What LOA Model?

[salvatore]

I went to Home Depot over the weekend and realized I didnt know specifically what model I was looking for.
The Lights of America stuff were all floodlights. They were the kind you mount over your garage or in your yard to illuminate trees, et cetera. They didnt have a plug on them, just wires.
There were work lights too, called "Halogen work lights" that use the thin halogen bulbs you see in some home lamps. These were standard plug in work lights with a handle and stand (for placing on the floor).
What specific model of lights are the ones everyone refers to for lighting a refugium?
Thanks.

 

[salvatore]

Is this it?
Light

 

[bang guy]

I believe it's the model 9066 (pictured above)

 

[salvatore]

I was able to locate one of these last night (Wal-Mart, of all places) and the difference between the 75w grow light that was in there and this is outstanding.
Thanks for the help Bang Guy.

 

[fishfreek]

Does anyone know how much this fixture cost? I might add one or two to a 29g reef i am thinking of setting up.

 

[bang guy]

$24.99 at Walmart.

 

[surfnturf]

I've seen those lights at the "super" walmart here, what do you guys think of using those on a display tank? I'll do a little searching to see if I can find the overall spectrum of those lights. It really sounds like a winner if you build a custom hood for those lights, they have an incredible lux (sorry, lumen, not lux) density for their size compared to standard CFL's. I use 14 watters on freshwater tanks that I have (old cheap incandescant hoods) and they give pretty good color. I never thought of using them on saltwater due to the spectrum these bulbs commonly use (depends greatly on brand, I'm sure). Thanks for the great idea!

 

[salvatore]

FWIW, the heat from this has yet to be an issue. Its situated about six-eight inches off the water of the refugium, and the temp hasnt raised over 81.5 since I installed it (there's an 8" fan on a timer thats on when these lights are on, too).

 

[bang guy]

The bulbs are 6500K. They are in desperate need of replacing at about 9 months. But for the price, that's not too bad. They grow mushrooms, Ricordea, and Polyps extremely well. SPS will grow but doesn't color up at all. I have a Yellow Leather that is showing promise but it hasn't been under the LOA long enough for me to give it a thumbs up yet.
For a display tank I'd recomment supplementing with VHO actinic and have a spare fixture ready to install. They are NOT reliable. I take them apart and drill holes in the back casing to vent the heat. That seems to make them last longer.

 

[melbournefl]

Hey Guy, do you believe they really put out the 500watts? If so it seems to me that even replacing the entire fixture once or twice a year would still be *very* cost effective. Intial cost + energy savings. I'd appreciate your input on the light quality as I'm in the neverending process of constructing my tank as we speak and the lighting has me very concerned. I have 2 96 watt PC's that I'd run 03 bulbs in and if I could add say 4 of these fixtures to my hood (tank is 24inches from water level to top of sand bed) it would save me tons over the options.
Thanks for you information,
Paul

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by MelbourneFL
Hey Guy, do you believe they really put out the 500watts?
I'm pretty sure the watts are referring to 5 100 watt incandescent bulbs. Probably??
But as far aas reef lighting it's probably similar to a 55 watt PC. They sacrifices some light to get it into such a small package. Still a good buy for specific applications IMO.
Guy

 

[melbournefl]

Thanks Guy! Interesting concept you present though. I always thought a watt was a watt was a watt and that the "quality" of the light was a more a function of the type of bulb. If these bulbs put out 6500K it seems to me (and only me probably LOL) that it would be the functional equivalent of a 500 watt / 6500K Mh ... now I know this is probably a gross simplification but it's just another of the many things I'm learning here that make me go hmmmmm
Thanks again, later,
Paul

 

[bang guy]

just to put my perspective on the watt vs watt thing.
An incandescent bulb produces a lot of heat (infrared light) and a little bit of visible light. So if you have a more efficient bulb like PowerCompact that puts out relatively little heat and a lot of light then you can put out the same amount of light (same as 100 watt incandescent) using only 15% of the energy (15 watts).

 

[salvatore]

Bang Guy,
Didnt know that; thanks for the information.
(Glad I started this thread!)

 

[surfnturf]

Melbourne,
a 65 watt power compact puts out approximately the same lumen as a 500 watt incandescant bulb. Metal Halide is not incandescant light. The "500 watt equivalent" LOA bulb will not put out the same amount of light as a 500 watt MH. Mh is a HID light that is very efficient, I don't know the efficiency of MH vs PC but they are probably close enough to make the generalization that a 65 watt PC bulb would be roughly equivalent to a 65 watt MH bulb.

 

[melbournefl]

*THUD* damn lighting! So many variables to deal with here, and I really do appreciate the discussion. Just because this is so much fun let's throw yet another kink in the thread. Lumans. Okay, this LOA bulb puts out 8200+/- while a 175 watt Mh puts out about 10,000 (at least that what Tullock said in "Natural Reef Aquariums") now if that's the case my thinking goes something like this, aside from the much lower Kelvin rating of this LOA creature, 5 of these fixtures *should* yield about 41,000 initial luman or the equivalent of 4 175 watt Mh bulbs. Now I just went down to the local Wal-Mart and they had the LOA worklights @ $24.99 x 5 = $124.95. A random check of Mh Bulbs on the net yielded 175 watt Mh 6500K bulbs at about $95 each x 4 = $380.00. Making a VERY BIG "IF" here, IF the resulting light from the LOA fixtures is as the packaging reads then, you could replace the entire set (5) of LOA fixture 3 times a year for the roughly the same cost as 1 set (3) of the equivilent Mh bulbs. Okay, now what the heck am I missing here, it's seems, once again, to be too good to be true?
Salvatore, I'm glad you started the thread also!
Thanks again to all for the chance to learn!
Later,
Paul

 

[surfnturf]

You're right, it does seem too good to be true. But everything sounds good and I've used smaller versions of the light on freshwater for several months now, they work great. I never would have thought about using them on saltwater tanks before this thread. A kelvin rating of 6500 is lower than I would like, but I can just run an actinic or two in addition to the LOA bulbs to bring the overall kelvin up a bit. I'm definitely going to try it, no good reason not to. Not only are the bulbs cheaper, but have you priced the ballasts for MH

 

[melbournefl]

and SurfnTurf, $50 ballast (round numbers here guys), reflectors, mogul bases, etc. but the really big number is in the power savings ummmmm I think? A 175 watt Mh draws 175 watts at least right? Well these guys profess to draw 65 watts which means 5 = 325 watts, in other words less than the cost of 2 175 watt Mh. Still sounds too good to be true, even adding the actinics. Okay I'm still
Later,
Paul

 

[surfnturf]

Sorry, I was under the impression that the ballasts cost a great deal more than that. I looked on bulbs.com and they run about $50. Which really makes me wonder why the heck they charge so much for the MH kits that don't even include bulbs. Another plus with the LOA PC lights is that the ballast is part of the bulb, you never have to buy a new ballast, sweet.

 

[melbournefl]

bumping this cuz I'd really like some lighting "experts" to weigh in here. I just measured everything and figured I could mount 10 of these LOA fixtures in my hood ! If my calcs are right, or even close, this would equal about 5000watts and 82,000 lumens over a 12 square foot area. That with the two 96 watt PC's that would be running 03's sound like it should be enough for most anything ... I am really looking forward to hearing the devil's advocate here, it's just too good a deal. The total power draw would be about (10 x 65) + (2 x 96) = 842 watts ! Talk to me please if you can find fault in the logic.
Thanks in advance!
Later, Paul