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  #26  
Old 11/09/2007, 08:21 AM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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Hahnmeister,
What do you think about my combo idea? Is it silly? Any benifit in mixing bulbs like 250w G-mann 14.5k with a 150w 5500-6500k (or other combination) instead of a single 400w (or 250w)?
Are 6xT5 80w actinics overkill?
  #27  
Old 11/10/2007, 12:47 AM
hahnmeister hahnmeister is offline
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No benefit of mixing the bulbs... I wouldnt do it myself. The G-man is a fine bulb on its own.

Are 6x80wattT5 actinics overkill for what?
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  #28  
Old 11/10/2007, 06:37 AM
Emster Emster is offline
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I love my phoenix 14k on a HQI ballast. IMO it has just the right blue and makes the corals pop without any actinic needed. On my display tank I have aquaconnect 14k SE with actinics to get the corals to pop. I can't say enough good about the phoenix on HQI.
  #29  
Old 11/10/2007, 07:33 AM
recife111 recife111 is offline
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I have used both the gieseman bulbs and the blv 14k.

They both seem to be the same bulb.
  #30  
Old 11/10/2007, 10:57 AM
ZippyBoy ZippyBoy is offline
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Hey Jon,

How often are you changing out your bulbs?

I run my G Megechrome Corals about 12 hr/day on Sunlight Supply ballasts.
  #31  
Old 11/12/2007, 11:24 AM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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After reading you replies and other infos, I have been rethinking the whole thing and here is what I will try:
2X 250W DE 14.5k Megachrome (Giesemann)
using Sunlight Supply Reef Optix III+ reflectors and the PFO-HQI (ANSI -M80) magnetic ballast
4 (or 6?) T5 80W : half pure actinic and half actinic +
  #32  
Old 12/19/2007, 08:50 PM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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Hi!
One week ago I finally changed my 250w DE bulbs (10 months since last change) and went from the Phoenix 14k to the G-mann 14.5k What an improvement! You were perfectly right
hahnmeister! The general visual impact is great immediately: color of the corals and color of the whole tank (ambiance). It is very white, very 10k like, wich I like. Not yellowish at all of course. I tought I would wait at least a month before giving you feedback to see the possible change in the pigmentation of the corals. No need to wait, this also improved in a little week. I expected to have my pinks back but was not expecting much with blue pigments. Mistake: even the blues improved. My blue M. digitatas are bluer than ever and even has reddish-violet hues on the basis wich makes great contrasts with the clear blue of the polyps. This is it, I am keeping those G-mann 14.5k forever. No more experiences for me.
Regarding the T5 actinics I have tried to use only pure-actinics but it was too purple and unnatural looking (ugly). I changed to half pure actinic and half actinic + and it's perfect. Richer color than actinic+ alone.
Thanks!
Ricimer
  #33  
Old 12/19/2007, 09:48 PM
wildjoe wildjoe is offline
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Not to hijack the thread but rleechb's tank has me still undecided as to whether to go with a 1x250w hqi - 4xT5 combo rather than a 2x150 hqi - 2 xT5 combo. I am setting up a 36" wide tank (lps and soft only) and from this this thread, it seems that I'll get as much out of a 24" fixture with 4 T5's and 1 hqi as I would a 36" fixture with 2x150 hqi and 2 T5 fixtures. What do you guys think? From what I've researched the 14k (giesemann or phoenix)hqi is definitiely what I'll be going with.
  #34  
Old 12/19/2007, 10:36 PM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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I now have a 4' tank. I am planning to upgrade to a 6' tank in a couple years. When I do so I will still keep 2 HQI DE 250w. I wont go for 3 HQI. I will be looking for 6 T5 instead of 2 tough. Similar tought as yours with your 36" and only one HQI. If I were you I would go for the 1xHQI and 4xT5. Gives you more possibilities and good options for the LPS at the edge of the tanks. I strongly recommend the G-mann 14.5k over the Phoenix. I would not go back to the Phoenix even if they were given to me for free! Not that they were bad, but I would not want to miss what the G-mann 14.5 gives me. And with the 10k look it has I am convinced growth will be faster. To be continued...
  #35  
Old 12/19/2007, 11:35 PM
rpeeples rpeeples is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by Ricimer
Hi!
One week ago I finally changed my 250w DE bulbs (10 months since last change) and went from the Phoenix 14k to the G-mann 14.5k What an improvement! You were perfectly right
hahnmeister! The general visual impact is great immediately: color of the corals and color of the whole tank (ambiance). It is very white, very 10k like, wich I like. Not yellowish at all of course. I tought I would wait at least a month before giving you feedback to see the possible change in the pigmentation of the corals. No need to wait, this also improved in a little week. I expected to have my pinks back but was not expecting much with blue pigments. Mistake: even the blues improved. My blue M. digitatas are bluer than ever and even has reddish-violet hues on the basis wich makes great contrasts with the clear blue of the polyps. This is it, I am keeping those G-mann 14.5k forever. No more experiences for me.
Regarding the T5 actinics I have tried to use only pure-actinics but it was too purple and unnatural looking (ugly). I changed to half pure actinic and half actinic + and it's perfect. Richer color than actinic+ alone.
Thanks!
Ricimer
Would you be able to post some standard pics of the tank so we can see the output of the G14.5K's?
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  #36  
Old 12/22/2007, 12:53 PM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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Here is the picture. I dont know how good an impression a photo can give tought. Especially with a size limit of 50k...
Have a look and tell me your impression...

  #37  
Old 12/22/2007, 01:45 PM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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In fact it does look fairly acurate, except for the purple reflection on the pendant.
  #38  
Old 12/22/2007, 02:05 PM
DarG DarG is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by wildjoe
Not to hijack the thread but rleechb's tank has me still undecided as to whether to go with a 1x250w hqi - 4xT5 combo rather than a 2x150 hqi - 2 xT5 combo. I am setting up a 36" wide tank (lps and soft only) and from this this thread, it seems that I'll get as much out of a 24" fixture with 4 T5's and 1 hqi as I would a 36" fixture with 2x150 hqi and 2 T5 fixtures. What do you guys think? From what I've researched the 14k (giesemann or phoenix)hqi is definitiely what I'll be going with.
How long is the tank and when you say "fixture" are you referring to an off the shelf combination HQI + T5 fixture (and which one) or are you talking about a DIY, seperate reflector for the halide and T5 Retro kit that you build yourself?
  #39  
Old 12/22/2007, 02:22 PM
recife111 recife111 is offline
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I think the Giesemann bulbs are identical to BLV. They look the same when you put them side by side and on my tank they were Identical in output.

The Giesemann coral bulb is very bright does seem to wash out many of the colours.
  #40  
Old 12/22/2007, 02:57 PM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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It is an off the shelf Giesemann combination HQI + T5 fixture: 2T5 (one actinic+ and one pure actinic) + 250w DE with icecaps electronic ballasts.
I strongly disagree with what you wrote about washing out the colors recife111: in my tank the phoenix washed out the colors a bit because it was too monochromatic. The G-mann is clearly bringing back the color contrasts.
  #41  
Old 12/22/2007, 02:58 PM
wildjoe wildjoe is offline
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The tank I'm setting up is a 58 Oceanic RR that is 36" wide. The 2 "off the shelf" fixtures I'm considering are the Elos Planet II and the Giesemann Infiniti. Since the fixture will be hung a few inches above the tank I'm hoping that the spread from a 250w with the 4 T5's will be enough for the remaining 6" on each side. I'm thinking this will also give some range in intensity for the LPS and soft corals I'm planning on keeping.
  #42  
Old 12/22/2007, 02:58 PM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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It is an off the shelf Giesemann combination HQI + T5 fixture: 2T5 (one actinic+ and one pure actinic) + 250w DE with icecaps electronic ballasts.
I strongly disagree with what you wrote about washing out the colors recife111: in my tank the phoenix washed out the colors a bit because it was too monochromatic. The G-mann is clearly bringing back the color contrasts.
The tank is 2 and 1/2 years old.
  #43  
Old 12/22/2007, 04:01 PM
DarG DarG is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by wildjoe
The tank I'm setting up is a 58 Oceanic RR that is 36" wide. The 2 "off the shelf" fixtures I'm considering are the Elos Planet II and the Giesemann Infiniti. Since the fixture will be hung a few inches above the tank I'm hoping that the spread from a 250w with the 4 T5's will be enough for the remaining 6" on each side. I'm thinking this will also give some range in intensity for the LPS and soft corals I'm planning on keeping.
Those are both supposed to be nice fixtures but they do have smallish reflectors for the halides like most combos. You wont get a full 36" spread with high intensity but I can see that you already realize this ... so keep high light lovers from the ends like you intend to do. The thing with T5 reflectors though is that they dont really throw any intense light beyond the ends of the bulbs, only throughout the length of the reflector. So, they arent going to contribute much to adding par to the 6 inches on either end. That's going to be all on what the halide reflector is able to throw. But it sounds like you know the limitations so you know what you have to work with.

Any thoughts on a 36" long combo with a single center halide but full length T5's? Do anyone make one in the class of the two 24" units you are considering?
  #44  
Old 12/23/2007, 11:35 AM
wildjoe wildjoe is offline
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Quote:
Originally posted by DarG
Those are both supposed to be nice fixtures but they do have smallish reflectors for the halides like most combos. You wont get a full 36" spread with high intensity but I can see that you already realize this ... so keep high light lovers from the ends like you intend to do. The thing with T5 reflectors though is that they dont really throw any intense light beyond the ends of the bulbs, only throughout the length of the reflector. So, they arent going to contribute much to adding par to the 6 inches on either end. That's going to be all on what the halide reflector is able to throw. But it sounds like you know the limitations so you know what you have to work with.

Any thoughts on a 36" long combo with a single center halide but full length T5's? Do anyone make one in the class of the two 24" units you are considering?
There are several 36" fixtures and the 2 I also researched were the Maristar and Sunpod HQI/T5 combos. If I do decide to go that route it would be the Maristar 2x150w + 2 T5 model. The Maristar is the closest thing I have seen in the Elos/Giesemann class but I still like the looks of those better. It seems that there are trade offs for every piece of equipment I'm considering so once my stand is finished being built I'll have to bite the bullet and make a decision.
  #45  
Old 12/23/2007, 11:48 AM
DarG DarG is offline
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No, I was talking about a 36" fixture with a single halide plus the full length T5's. I know there are plenty of dual halide 36" lomg fixtures.
  #46  
Old 01/09/2008, 12:23 PM
Sudad Sudad is offline
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Hi all,

I also use the Giesemann MegaChrome Coral 14.500 K (250 Watt) now. I never used the phoenix before so I can't judge it.

About the Giesemann I'm very content with the colours of my corals and it looks very natural, like sun is shining in your tank - but not yellow. Little similar to the "BLV Ushio Group" bulbs.

Not too much blue and not too much purple like other bulbs with 14.500 K. Just white and very bright.

I can't believe that it is a 14.500 K bulb, because other bulbs are often very dark and blue with 14.500 K (e.g. Aquaconnect performance).
But this bulb is so bright like a 10.000 K or 12.000 K bulb - but without the ugly yellow tint. But you should care that your water is crystal clear - otherwise it would enhance your yellow tint of the water.

I use this bulb (250 Watt) in combination with 4 x T5 24 Watt ATI Blue Plus. For me it looks better than with the Giesemann T5 actinic+. My lightning system is a Giesemann Infiniti. In my opinion the Giesemann (250 Watt) needs the addition of 4x24 Watt T5 Blue bulbs. So I wouldn't combine it with some daylight bulbs or 50/50 bulbs. Maybe with some pure actinics.

My stylophora pistilata and poccilopora became intensive pink with the Giesemann.

Note: The first 1-2 days (20 hours) the bulb is very yellow (like an 10.000 K bulb), but at the 3rd day it changes its colour to white with a tint of blue. So, don't be disappointed the first day - just wait 1-2 days and you would be surprised how cool it looks.

Sudad
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  #47  
Old 01/09/2008, 10:54 PM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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Many persons seem to think the ATI actinics (blue + and pure actinic) are better than the g-mann. I'm going to give it a try next time I change my T5.
  #48  
Old 01/09/2008, 11:25 PM
DarG DarG is offline
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Try the UVL Super Actinic if you are going to try a 420nm actinic.
  #49  
Old 01/10/2008, 10:49 AM
Ricimer Ricimer is offline
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BTW is there a difference visually between a 420nm and a 440nm actinic? 440nm is supposed to be the real actinic, right?
  #50  
Old 01/10/2008, 11:59 AM
dkle dkle is offline
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I think 420 nm is the true actinic, which gives off a purple color. The 460 nm bulbs give off a bluer color and pop the blue and red color a bit better in my opinion.

I ran 250w DE Ushio 10k and AB 10k before. They were too yellow for my taste. I switched to Phoenix a few years ago and never look back. To me it gives a perfect light, which is a crisp white with just a hint of blue to highlight the acros. Of course, this is all personal taste.

However, I read this entire thread and thought to myself: G-man sounds really good, I really should look into this. A quick plug into Sanjay's website show:
Bulbs w/Icecap ballast PPFD shielded Not shielded

G-man megachrome 13k 63 79
G-man coral 13k 71 88
Phoenix 73 90

Did I miss something about the monster output of the G-man? or Did Sanjay not test the G-man bulbs that you guys are talking about?
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