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  #1  
Old 05/11/2005, 07:50 PM
flyhigh123 flyhigh123 is offline
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Join Date: Aug 2001
Location: Los Angeles
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how to maximize light?

SO i have a hood that is 48 long 30 wide

I am running 2 400 watt MH SE

What is more efficient for the light, to run then like this:

A) parall

II II


front of tank


or

B) in line

== ==

front of tank

I will be using reflectors. The tank is 48long x 30 deep x 28 high
  #2  
Old 05/11/2005, 08:15 PM
maxvan1 maxvan1 is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2004
Location: Arizona.
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I vote B.
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  #3  
Old 05/11/2005, 08:21 PM
New_Noob New_Noob is offline
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Join Date: Apr 2004
Location: Milwaukee WI
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i vote A, that will creat areas of intense light, in the areas where the two light flows colide.
  #4  
Old 05/11/2005, 08:23 PM
Johnsteph10 Johnsteph10 is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2004
Location: Middle Island, NY
Posts: 2,531
B - unless you don't want to cover the entire tank.

If you really want the best lighting, get some LA3 reflectors. These things rock, though they are big.

John
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  #5  
Old 05/11/2005, 08:51 PM
orlenz orlenz is offline
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B
  #6  
Old 05/11/2005, 08:57 PM
Frick-n-Frags Frick-n-Frags is offline
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Join Date: Oct 2000
Location: north central OH
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Based upon your reflectors' light footprints and how you want to light your tank you would have to compare the two orientations.

The thing about perp mounting in a tank that is longer side-to-side vs front-to-back is that light won't be shining up the front and back as much and make more of a swatch from side-to-side.

However, I ended up mounting my Iwasakis parallel in my very narrow 55long because I have corals hanging from the back side of the tank too. If that tank was even a 75 or anything else as wide or wider, I would have mounted the lights perp also.

ps fig 1 is perp and fig 2 is parallel
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  #7  
Old 05/11/2005, 09:01 PM
JJ70 JJ70 is offline
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Location: Billings, Montana
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The type of reflectors you buy will determine the layout as they are designed for a specific orientation.
  #8  
Old 05/11/2005, 11:49 PM
aurora aurora is offline
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Location: Rockville, MD
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I would go with A. I have a 30" deep and wide tank. That seem to work best for me. Consider the Luminarc reflectors for better light coverage front to back.
  #9  
Old 05/12/2005, 03:27 PM
flyhigh123 flyhigh123 is offline
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Location: Los Angeles
Posts: 746
i'm looking at parabolic reflectors like the spider or the pfo ones... the Luminarcs are nice, but too much for me... seems the crowd is split...
  #10  
Old 05/12/2005, 04:04 PM
TheMoneyPit TheMoneyPit is offline
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Join Date: Feb 2004
Location: Newbury Park, CA
Posts: 445
Can I vote for C? I recently switched from 400 watt 10K's to 20K's and was surprised with the difference in brightness. I then switched my reflectors and couldn't be happier. Lumenarc's are well worth the money IMO.
 

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