New Lumen Bright Reflector. ... any info on them

[bubbletip2]

Originally posted by Deuce67
bubbletip2, nice review on this months RK mag. Great job!

Thanks Deuce! Thank you for the use of your pictures. You started a big chain reaction of investigation. Glad we worked it out

[jmjohnson]

Originally posted by bubbletip2
I would go with one large LumenBright raised 16" to start from bulb to water. That should give you plenty of spread good enough for most 250w bulbs and certainly a 400w bulb. It is a compromise as you are trying to stretch 3ft either way but it will give you the best results. Figure a 20" reflector would mean you have 8" on both sides outside the ends of the reflector. If you had the mini at 16" figure you have 10" on each side outside the end of the reflector.

Optimally you want the ends of the reflector to reach the end of where the coral is growing. This way most of the coral is receiving light. Or should I say less of the coral is in the shade. The more you come in outside the end of where the coral grows the more of the coral is in the shade. It is just a matter of what percentage of the surface of your coral is receiving light.

As the day goes by and the angle of the sun to a coral changes, the coral will generally receive light on all of its surface throughout the course of a day. We cannot reproduce this effectively enough yet in our tanks. So if a part of a coral is left in the shade indefinitely, then that part of the coral generally does not do so well.

I compromise myself with 2 large LB's and a 5ft tank. I would much rather be closer to the ends of my growth. I am actually thinking of 3 mini LB's with 250w bulbs.

At any rate JM, if you are going with one go with a large and raise it up

Thank you very much. I will go with the larger reflector. ps: my 5ft tank has a plastic center brace and I wouldnt want a halide bulb directly over it although im sure you have a much nicer style tank and bracing.

[uhuru]

If I had a 60" x 30" x 20"H tank, do you guys think I would be okay with 2 LB's with 250w Reeflux 12k on CV ballasts? I was thinking 10xT5's but if I can get away with 2 x 250w MH that would be cheaper and use less power.

[bubbletip2]

Originally posted by jmjohnson
Thank you very much. I will go with the larger reflector. ps: my 5ft tank has a plastic center brace and I wouldnt want a halide bulb directly over it although im sure you have a much nicer style tank and bracing.

I actually would take the center brace you have over this 1.5ft wide piece of glass I have for the center brace on my Oceanic 156g. I was not told that the tank had a huge brace otherwise I would not have bought it. Live and learn I guess. I wanted the Starphire front at least which is why I bought it.

I hear that Perfecto is coming out with a range of 3ft wide tanks that have starphire on three sides. The 6ft by 3ft wide by 27" tall looks very appetizing 3LB's would be perfect for this tank.

http://www.marineland.com/sites/Mari...=3600&mid=3228

It is crazy that just adding 1 ft long a few inches higher and 1 ft wider doubles my tank volume from 156g to 300g. We can only dream. The crazy thing is these companies still build short stands and short canopies. They obviously have not learned of the benefits of raising up our lights.

JM, I thought you had a 40 breeder. Is that not 3ft wide?

[bubbletip2]

Originally posted by uhuru
If I had a 60" x 30" x 20"H tank, do you guys think I would be okay with 2 LB's with 250w Reeflux 12k on CV ballasts? I was thinking 10xT5's but if I can get away with 2 x 250w MH that would be cheaper and use less power.

2LB's will be a compromise as it is with me and my 5ft tank. In order to utilize these best I would recommend raising them up to 16" minimum. 250 watters will be fine as the tank is only 20" deep.

[nickts40]

Don't dream too much about the Perfecto Tanks. You get what you paid for and I did. First 220 had to be returned for cracked glass on the outside. Second tank had two parrallel gouge marks on the outside which were high enough that I could live with, rather than wait another 2 months to replace. Their customer service is atrocies!

[bubbletip2]

That is good to know. Did you buy one of these new models or one of the old? I wonder if it would be different going with Starphire...

[nickts40]

It was one of the old ones, 72x24x30. The problem is the packaging it comes in which is one layer of bubble wrap. Then it becomes a blame game between Perfecto and the distributor with me and the LFS holding the bag. The second tank was manufactured in Feb 2008 so I am guessing it is the poor packing material which causes the problem. Boxing it up with wood frame though would mitigate any savings over getting a custom built one.

[tinnghe]

Originally posted by melev
Since the bulbs and the ballasts are by the same manufacturer, I would suggest you anybody contact them about this. I don't have that ballast, so I can't help.

Anybody can can help with this

[glxtrix]

Hey Jim, I sent you a PM....but again, great write up!

[JRaquatics]

Originally posted by tinnghe
Anybody can can help with this

Call CoralVue. Honestly, Dave @ CoralVue is a great guy and will take care of you. Their customer service is the greatest things about CoralVue.

[JRaquatics]

Jim, That was a great write up. Next time lets make it an audio version, my eyes were tired after that one.

Now we can discuss further how LBs penetrate the surface of the water better than other reflectors curently on the market.

[bubbletip2]

Thanks Jeremy! Believe it or not I could have stretched it twice as far but decided to keep it short and sweet

It would have been easier to talk it out. I have been talking about it with reefkeepers for the last six months now and find it much easier to explain things.

I tried not to repeat everything as it was written throughout this thread to make it interesting for everyone that has followed along.

I agree that it is time for people to report their findings so everyone can benefit from what they have discovered.

These days I am more interested in what light intensities are best for specific coral in mine or your tanks than the numbers. I know what these reflectors can do. Now I want to know what they are doing for the coral. It is rare to find reefkeepers sharing these types of experiences. I think we would be better off if after we figure out the equipment that we begin to share proper husbandry for a specific coral. Whenever I share coral I let the person know flow, light intensity - PAR values, and growth history.

So Jeremy, when am I coming over to shoot your tank...

[JRaquatics]

Give my tank a couple more months, so that there will be something worth photographing. Also allow a little more time to grow out a few nice frags for you.

[martinphillip03]

Excellent write up. I thought the article was long but very interesting. I am surprised you kept it short. Again a very nice write up

Marty





[QUOTE]Originally posted by bubbletip2
[B]Thanks Jeremy! Believe it or not I could have stretched it twice as far but decided to keep it short and sweet

[melev]

Glxtrix, sorry for misspelling your name in the article. I'll get that fixed.

[glxtrix]

It's all good Marc. I appreciate it

[nickts40]

I can see already it's going to get got with the 400s in the LB. Does it make a difference where I place the 4 inch fans in the side panels in the canopy? Should they be closer to the water surface. I have my lights on for 1.25 hours a night just to get the tank acclimated and the temperature goes up a full degree F.

[bubbletip2]

Hey Nick,

I would try to keep the fans as close to the water surface as possible. I found that by just running fans when the lights are on is not the most effective way to stabilize the temp especially on hot summer days.

What I use is a Reefkeeper 2 and the 1st set of fans come on whne I reach 79 degrees. The second set of fans come on when I get to 79.5. They will all tuen off if I am at 78.5 degrees. An aquarium controller of some sort that allows this functionality is very effective. Without one, during the warm summer months, if the temp swing 3 degrees or more up and the fans turn off with the lights, then the tank temp is raised at the start of the next day and it starts a huge cycle of high temps. With a controller the fans will stay on until the temp comes down to the mark you set so that at the start of the next day you start at your minimal temp.

I fluctuate about a degree with a seven hour light cycle and I have 400w bulbs too. Raising them up an inch or two will help some more. Hopefully that helps...

Jim

[martinphillip03]

Jim, why do you like the Reeflux bulbs with the Coralvue ballasts? I know this may not be the right place. But this combination seems to be the preferred setup with the Lumenbrite reflectors.

Marty

[JRaquatics]

I think I can answer this one for you Jim. The Reeflux bulb puts out decent par while resembling the crisp mid day sun on the reef.

[martinphillip03]

Do you need to supplement with an actinic bulb?

Marty

Originally posted by JRaquatics
I think I can answer this one for you Jim. The Reeflux bulb puts out decent par while resembling the crisp mid day sun on the reef.

[bubbletip2]

Originally posted by martinphillip03
Jim, why do you like the Reeflux bulbs with the Coralvue ballasts? I know this may not be the right place. But this combination seems to be the preferred setup with the Lumenbrite reflectors.

Marty

I totally agree with you Jeremy. Short and Sweet right?

Marty how long do you have? JJ LOL!

I am sure there are many bulbs that grow coral just fine. Every TOTM seems to be doing lighting a bit different than the next guy. You check out May TOTM. This guy is running 3200watts over his tank. Holy Cow! The thing here is that 12K Reeflux are proven bulbs. Many have had great success with them. I have been successful so far so I am not willing to change them out. The thing I like most about the 12K's is they are in between meaning they have some blue and they have some white light. I don't need actinic supplementation because they provide it. Another great thing about them is when using a dimmable ballast you can turn them closer to white - sunny day reef - resembling more of a 10K(true 10K) or you can turn them down and they become more blue more like a 14K. I am not sure of other bulbs would perform the same way as the 12K. It would be interesting to find out. What I want to do is get a spectrometer to test the spectral wavelength as you turn them up and down. I have only heard of two manufacturers offering dimmable varieties at this point.

Visually it is obvious but I want some proof. You never know, dimmables could be the key here in providing a variable amount of light over the course of days. For instance you could turn them up to be closer to a 10K bulb's wavelength and get the growth you are looking for. After a few days or when you notice color fading a bit you could ramp them down to 14K wavelengths and get your color back. This is obviously just speculation at this point but there may be something to this. Can't say for sure until I test the wavelengths and see the results for myself. I have ot sya that most of us have a lighting set up and keep the same light over our tanks indefinitely. There is no change. Generally the coral is receiving similar light daily. This is not how the sun operates. I think it might be cool changing it up a bit to mimic nature just a bit more...

Marty,

Now why do I really love 12K Reeflux. Well, over the course of the past couple years I have had at least a half a dozen coral completely morph color on me. A coral that was drab and boring has become a beautiful specimen before my eyes. I have not had this happen with other bulbs. Not saying it does not happen with other bulbs. I just know the 12K's have a lot of potential in this area so I want to see what happens to the next coral. Hopefully that helps answer a few questions...

Oh did I mention that 12K Reeflux give out a ton of PAR too

[martinphillip03]

Thanks,

Marty

[Tbduval]

bubbletip2- have you seen the reeflux 12k's on a Icecap MH ballast? Do you think they burn a different color or the same? I want to keep a spare 250w MH ballast but can't decided between the Coralvue or Icecap. Thanks!