Well...I made the decision. I'm going back.

chirocato · #1 12/10/2007, 09:57 PM

Been running (8) T5's on IceCaps for about a year now and well, I'm just not liking them 100%. They put out a ton of light (and heat) but there's just something about them I'm not satisfied with. Can't seem to find the K temp I really like and miss that shimmer effect too.

Tank is 60 x 24 x 24 and 98% sps. Going to do (2) SE Reeflux 12K 250's on electronic ballasts in Lumenarcs with 2 B+ T5's on IceCaps for supplement. That will put me at 700 total watts.

It will save me 100 watts of elec./hr on a daily basis and about $50/yr on new bulbs. (Based on either Reeflux or XM's)

I'm on vacation in 2wks and this will be my project.

erickrm · #2 12/10/2007, 10:07 PM

too bad you could not find the right combo ;( good luck with new setup

i def loved my combo i had with MH. lumenarc III with reeflux 12k and Coral Vue Electronic ballast

gave out great color and my sps colored up pretty well. Good luck

J8851 · #3 12/10/2007, 10:15 PM

Cato, check out the new Lumenmax reflectors they have the same footprint as the Lumenarc III but supposidly are 16% more effective.

chirocato · #4 12/10/2007, 10:27 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by erickrm
too bad you could not find the right combo ;( good luck with new setup i def loved my combo i had with MH. lumenarc III with reeflux 12k and Coral Vue Electronic ballast gave out great color and my sps colored up pretty well. Good luck

Rich,I have that exact setup. How was growth? I'm not lookin for superfast. Avg growth will do.

erickrm · #5 12/10/2007, 10:35 PM

it was def not super fast but it was enough to notice with being away for two weeks and coming home to a couple of new branches on my sps

but i did not need 400W for my lil SPS nano hahah so went with T5's still have not found that perfect combo either

might end up going with some kind of smaller MH setup.... still worry about heat from MH though

chirocato · #6 12/10/2007, 10:38 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by J8851
Cato, check out the new Lumenmax reflectors they have the same footprint as the Lumenarc III but supposidly are 16% more effective.

Jim I read the Lumenmax thread in the lighting forum. I opted to go with Lumenarcs because I need the coverage spread. I need to cover 60" with only 2 bulbs. I do like the Lumenmax too but I guess they are more focal and less spread.

Fiziksgeek · #7 12/11/2007, 07:54 AM

Are you guys talking about the new Lumenbright reflectors or actually the Lumenmax??

erickrm · #8 12/11/2007, 08:02 AM

from my impression lumenmax was inferior to lumenarc but i am not expert so i stayed quiet lol... this is going to be interesting

good one · #9 12/11/2007, 08:21 AM

lumenarc's provide alot of heat. i think they have a new vented one. i'll look for the link....

Fiziksgeek · #10 12/11/2007, 08:22 AM

HAHAHAHA

I am going to be buying a full size reflector in the near future as well. Lets face it, the best out there are the Lumenarc, Lumenmax and Lumenbright.

Jim (J8851) mentioned that Lumenxmax reflectors had 16% better reflectivity, thats the same number that the Lumenbright reflector claims. So I thought that maybe the names were getting mixed up here...hahaha

Lumenarc ~19.5" square
Lumenmax ~22" square
Lumenbright ~20" Octagonal

From what I have read, the lumenbright has good reflectivity, but not great spread, which would eliminate it for both Cato and I. So....Lumenarc vs. lumenmax.....??

erickrm · #11 12/11/2007, 08:52 AM

i say lumenarc..... only bc i could have sworn i read that lumenarc vs lumenmax was like comparing SLR vs SLS.....

SLR is just better

hahah

but lumenbright i have not read on but sounds like something i would be interested in

Fiziksgeek · #12 12/11/2007, 09:17 AM

Here is the thread int he lighting section:

http://archive.reefcentral.com/forum...readid=1211402

chirocato · #13 12/11/2007, 09:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Fiziksgeek
Are you guys talking about the new Lumenbright reflectors or actually the Lumenmax??

My bad, I meant LumenBright.

chirocato · #14 12/11/2007, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by good one
lumenarc's provide alot of heat. i think they have a new vented one. i'll look for the link....

You ought to feel the heat 8 overdriven 5' T5 bulbs put out. Waaay more than I ever thought they would. Forced me to buy a portable AC for summertime. Crazy. Jas has a Lumenarc with 250 in it and it felt way cooler than my T5's if you can believe it. I was shocked really at how much cooler it was. Oh they were SE not DE HQI's. The HQI DE put out A LOT of heat. My old 150 would fry your skin if you touched it.

Fiziksgeek · #15 12/11/2007, 10:12 AM

Well, if you think about it, watts is watts....

The efficiencies of T5 and MH aren't that different, meaning lumen output per watt of input, one is not 10x more efficient than the other. What ever doesn't get used to produce light becomes heat. Its just a matter of how that heat gets distributed, 1 single bulb a few inches long, or a tube 5' long...

J8851 · #16 12/11/2007, 10:53 AM

yeah, it was lumenbright. I have no idea why i said lumenmax it must have been all this studing for my finals that is frying my brain.

chirocato · #17 12/11/2007, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by J8851
yeah, it was lumenbright. I have no idea why i said lumenmax it must have been all this studing for my finals that is frying my brain.

Been there done that.

pecan2phat · #18 12/11/2007, 11:55 AM

Cato,

I don't think you will be satisfied with the RF 250's on Ice Caps. They are lacking in intensity and very blue. Someone mentioned to me that they do look brighter on HQI magnetic ballast but that would defeat your purpose. (heat wise)

chirocato · #19 12/11/2007, 12:07 PM

Yeah I'm playing around with the idea of XM 10K's as well. I may buy both sets and sell the ones I don't want. I will also be supplementing with(2) Blue plus T5's so I have wondered if it will be a "too blue" look. Thanks.

REEF-DADDY · #20 12/11/2007, 12:35 PM

Man I ran those 12k 250w reeflux. 0 growth........

xm 250s with actinic supps, now that a great combo........

REEF-DADDY · #21 12/11/2007, 12:37 PM

Or man up and do 2 400w radiums.

^^ coming from a guy thats ran about 10 different set ups.......

chirocato · #22 12/11/2007, 01:49 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by REEF-DADDY
Or man up and do 2 400w radiums.

^^ coming from a guy thats ran about 10 different set ups.......

Thought about it but decided to wait until the cost of electricity comes down before I go to 400 watters.

May try AquaConnect 250's at some point.

pecan2phat · #23 12/11/2007, 01:55 PM

Dying to try AC bulbs also

REEF-DADDY · #24 12/11/2007, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by pecan2phat
Dying to try AC bulbs also

The 400w aquaconnects were too much for my tank, and I liked the color of the Radiums better. 250w hqi may of worked well but then your practically in 400w territory. These bulbs don't run well on non hqi ballast's, they burn very dim.

REEF-DADDY · #25 12/11/2007, 02:37 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by chirocato
Thought about it but decided to wait until the cost of electricity comes down before I go to 400 watters.

May try AquaConnect 250's at some point.

You think its coming down lol.

Seriously, try the XM's with actinic supps, I think you'll be happy. The 12k reeflux are a great looking bulb but I know you won't be happy with the growth. I may even have a reeflux hanging around if you have a ballast to run it on. PM me if your interested and I'll look.