Originally Posted by
d-man
http:///forum/post/3035892
they both drive and I'll race you I take the kia (some demo durby??
)my point is that no one is giving any # so par or mn it dose not matter and it's the relation of watts to what ever you want to use to read power out put that we are talking about and just because something cost more to run,purchase or resupply dosen't always make it the better choise.
Keep researching buddy.
I do agree with the fact that cost isn't the factor. Higher priced methods don't always achieve the best bang for the buck. Believe me I am a DIYer for sure. But.....There are several threads around the net with statistics that show how PAR compares under various conditions with different lamps etc. In fact I believe we have a member here who has posted these results on the bigger forum. Reefraff I think it is. Many Par readings have been taken and the issue of WATTS is not the issue at hand. Many 39 watt bulbs for instance don't give the same PAR as what others do. Watt for watt. In fact each individual bulb has it's own characteristics. Now were just talking about bulb here. How it is driven has an effect on how the buld performs.. Then reflector has a huge part in it. The reflective characteristic of each reflector is very important, as well as the shape of the reflector.After all it doesnt matter how much PAR a lamp puts out if the corals dont get it very well.....ATI and Ice Cap have dominated the field here. With Tek following close behind. Then we have the Novas....Apparent light(what you can see) or Lumen's, has little to do with it. Kelvin also. However it can be used as a general guide. Certainly you can use horticulture lamps for this and get good growth. But growth is only a part of the equation. We want more from these expensive boxes of water. We want color, we want growth, no nuisance issues. How a coral appears to us is VERY important. Many corals morph under different temperatures of lighting. Thus changing color. Some temperatures are good for growth, some good for color, some decent for both. Running a lamp on a modified ballast does not allow the user a sense of comfort knowing how the lamp is performing. Driving a lamp differently than designed will result in it performing differently. There is no way of knowing exactly how it is performing unless you use meters to tell you. PAR, Lumen's, Kelvin, Watts are all relative, but not equal in every lamp, under various conditions. Which is why the lighting aspect is so complicated.
Ultimately most reefers want to be able to purchase a coral they want and place it wherever they want in the box, and not have to worry whether their light will deliver enough to it.
what fish are you getting?
