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  #1  
Old 01/10/2008, 04:18 PM
k_kagy k_kagy is offline
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PCs seemed brighter than my new 14k MH??

I just installed a new 250W MH Single ended 14k bulb over my 30gal. Im not too happy though because the tank looks dimmer than 250 W of PC I had over the tank before. Would a 10K bulb be better. I want the tank to look a little less blue, but not yellow.
Thanks
  #2  
Old 01/10/2008, 06:32 PM
m2434 m2434 is offline
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I just installed a 150W 12000K HQI on my 20G and replaced 4x65W PC's. The HQI looks significantly dimmer, however looks can be deceiving. I think a lot of it has to do with the diffusion, the light from the MH is point source and more directed and the PC scatter the light everywhere. I suspect the actual output is similar, because my corals have been opening up like normal, with no acclimation - they didn't seem to notice the difference. Unfortunately, PAR data on PC's is tough to find, so I really don't know for sure...

I figure the corals seem happy as ever and I'm saving a lot of energy, so I'll stick with the HQI.
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  #3  
Old 01/10/2008, 06:55 PM
SSTG SSTG is offline
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Let it burn in.Before you judge it.
  #4  
Old 01/10/2008, 07:05 PM
m2434 m2434 is offline
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Mine has been running two weeks, it did seem to get a little brighter, or I just got use to it... I also had 2x250W DE's on my old 55g, they were bright, but I no longer run them and can't compare them to my PC's.
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  #5  
Old 01/10/2008, 08:47 PM
Dlckwood Dlckwood is offline
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  #6  
Old 01/10/2008, 08:49 PM
oct2274 oct2274 is offline
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if it is a mag ballast the capacitor could be bad and it would cause the output to be very poor or some other component might not be working correctly. See if you can borrow a ballast from someone locally and verify it isn't the ballast

Last edited by oct2274; 01/10/2008 at 09:01 PM.
  #7  
Old 01/10/2008, 08:53 PM
k_kagy k_kagy is offline
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good point. I already ordered the 10k reflux bulb though, so will try it out tommorrow. If the new light doesn't look good I will look into a new ballast.
  #8  
Old 01/10/2008, 08:59 PM
k_kagy k_kagy is offline
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the bulb is 6 months old, so its already burned in. I

My female bluestripe is still freakn with the new lighting and barely leaves the anemone. Hopefully she will adjust. All the other don't seem to mind though.
  #9  
Old 01/10/2008, 09:50 PM
m2434 m2434 is offline
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I think people underestimate how bright 260W of PC light can be, this is probably because most of the commercially available units don't contain many bulbs. For example for my 20g, the most watts any commercially available unit would provide, would be 130W.

To get 260 on a 20g, I needed to build a fixture myself.



But there is a difference between perceived brightness and PAR, there isn't necessarily less lumens. In fact, most of the mfg. data I've seen suggests that they are around 80-90% of the lumens of MH's. What I can't find is published PAR data.

Also, PC's provide very diffuse lighting and it doesn't direct the light down well, but, to a large extent, it's there... it may not be the right spectrum, and may not be focused, therefore lower PAR, but these factors have little to do with perceived brightness...
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