The Difference Between Individual And All Around Reflectors

blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
I am thinking about ordering the T5 light fixture in the picture. I am not totaly ssure if this fixture has indiv. reflectors or not. It KIND of looks like it in the picture but im not sure. I will call them tomorow and ask them. But in the description for this item it states: SolarXtreme T5 HO quad lighting system incorporates a light-amplifying parabolic reflector design to enhance the distribution of light, covering more area.
It says nothing about ware or what the reflector is.
So this has made ponder on: What is the real difference between indivdual reflectors, and a reflector that goess all around the bublbs. Both same refletivity. All the light is still being pointed downword right???
 
al&burke

al&burke

Active Member
The picture with the lense cover open I think it looks like individual reflectors, I think they are better and most of the good T5 lights have them. That is a nice set also check out the Aquatic Life brand. I have them on my reef.
 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Sorry the length (side to side) is 24"
Height (top to bottom) is 18"
Depth (front to bacj) is 12" on the end. Not shure about the length at the front if the bow
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
there are three different shapes actually and two of them are falsely called the same thing.
One is a flat refelctor which is obviously a single flat sheet of metal that goes behind all of the bulbs. It's just a polished piece of metal.
The second is the individual reflector. these are quite litteraly reflectors that go behind each individual bulb. The high end models of these have all sorts of pretty bends to refelct the light jsut perfectly. These are the best there are.
The one in between these two is called a contoured reflector. It looks just like individual reflectors but its made out of one sheet and its moulded around each light. These are far superior to a flat reflector but inferior to the top of the line individial reflectors.
Most "Bang for your buck lights" have the contoured reflectors in them. Like the Nova extreme pro's
 
bang guy

bang guy

Moderator
The major difference between a contoured reflector and individual reflectors is the amount of light from a bulb that is wasted by striking another bulb.
Best:
The high-end individual reflectors will send nearly all of the light down into the water. There will be a minimum of restrike (light reflecting back into the bulb) and reflection (light striking the water at a low angle and reflecting off the water surface). These take up a lot of space in a fixture because of all the contours needed to reflect all of the light down.
Good:
Individual reflector that still has some contouring but sacrifices some of the light for compactness. These reflectors are still really good and you can fit more of them in a single fixture. More restrike that a high-end reflector but the light still strikes the water at a high angle so there's a minimum of reflection.
OK:
Contoured multi-bulb reflector. Still pretty good but some of the light strikes the bulb next to it (wasted) and a significant amount of light strikes the water at too low of an angle to penetrate (wasted).
Unacceptable:
A flat reflector. This counteracts the advantage of T-5. You'd be better off with T-12.
 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
Wow bang your a smart little biscuit. So the Picture I have of the lights above, what kind would you think those are?
 
J

jstdv8

Guest
yes, my light is a contoured reflector light and it does awesome!.
I'd actually like to borrow a par meter so I could test out my light next to a Tek light and get some par numbers.
 
blackjacktang

blackjacktang

Active Member
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