Watts
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snakeblitz33
Well-Known Member
Wattage as a rule of thumb is - an old way of gauging what amount of light that you need. It no longer applies because the use and innovation of LEDs. There are several systems that I can recommend...
six bulb T5 unit with ATI and.or UVL bulbs
two bulb T5 supplement unit with one 150w HQI metal halide bulb
LED system - Vega, SOL, Apollo Reef, knock off brand Chinese LED fixtures...
six bulb T5 unit with ATI and.or UVL bulbs
two bulb T5 supplement unit with one 150w HQI metal halide bulb
LED system - Vega, SOL, Apollo Reef, knock off brand Chinese LED fixtures...
S
saxman
Guest
To add to what Seth said, "Watts" means nothing in terms of brightness...it's the unit of power used (dissipated) by an electric device. The Watt is simply the amount of current drawn multiplied by the voltage, so you can see that "Watts per gallon" means NOTHING unless you're comparing the SAME lighting technology (T-5 to T-5, LED to LED, etc).
For instance, 100W of T-5 and 100W of LED both dissipate the same power (100W), but in T-5's, a lot of the power is given off as heat, and there is a good amount of light lost due to restrike between the tubes (individual reflectors helps reduce this), This suggests that theoretically, the 100W of LED's should be brighter than the T-5's.
What I'm getting at is that the usage of LED's didn't kill the "Watts per gallon" thing....it was the innovation of ALL of the newer lighting technologies since the incandescent lamps we used to use, but it still works when comparing the same technology.
Just a peeve of mine, being an electrical engineer... ;-)
For instance, 100W of T-5 and 100W of LED both dissipate the same power (100W), but in T-5's, a lot of the power is given off as heat, and there is a good amount of light lost due to restrike between the tubes (individual reflectors helps reduce this), This suggests that theoretically, the 100W of LED's should be brighter than the T-5's.
What I'm getting at is that the usage of LED's didn't kill the "Watts per gallon" thing....it was the innovation of ALL of the newer lighting technologies since the incandescent lamps we used to use, but it still works when comparing the same technology.
Just a peeve of mine, being an electrical engineer... ;-)
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Other things to consider, types of coral and tank placement
S
saxman
Guest
Heyas Joe...Renee was just asking me about you!
florida joe
Well-Known Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by saxman http:///t/394046/watts#post_3507387
Heyas Joe...Renee was just asking me about you!
I swear I was not in Cali at that time
Originally Posted by saxman http:///t/394046/watts#post_3507387
Heyas Joe...Renee was just asking me about you!
I swear I was not in Cali at that time