Is This Enough Light ??
- Thread starter convbmw
- Start date
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by DragonZim
http:///forum/post/2543092
DEFINITELY not enough light for anemones, especially at the bottom of the tank.
x10 I agree.....T5's minimum...PC's not at all....
http:///forum/post/2543092
DEFINITELY not enough light for anemones, especially at the bottom of the tank.
x10 I agree.....T5's minimum...PC's not at all....
convbmw
Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2543095
x10 I agree.....T5's minimum...PC's not at all....
Dark, help me out please.
65w x 10
or
10 k x 10
Also, PC means and T5 means ?
Thanks folks
http:///forum/post/2543095
x10 I agree.....T5's minimum...PC's not at all....
Dark, help me out please.
65w x 10
or
10 k x 10
Also, PC means and T5 means ?
Thanks folks
perfectdark
Active Member
LOL.... sorry for the confusion... my X10 meant that I agree with the above poster times 10.
As for the explanations you asked for...
PC= Power compact lighting, meaning they are just a std flourescent light, either in power compact form or T12, T8 form.
What the T means, is basically the bulbs diameter, and the number following is 8ths of an inch. EG T12 = a bulb measuring 12 8th's of an inch diameter, or 1-1/2" in diameter.
T5's are, well a bulb that is 5- 8ths of an inch in diameter 5/8". They all produce the same intensity they are just different diameters. The difference in keeping higher light demanding corals is when you prefrence the whole bulb description with HO, or High output, this is different and is typically in refrence to t5's even though its not said all the time HO is what is meant.
So now you have a small diameter bulb with a higer output in lumens per watt than normal, and because of its size is capable of having an individual reflector placed over each bulb. This combination is far superior to NO, or Normal output flourescent lighting.
10k is the color of the bulb, its not how intense it is.
As for the explanations you asked for...
PC= Power compact lighting, meaning they are just a std flourescent light, either in power compact form or T12, T8 form.
What the T means, is basically the bulbs diameter, and the number following is 8ths of an inch. EG T12 = a bulb measuring 12 8th's of an inch diameter, or 1-1/2" in diameter.
T5's are, well a bulb that is 5- 8ths of an inch in diameter 5/8". They all produce the same intensity they are just different diameters. The difference in keeping higher light demanding corals is when you prefrence the whole bulb description with HO, or High output, this is different and is typically in refrence to t5's even though its not said all the time HO is what is meant.
So now you have a small diameter bulb with a higer output in lumens per watt than normal, and because of its size is capable of having an individual reflector placed over each bulb. This combination is far superior to NO, or Normal output flourescent lighting.
10k is the color of the bulb, its not how intense it is.
convbmw
Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2543438
You have 260 watts of Power compact bulbs over your tank. what are you looking to keep in it?
right now, I have about 200 lbs of live rock and 2 pretty big anemones, yellow tang, 2 false percs.
I am certain I am going to add some more live coral and a few more fish. BIG TIME BABY STEPS tho. LOL, I learned the hard way to do things REAL SLOW.
http:///forum/post/2543438
You have 260 watts of Power compact bulbs over your tank. what are you looking to keep in it?
right now, I have about 200 lbs of live rock and 2 pretty big anemones, yellow tang, 2 false percs.
I am certain I am going to add some more live coral and a few more fish. BIG TIME BABY STEPS tho. LOL, I learned the hard way to do things REAL SLOW.
convbmw
Member
Originally Posted by spanko
http:///forum/post/2543438
You have 260 watts of Power compact bulbs over your tank. what are you looking to keep in it?
But please note that 2 of the bulbs are the purple ones and the other are the white lights.
http:///forum/post/2543438
You have 260 watts of Power compact bulbs over your tank. what are you looking to keep in it?
But please note that 2 of the bulbs are the purple ones and the other are the white lights.
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by convbmw
http:///forum/post/2543479
But please note that 2 of the bulbs are the purple ones and the other are the white lights.
OK sorry for the over load.
Lets address what you have, PC lighting as stated. What your bulbs are, 2 10K daylights although it appears that there are 4 bulbs there are only 2, and 2 blue actinics 420 or 460nm.
What PC Lighting is, basically a flourescent light tucked in a smaller space. Hence the name power compact, the bulbs have a u shape to them to save space and yet give you the wattage of a longer bulb. I hope this helps..
The daylight and actinic lighting give you a total wattage of 260watts, this is sufficient for lower light soft corals and some LPS placed higher on your LR.
While some may disagree I do not believe you have enough light for your anemones, PC lighting maybe ok for them if they resided just below your water line and didnt move, and that is still and IF IMO, this also depends on the species of anemones you have. PC Lighting is not strong enough to penetrate your water all the way to the bottom of your tank in an intensity to keep anemones and higer light demanding corals happy. After the light starts to penetrate your water after only a few inches it starts to lose its intensity significantly. While HO-T5 lighting and Metal Halide lighting is far more intense and has the ability to reach deeper in tanks.
To go a bit further into detail, intensity in lights does not mean higer wattage. It has to do with bulb type first and then the bulbs lumen out put. Each bulb type has a specific lumen output, some are more than others, PC or std N.O. flourscent have the least lumens per watt output, HO-T5's have much more, and in combination of other variables I wont touch on right now, have the capabilities to compete with metal halide lighting, which is stated to have the most Lumens per watt output of all the bulbs. These lumens dictate how far the light will penetrate the water and still keep their PAR value. PAR=Photosynthetic Active Radiation. Which is what our light demaning animals need to survive. While all the above bulbs have a PAR Rating what matters is what that rating is at certain depths. Specifics for bulbs are difficult to gather and get conclusions but it is a fact that out of all of the bulbs available for photosynthetic animals PC lighting is the least efficient and powerful.
Sorry for all the detail but I hope this all helps.... LOL.
http:///forum/post/2543479
But please note that 2 of the bulbs are the purple ones and the other are the white lights.
OK sorry for the over load.
Lets address what you have, PC lighting as stated. What your bulbs are, 2 10K daylights although it appears that there are 4 bulbs there are only 2, and 2 blue actinics 420 or 460nm.
What PC Lighting is, basically a flourescent light tucked in a smaller space. Hence the name power compact, the bulbs have a u shape to them to save space and yet give you the wattage of a longer bulb. I hope this helps..
The daylight and actinic lighting give you a total wattage of 260watts, this is sufficient for lower light soft corals and some LPS placed higher on your LR.
While some may disagree I do not believe you have enough light for your anemones, PC lighting maybe ok for them if they resided just below your water line and didnt move, and that is still and IF IMO, this also depends on the species of anemones you have. PC Lighting is not strong enough to penetrate your water all the way to the bottom of your tank in an intensity to keep anemones and higer light demanding corals happy. After the light starts to penetrate your water after only a few inches it starts to lose its intensity significantly. While HO-T5 lighting and Metal Halide lighting is far more intense and has the ability to reach deeper in tanks.
To go a bit further into detail, intensity in lights does not mean higer wattage. It has to do with bulb type first and then the bulbs lumen out put. Each bulb type has a specific lumen output, some are more than others, PC or std N.O. flourscent have the least lumens per watt output, HO-T5's have much more, and in combination of other variables I wont touch on right now, have the capabilities to compete with metal halide lighting, which is stated to have the most Lumens per watt output of all the bulbs. These lumens dictate how far the light will penetrate the water and still keep their PAR value. PAR=Photosynthetic Active Radiation. Which is what our light demaning animals need to survive. While all the above bulbs have a PAR Rating what matters is what that rating is at certain depths. Specifics for bulbs are difficult to gather and get conclusions but it is a fact that out of all of the bulbs available for photosynthetic animals PC lighting is the least efficient and powerful.
Sorry for all the detail but I hope this all helps.... LOL.
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by camanuch
http:///forum/post/2544479
i agree with dark. i have been researching t5ho's and if set up right tehy will match if not surpas a MH system.
dark here is a question for you... what is the smallest length t5ho you have seen. the smallest ive seen is the 24 inch is that true?
Yep I have seen 18 and 16" t5's but not in HO. To my knowledge the smallest is 24"
http:///forum/post/2544479
i agree with dark. i have been researching t5ho's and if set up right tehy will match if not surpas a MH system.
dark here is a question for you... what is the smallest length t5ho you have seen. the smallest ive seen is the 24 inch is that true?
Yep I have seen 18 and 16" t5's but not in HO. To my knowledge the smallest is 24"
peat12001
Member
oki well he's a little formula just to show you how fast the light intensity can be lost. the intensity of the light is varies inversely to the square of its distance. being a photographer i use a normal light meter and see how many lux is hitting the bottom of my tank. trust me its not much.
intensity=power/Distance(squared)
basically when you double the distance of the light source, the light isn't 1/2 as strong, its only 1/4 as strong. so you can see how fast this can occur
intensity=power/Distance(squared)
basically when you double the distance of the light source, the light isn't 1/2 as strong, its only 1/4 as strong. so you can see how fast this can occur
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by peat12001
http:///forum/post/2544964
oki well he's a little formula just to show you how fast the light intensity can be lost. the intensity of the light is varies inversely to the square of its distance. being a photographer i use a normal light meter and see how many lux is hitting the bottom of my tank. trust me its not much.
intensity=power/Distance(squared)
basically when you double the distance of the light source, the light isn't 1/2 as strong, its only 1/4 as strong. so you can see how fast this can occur
And depending on what type of lighting you have. PC, HOT5 or MH... determines which ones lose faster than the others. PC's being the least intense.
http:///forum/post/2544964
oki well he's a little formula just to show you how fast the light intensity can be lost. the intensity of the light is varies inversely to the square of its distance. being a photographer i use a normal light meter and see how many lux is hitting the bottom of my tank. trust me its not much.
intensity=power/Distance(squared)
basically when you double the distance of the light source, the light isn't 1/2 as strong, its only 1/4 as strong. so you can see how fast this can occur
And depending on what type of lighting you have. PC, HOT5 or MH... determines which ones lose faster than the others. PC's being the least intense.
peat12001
Member
Originally Posted by PerfectDark
http:///forum/post/2544987
And depending on what type of lighting you have. PC, HOT5 or MH... determines which ones lose faster than the others. PC's being the least intense.
yep yep
http:///forum/post/2544987
And depending on what type of lighting you have. PC, HOT5 or MH... determines which ones lose faster than the others. PC's being the least intense.
yep yep
perfectdark
Active Member
Originally Posted by mosalt
http:///forum/post/2545163
thanks guys, I also needed this info. I have a 36 bow front & wondered what would be best. Looks like T5's win! my LFS suggested a 24" any other suggestions? my tank is actually 30" wide.
Nova has a 30" set HO T5's sundial. They utilize 24" bulbs but give you the 30" you need.
http:///forum/post/2545163
thanks guys, I also needed this info. I have a 36 bow front & wondered what would be best. Looks like T5's win! my LFS suggested a 24" any other suggestions? my tank is actually 30" wide.
Nova has a 30" set HO T5's sundial. They utilize 24" bulbs but give you the 30" you need.
perfectdark
Active Member
While I pride myself on what I have learned in the one year I have invested in this hobby. There are still many many experienced reefers out there that have forgotten more than I will probably ever know....
