'd have to guess it was hotter than 8hrs in a standard reflector.

 

[Raptor]

I like the luminarcs, Out of all the reflectors i have had luminarcs blow away all the others in light coverage.
For you surf i would go with the luminarc stealth DE reflector from reef exotics and get a De ballast, or even an e ballast that will fire the DE bulb.
I love mine both DE and SE. I wont buy any of the others any more.
I could get by with 2 full size luminarcs and get away fine on a 6 ft tank as light coverage go's.
Doesnt matter if they are made for aquariums nothing has the spread of these. JMO

 

[Raptor]

I am not going off sanjays reports i am going off personal experience.
Now i have personally ran most of what he tested and i can tell ya honestly my tank is brighter, theres no shadows like before, and i can place my acro's in more area's where i know they will get enough light.
I have done the pepsi challenge and have looked with one spider on and one luminarc. I can tell a diff, and so could my wife just by looking.
Also have you seen the diff with running 20k's with a luminarc than a spider like reflector? It looks more crisp, and whiter to me on a luminarc. IMO
Like i said i am going off what i like and my personal exp. I have always had a suspended cannopy, and mabe thats why they are spreading much better, But the others paled in comparison to my tastes and tests.

 

[Raptor]

BTW my lights are 12 inches off the water.

 

[Raptor]

At the tables and graphs at the bottom it clearly looks the luminarc is better in coverage.
Unless i am not getting the point.

I guess here you can clearly see for my application the others are inferior as spread goes at 12 inches as luminarcs lose 37% intensity rather than 50+% or more with the others he tested.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/images/mar2003/fig25-comparison-mogul.gif

 

[Raptor]

Naw don't get me wong i am not getting heated. I am just stating my focus, You have a point that i have never seen before. I have seen other luminarcs on cannopys and never noticed it spotlighting.
Mine is 12 inches and i run xm's and i get very good spread and cover at 12 inches the others could never do what the luminarcs do. I guess we were arguing seperate points that are both valid.

EDIT i didnt make sense in one sentance. I have been up all night. LOL

 

[Raptor]

LOL yeah there was a couple. Ok
And alot i dont proof read till i post, and i see a mess. LOL

 

[naturebat]

I love my 36" PFO as well, awesome light spread, love the slightly darker corner thing, easy to clean and my single 65w PC actinict rocks in the slot provided

 

[surfn]

I'm not trying to argue, color or par. Like I mentioned in my earlier post, I'm only talking spread as that's what was brought up. I will agree that all of the tanks I have seen that switched to luminarc reflectors were noticably brighter overall, but IME, and acourding to Sanjays light meter, they don't have as good of a spread as other reflectors. (acourding to luminarc this is the design) All of the tanks I have seen in person that switched to luminarcs had a spotlight effect on them unless the bulbs were 12" or more above the water. (over a dozen tanks locally that I've seen)

Here's a good before and after picture example. The glass is dirty on the after picture with the luminarcs. But you can clearly see the spotlight effect.

Before (I believe it was PFO reflectors)

After

thats EXACTLY what i'm talking about!! nice images, that hits the nail on the head with what i've experienced before.

lumenarcs are great for certain applications that require an open top, and hanging the reflector from the ceiling and more than a foot above the top of the tank.

but since i'm doing a closed canopy, and bringing the light down closer to the tank.....the spot lighting would be bad for most of my sps as i would have a very bright side to them and they would be pale underneath.



raptor, i dont like DE bulbs. i feel like they are more spotlight like than SE bulbs, more expensive, and generate more heat. that and i LOVE running my SE radium bulb on an HQI ballast, i'm never going to another bulb/lighting system ever again.

 

[Raptor]

DE bulbs are more expensive than running a hqi ballast with radiums and generate more heat? Looks to be a equal heat and expensive bulb choice.
Actually more $ to buy than some DE bulbs and certainly not cheaper to run.
I can understand about your closed cannopy application and not wanting to have it 9-12 inches above your tank.
In those pics i dont see where the pfo's are mounted, and i am assuming he has 2 fixtures rather than 3?
The pic looks a little misleading with the close and set back a little further shot, and the room is dark in one pic and the room is lit in another.

" i'm never going to another bulb/lighting system ever again. :wink:"
Yeah i deserve the sarcasm for that one.