Luminarcs -- Excellent!

[Travis]

I am debating possibly upgrading to LA3's in the future. I would like to fit them into my hood but it would be a very tight fit without an inch to spare. Do you need any clearance to adjust the bulb position? If I put them in my hood the end of the socket bracket would be flush against the edge of my canopy. Would this work?

[Tarasco1]

I'm also interested in upgrading, but worried about space concerns. How do people like the LA3 mini's? How do they compare to the originals?

[dgasmd]

Originally posted by Travis
I am debating possibly upgrading to LA3's in the future. I would like to fit them into my hood but it would be a very tight fit without an inch to spare. Do you need any clearance to adjust the bulb position? If I put them in my hood the end of the socket bracket would be flush against the edge of my canopy. Would this work?

Travis:

I just spent a couple of minutes looking at your site to remind myself of your canopy. I hate to tell you this, but you are likely going to have to re-do a lot of the canopy. Even if the inside of the canopy meausres 21" front to back and more than 10" top to bottom, they are not going to fit. The bracket that holds the bulbs sticks out a few inches and you will have to likely make a cut out for them to stick out of your canopy or you can make the canopy much wider fron to back and just fit them inside it. The fact that you have fans and a heat extractor there will help considerably as these reflectors tend to "cup" air under them and not allow blowing fans to dissipate the heat as much as the reflectors you have now. In the grand scheme of things with your set, it will mean literally nothing.

Go for them. It is money extremely well spent.

Alberto
PS: no more pictures of your girlfriend? Please don't tell me she RTN'ed

[dgasmd]

You can see what I am talking about in this picture of when I was building my light rack.

[Travis]

Thanks Alberto,

My hood is actually just short of 19" wide (inside dimensions) so if I do upgrade I would have to redo it anyways. I just want to get a "feel" for how I would need to redesign the canopy. I want to keep things fitting as tight as possible to minimize the space consumed and maximize the heat removing efficiency. Could you measure the width from the end of the bracket to the other side of the reflector for me? How do you adjust the bulb position? Do you reach into the bracket from the side or do you reach into it from the bottom? Or do you adjust it on the socket side where the bulb is? Basically, I'm just trying to figure out if it would be ok to have the end of the bracket flush with the wall of the hood.

Does anyone have the new cooled LA3's? I would love to see a pic of one if anyone has one.

[Travis]

Originally posted by dgasmd
You can see what I am talking about in this picture of when I was building my light rack.

Wow! They really do stick out a ways. Looks like a good 6" or so.

[Vili_Shark]

What's the size of the LA-3 minis and what's the size of the original LA-3?

[Travis]

Vili_Shark, I found this post in the PGS forum:

Originally posted by PGS
The LA3 is 19.5"W x 19.5"W x 8.5"H

The hood by itself is $89.95
With adjustable bracket and socket $124.90
A complete system including, hood, bracket and adjustable socket assembly, XM 20k bulb and electronic ballast to match. Prices vary depending upon ballast options.
The LA3 also comes with an Air Cooled model, with 2, 3" holes, and 4" duct flanges on either side to attach fans and ducting, and also a glass shield to seal in the heat.
The Air Cooling kit is $50.00
Glass alone is $20.00

The LA3 mini is 14.5"H x 14.5"H x 6.5"H

The hood by itself is $89.95
With adjustable bracket and socket $124.90
A complete system including, hood, bracket and adjustable socket assembly, XM 20k bulb and electronic ballast to match. Prices vary depending upon ballast options.


The LA4 is 25"L x 11.5"W x 7"H

It's made from the same Specular Aluminum as the LA3 series.

The hood by itself is $74.95
With adjustable bracket, socket, and baffles $109.95
w/ Air Cooling Kit $139.95 (glass, vent adapters)
A complete system including, hood, bracket, adjustable socket assembly, Air Cooling Kit, bulb, and ballast to match. Prices vary depending upon ballast options.
-Luke

[Tarasco1]

The LA3 is 19.5"W x 19.5"W x 8.5"H

The LA3 mini is 14.5"H x 14.5"H x 6.5"H

Ahhhh, you beat me Travis!

[dgasmd]

A couple of more pictures. The base of the reflector itself is 19.5"x19.5". The top to bottom dimension is about 11". The front of the reflector ot the back of the cracket is 24.5"-25".

You have a couple of small screws that hold the back of the socket in place in the bracket. When you loosen those screws, the base of the socket can be moved forward or backwards. In reality, the base sits pretty far forward inside the bracket and once in place you should never have to move it. In other words, you can just make the back fo the canopy flushed with the back of the bracket.

[Travis]

Thanks Alberto. That's what I was looking for.

[Kreeger1]

How does the smaller mini reflector compare to the big one? I have a 180 6x2x2 which reflectors should I go with?
I can build a new canopy to hold them thats no problem
Erik

[lucubrator]

I'm thinking about one of these for a 60g cube (2'x2'x2'). I'd be using a 175w se, instead of 400. Thoughts?

[Big E]

Erik,
I haven't seen the minis, but for the same price I'd go with the larger ones. I'm using two now, if you'd like to see them first hand send me a pm.

As far as cost........just by looking at how these are made I'd have to say a lot of it is done by hand. There's quite a bit of work involved in those bends & then riveting it all together. That's probably why there isn't much of a cost differnce between the sizes.

I went in on a group buy & they were considerably less. I think we bought 20 in all.

lucubrator, It will work fine. If it were me, I'd go with a 250w bulb if you can swing it.

[Big E]

Mike,

The direct comparisons I was talking about were concerning the par of the bulb/ballast combinations available now & tested since most of the old data your posting.

There are 400w SE combinations that more than double the par of 250W DE's. There are also many 250w SE setups that produce 50-100% more par.

[Leishman]

You might be able to get them cheaper HERE Rich has the DL03 sockets listed at $15

[dgasmd]

Amazing. After only 3 years of hearing about it, Rich has something in the website LOL........... Good prices too!!

I would personally use the "mini" ina tank 24" wide or less. It will give you some hand room on the sides and on that size tank it would work just the same.

One over the 60g cube would work just fine. That is exactly what I am doing myself with a 175 watt bulb.

[Travis]

Originally posted by eriksmacks
How does the smaller mini reflector compare to the big one? I have a 180 6x2x2 which reflectors should I go with?
I can build a new canopy to hold them thats no problem
Erik

There was a link posted earlier in this thread that shows Sanjay's testing of the mini.

[mikeo1210]

Originally posted by Big E
Mike,

The direct comparisons I was talking about were concerning the par of the bulb/ballast combinations available now & tested since most of the old data your posting.

Bulbs and ballasts being used are the same (w/ the exception of maybe XM). The test I was referring to was late 2003.

[mikeo1210]

Originally posted by lucubrator
I'm thinking about one of these for a 60g cube (2'x2'x2'). I'd be using a 175w se, instead of 400. Thoughts?

Go 250. What you'll get out of the bulb will be more then worth the small amount extra on your utility bill. Thats also one upgrade you wont need to make down the line.

[RedEyeReef]

Originally posted by Leishman
You might be able to get them cheaper HERE Rich has the DL03 sockets listed at $15

Leishman, good link.

Anyone heard of the AcroArc Muti-Faceted Premium Reflector?

http://www.aquariausa.com/Scripts/pr...?idproduct=196

[Leishman]

That's been on the site a while as "coming soon". I don't know what it is.

[birdman204]

To anyone looking at these reflectors, Price is not a concern, you definatley get bang for your buck, How many other reflectors can light a 30X30X30tank with NO dead spots, even with the reflector 6 " off the water?
I use 3 on an 8 foot tank, There are a few dead spots with them set low, but raise them up, and you'll get full coverage.
Again price should not be a concern when buying these reflector/socket assemblies, space is your concern. The front to back width including the socket holder is around 26" so keep that in mind when designing a canopy.

[copps]

Originally posted by xabo
Thanks for the replies. Copps, we talked briefly in Roozens about a week ago. How are the corals you picked up that day doing? Have any pic's?

Hey Xabo... that was a score of a day... a nice yellow A. austera (yellow tort) and a solid purple tutielensis that have both held their color. I've seen a few tuts come in, all with the standard green body and purple tips... this one is solid purple... even on the underside... definitaly a different variety...

Originally posted by dgasmd


COOPS:

Dude, when did you get that bigger tank? What size is that? Put up more than that man.

Hey Alberto! This display is a 180 that I actually bought about 12 years ago in high school working at a LFS. All of the guts are behind the wall and I plan on swapping it out eventually for a 500-600 gallon 8' x 5' tank down the road... of course with Lumenarcs! This has been setup in our new house for about 3 months... more pics will be posted soon...

Copps

[dgasmd]

Originally posted by copps
Hey Alberto! This display is a 180 that I actually bought about 12 years ago in high school working at a LFS. All of the guts are behind the wall and I plan on swapping it out eventually for a 500-600 gallon 8' x 5' tank down the road... of course with Lumenarcs! This has been setup in our new house for about 3 months... more pics will be posted soon...

Copps

That looks so much bigger than a standard 180g tank a 500-600g tank would be awesome. Let me know when you are putting it together and I'll tell you at least what not to do if anything Doing my recent tank has been a huge learning experience I am not sure I wish on anyone