Those who use Lumenarc or LumenMax reflectors...where do you put actinic's?

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

right now i'm using a 72" reflector mounted to a diy hanging 72"x18" hood with three lamps over my 72"x24" 210g, but i also have 2-71" VHO actinics mounted to the reflector.........so if i got 3 of these good reflectors, where would i fit my vho's? they seem awefully big, even the mini's....

[moonpod]

I don't.....MH only. No supplementals.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

yeah, i can't go to all 400W's as i have 2-250's and a middle 400W now and i am at my limit, before i would have to add a chiller.....and 250W XM20K or Radiums don't have enough PAR to grow out a tank full of acro frags, 210g. is 29.5" tall....

[SunnyX]

Add the VHO's to the front and back of the reflectors. It will be a tight fit but should work.

My tank is 36" wide so i have no problems with adding VHO.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

how much is intensity increased with these by making all the light useable? honestly, if you have gone from flat retro reflectors to these?

thansk :)

[SunnyX]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7529953#post7529953 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by E-A-G-L-E-S
how much is intensity increased with these by making all the light useable? honestly, if you have gone from flat retro reflectors to these?

thansk :)

The difference is huge.

When I replaced my 3x250W DE lighting with only 2x250W Lumenarc's the difference was noticeable. I had better spread then the 3x250W DE's WITH one less reflector.

I highly recommenced these reflectors.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

i'd love to only use 2-400W's, but my 210 has 2 braces 2' apart :(

[Deuce67]

You can go with the LA3 minis. That would give you the room for the VHOs.

[moonpod]

Couple separate issues. Intensity vs spread. With a flat reflector, you get the most spread. Why? Because the light is going every which way with little concentrated intensity going down.

The polar opposite is the DE reflectors like the ROIII and the PFO mini which create a very tight intense cone of light. However b/c of the tightness of the light cone, you get shadows and little spread.

The LAIII and Lumenmax create a better balance of spread and intensity which one, lets you light a larger area (albeit you probably don't get the same peak light levels you get under a ROIII for instance controlling for a similar bulb/ballast result) and often creates a more pleasing visual effect with more apparent brightness b/c you get more light scatter.

I use 3 400w LAIIIs over a 10x3 surface area.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

so moonpod....would there still be a significant difference between a flat and a "mini" ?.......as the standard would not allow me to get my vho's with any good coverage placed at the rim of the tank...

[moonpod]

oh yeah. flat reflectors are nearly worthless actually.

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

i figured that, thats why i coated hood in white marine paint and extended the box down a few inches...so it's worth it - iyo