UVL PC-R bulbs...Biocube 29

[TNTFISHY]

So from what I read, these bulbs are awesome. I guess this is the cheapest way to upgrade lighting in my Biocube 29? A few questions:
1) What combos are you for a 12k-20k look.
2) Can you grow more demanding corals with these over stock stuff?
3) What front back bulb position did you use?
4) Best place to get them?

Thanks!

[TNTFISHY]

Bump. I'm not getting much love on my Biocube lighting questions....hmmm too old school?

[zachfishman]

What are PC-R bulbs? I have some 65w UVL 12K/actinic 50/50 bulbs which I am not very impressed with.

[celano]

What are PC-R bulbs? I have some 65w UVL 12K/actinic 50/50 bulbs which I am not very impressed with.

Why aren't you impressed with them?

[TNTFISHY]

They are power compact bulbs from UVL that have a reflective coating in the bulb itself. The claim like a 50 increase in light generated down into the tank. Makes sense I guess. I might just try it.
Nanotuners has the 36W Biocube version. I checked with Reefgeekand they don't carry the 36W.

http://www.nanotuners.com/product_info.php?products_id=645

Does anyone know of a "reasonable priced" T5 mod to the Biocube 29 hood?

[zachfishman]

Why aren't you impressed with them?

The 65w 50/50 I have has that internal reflector, but:

1. The bulb output appears quite weak.
2. The bulb is physically smaller than other brands of PCs I have used (shorter and skinnier), I was worried it would fall out of the holding clips.
3. (personal preference), the light the 12k/actinic 50/50 gives off is very pink, not appealing.

I am looking forward to replacing the UVL with a Coralife 50/50 - they have a much better spectrum and output IMO.

[TNTFISHY]

Wow. I expected more positive reviews UVL. What bulb combo did you use. It was pinkish even with a Actinic combined with it?

[zachfishman]

The 12k/actinic 50/50 puts out an overall pink look. I'm running it alongside a Current-USA 10k/460nm actinic 50/50.

[TNTFISHY]

Sorry for my ignorance, but you say which one is pinkish?
036w PC-R - UVL Actinic White ?
036w PC-R - UVL Combo (Actinic White/454nm ?

They also have a pure actinic called 036w PC-R - UVL Dual Actinic (420nm/454nm) .

Can you tell if the reflectors made a noticeable difference?

Thanks

[zachfishman]

The acinic-white/actinic combo is pinkish. The internal reflector does very little to boost the output - the "white" side is no brighter than the 10K on my other bulb.

So I'm really getting 1/2 a bulb, the output side of the bulb is no brighter than a regular bulb, AND the back side of the bulb is emitting little/no light to be externally reflected into the tank. Combine this with the reduced bulb surface area emitting light in the first place (smaller bulb), and it makes for a sub-par product.

[Mustang Boy]

from the PAR numbers ive seen posted on a different forum comparing a few different brands of PC bulbs the UVL PCs had a much higher output

[TNTFISHY]

I was looking for a t-5 mod for the hood(because I want to keep the hood), but stumbled upon these UVL bulbs. I have a sunpod hqi 150w, but got lazy and tired of top offs. I'll check for PAR results....Hmmmm, what to do.

[Mustang Boy]

nanotuners/nanocustoms is currently designing a retro for 6x30w T5V-HO into the hoods of various AIO tanks including the BC29. they are only a little ways away they are waiting for the right sized bulbs to come in(the first batch UVL shipped them were a tiny bit too short) and for a ballast that isnt 17in long to drive them(that is the only ballast they have gotten so far that isnt really expensive ei. icecap 660). they have a source for a better sized ballast that isnt really expensive they are just waiting to get them from the manufacturer

[zachfishman]

i was looking for a t-5 mod for the hood(because i want to keep the hood), but stumbled upon these uvl bulbs. I have a sunpod hqi 150w, but got lazy and tired of top offs. I'll check for par results....hmmmm, what to do.

ato?

[TNTFISHY]

Had an ATO but the evaporation was crazy with the sunpod. I see if I can hold off for an mod maybe. Never done one...

[zachfishman]

from the PAR numbers ive seen posted on a different forum comparing a few different brands of PC bulbs the UVL PCs had a much higher output

If anybody finds a good PAR output comparison for various brands/types of PC bulbs please post a link. I'm curious to see both how they compare and how they are tested.

If they're simply tested by putting a PAR meter a set distance below a bare bulb, the UVLs might indeed register higher, as no light is thrown backwards (away) from the meter from the other side of the bulb. That "back light" from other brands is however, reflected by external reflectors back into our systems. Even if the front half of the UVLs output 1.5x the PAR of another brand, they might only be reading 1/2 the output of the other brands - meaning the UVL would actually be around 0.75x the strength of rival brands. which to my eye is probably fairly close.

[cobra9]

I just picked up a UVL 12k atinic white with reflector. It does have a pink hue to it. It also is a 50/50 bulb. My old 12k bulb was the whole bulb had a 12k hue to it not half white half blue. The tank seems a little duller then it was with the old bulb, but overall I dont mind the pinker hue. I think If I replace the other bulb thats is pure atinic right now and add a second 12k bulb it will be about what I was wanting.

[Mustang Boy]

If anybody finds a good PAR output comparison for various brands/types of PC bulbs please post a link. I'm curious to see both how they compare and how they are tested.

If they're simply tested by putting a PAR meter a set distance below a bare bulb, the UVLs might indeed register higher, as no light is thrown backwards (away) from the meter from the other side of the bulb. That "back light" from other brands is however, reflected by external reflectors back into our systems. Even if the front half of the UVLs output 1.5x the PAR of another brand, they might only be reading 1/2 the output of the other brands - meaning the UVL would actually be around 0.75x the strength of rival brands. which to my eye is probably fairly close.


I was able to get some measurements from a Stock Oceanic BC 29 with stock (ewww) ballasts. The numbers will be different when driven by horsies or ponies. The main thing to note is the percent output increase using the same ballast.

Stock (Coralife (eww) Stock 36w 10000K + Stock 36w Actinic Blue) - Steady State PAR - 78 @ 12 in

UVL (UVL (sexy) internal reflector T5 PC 36w Actinic White + 36w 454 Actinic) - SSPAR - 123 @ 12 in

A WHOPPING 57% increase in PAR vs STOCK!!!

To be fair and unbaised, I plugged in our bulbs

Nanocustoms Brand PC bulbs (Nanocustoms 36w 10000K + Nanocustoms 36w Actinic Blue) - SSPAR - 96 @ 12 in

So in summary

Stock - 78 PAR
NC - 96 PAR
UVL - 122 PAR

Our bulbs are 23% more output than stock Oceanic, but not as much output as UVL (UVL has a 28% advantage over NC bulbs). Not bad for $9.95 (Nanocustoms bulbs)


i had to quote this from another forum because RC wont let me post a link to the thread but this was done by the guys over at nanotuners/nanocustoms with the new UVL PC-R bulbs, their brand PC bulbs, and the stock coralife bulbs in a biocube 29 hood

[TNTFISHY]

That's quite a jump in PAR! I can't imagine that the crappy reflector in the Biocube hood is very effective. Wouldn't the internal bulb reflector be better than the reflection off the stock reflector?
Is it easy to upgrade a Biocube stock lighting ballast? Does it make a ton of difference?
Or T-5 mod, when available, still be a superior upgrade wouldn't it?

[celano]

If anybody finds a good PAR output comparison for various brands/types of PC bulbs please post a link. I'm curious to see both how they compare and how they are tested.
I've been looking for this for the past three years with no luck....imo no such list exists.

Also I've been using the pc-r bulbs now for almost two years over my 75 and have been very happy with them. I noticed the difference right away between them and some of the other bulb manufacturers that I tried before. They produce a nice crisp white look over the tank that imo looks very nice, but color is a personal taste and everyones is different.

[Mustang Boy]

That's quite a jump in PAR! I can't imagine that the crappy reflector in the Biocube hood is very effective. Wouldn't the internal bulb reflector be better than the reflection off the stock reflector?
Is it easy to upgrade a Biocube stock lighting ballast? Does it make a ton of difference?
Or T-5 mod, when available, still be a superior upgrade wouldn't it?

the T5V-HO mod will be 6x30w so it will be a total of 180w of T5V-HO compared to 72w of PC lighting with bulbs from the same manufacturer with the same internal reflector so the T5 will be a huge jump above the PC

I've been looking for this for the past three years with no luck....imo no such list exists.

Also I've been using the pc-r bulbs now for almost two years over my 75 and have been very happy with them. I noticed the difference right away between them and some of the other bulb manufacturers that I tried before. They produce a nice crisp white look over the tank that imo looks very nice, but color is a personal taste and everyones is different.

check my previous post it shows comparisons between 3 popular(for AIO tanks) PC bulbs with the stock reflector of a biocube hood which is about as good as it gets for PC bulbs

[celano]

I read your post but thats not really a comprehensive list of all the pc manufactures.
Current and Hamilton both make nice pc bulbs and wernt tested and that just two that came to mind.

[zachfishman]

I like my Current smartpaq for its 460nm actinic half. How does Hamilton stack up? Where are they sold?

[divewsharks]

I recently put the actinic white pc-r bulns in my BC29, the pink hue was way too much for me. I saw no appreciable difference in my corals (mostly lps rics and paly's). After about a 4-6 weeks with them in, I ended up gutting my hood and replacing the pc's with LEDs. I put in 3 ecoxotic panorama strips and the light produced is soooooo much better. I'm getting much better color out of the acans/lobos and yumas.
Haven't measured PAR yet as I need to borrow a meter.

[celano]

I like my Current smartpaq for its 460nm actinic half. How does Hamilton stack up? Where are they sold?
Marine Depot carries Hamiltons but its been years since I used them last and I dont remember what they look like.

[Miller_Time]

WI recently put the actinic white pc-r bulns in my BC29, the pink hue was way too much for me. I saw no appreciable difference in my corals (mostly lps rics and paly's). After about a 4-6 weeks with them in, I ended up gutting my hood and replacing the pc's with LEDs. I put in 3 ecoxotic panorama strips and the light produced is soooooo much better. I'm getting much better color out of the acans/lobos and yumas.
Haven't measured PAR yet as I need to borrow a meter.



When you do please report back. I'm considering doing the same thing at some point.

[Jakef150]

I have (2) 50/50 UVL PCR and one dual actinic..its nice color combo...its VERY little blue..

I know someone has (2) dual actinic and ONE 50/50 and its little more blue but wow.

I think i ll try this, one 12K pcr and (2) dual actinic for my biocube 29.

I have upgrade 3.36 light.

Jake

[cjrudy]

Good bye pink. Well after 3 months I could no longer take it , so I dumped my PC-R 10K, i kept the dual actnic but replaced the 10K with a Coralife. It is definitely not quite as bright but thank god the pink is gone.