New Lumen Bright Reflector. ... any info on them - Page 34

salmon alley · 03/09/2008, 01:12 PM

Anyone run supplemental actinics with your Lumenbrites? I'd prefer to have a dawn/dusk effect with T5s but with the LB being mounted so high over the tank and the T5s only being 4-6" off the water, I'm worried the T5 reflectors will create linear shadows.

TheReefKeeper · 03/09/2008, 01:50 PM

I have all my T5's in a box. I'm told you don't need them its a waste. I too like the dawn to dusk idea been using my lights like that since I've started this hobby. If anybody has any Ideas I would love to hear them. I am thinking of just adding moon lights.
The only thing I can think of is putting two smaller ones between the two reflectors the short way.

martinphillip03 · 03/10/2008, 02:46 PM

Is there any difference between running coralvue ballasts and Icecap ballasts on the LB with the 250 Reeflux Bulbs?

Marty

JACOXVIII · 03/10/2008, 02:50 PM

they will blow up
JK
it will work fine
but CV reeflux bulbs seam to do the best on CV ballast

JACOXVIII · 03/10/2008, 02:50 PM

they will blow up
JK
it will work fine
but CV reeflux bulbs seam to do the best on CV ballast

salmon alley · 03/10/2008, 06:01 PM

Okay, so no one wants to tackle the supplemental actinic issue, so let's try another one.
Anyone using 175w Coralvue Reeflux 12K bulbs? Curious to get some feedback on these.

sps_holic · 03/11/2008, 10:42 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by LooseHip
Anyone else here who purchased the 250w DE version? I had problems seating the bulb in the socket. I was unable to get it to seat properly until I accidently broke off the ceramic tabs. Once I broke the tabs off the bulb fit and works fine. I was just curious if anyone else ran into this issue?

I purchased my LB from Aquatic Reef in Carpentersville, IL and I had the same problem. They are working with the company to get a new sets of those sockets. I guess there are some LB that came out that the sockets are wrong. You may have to either talk to where you purchase your LB or talk to coralvue.

LooseHip · 03/11/2008, 12:27 PM

Quote:

I purchased my LB from Aquatic Reef in Carpentersville, IL and I had the same problem. They are working with the company to get a new sets of those sockets. I guess there are some LB that came out that the sockets are wrong. You may have to either talk to where you purchase your LB or talk to coralvue.

Alright I feel better that I am not the only one who had trouble..

JillNairn · 03/13/2008, 10:30 AM

I am thinking about switching to lumenbrights or lumenarcs for lighting over a 180. Would go with three. I have hamilton pendants set up right now that sit on top of my canopy and would do the same for the new reflectors. I have 2 250's on the sides and a 400 in the center. After looking at all these tanks and all these lights, I am questioning why I really need the 250's, let alone the 400 watter.

Does anyone run 175w lb's or la's on 24in depth tanks? Larger or smaller gallon tanks, doesnt matter. Just the depth. Why does everyone go to 250w when they go to longer tanks? The height is the same as the smaller tanks that they ran 175's on, so why go up? I bought my tank from someone who had 175 fixture above it. I had the bigger has to be better mentality and didnt purchase the fixture, thinking I had to have more wattage halides. He grew some sps and alot of lps just fine.

I have went through most of the pages here, but not alot of info on 175w. Would like data on them on 24inch tanks. Is there info somewhere?

Jill

sirreal63 · 03/13/2008, 11:11 AM

You won't get any argument from me. I run 150 watt 10K DE bulbs in a LumenArc and kept clams and sps frags happy on the sand. This was on a 21" tall tank. If you don't plan on trying to grow a forest of sps corals on the sand you can use the 175's. The LB may be the better choice than the LumenArc in this case.

glxtrix · 03/13/2008, 11:26 AM

I have actinics with my LumenBrights. I run 175 Iwasakis in them and for actinics I have 2 URI VHO super actinics. They work great. I have them mounted pretty much right at the base of the reflectors. I dont have any reflectors on the bulbs because they have "built in" ones but I don't need them for PAR so it doesnt matter to me.

glxtrix · 03/13/2008, 11:30 AM

Jill - as stated above I run 175's and my tank is 55x24x24 I get great numbers from my bulbs. As far as going to 250's....all depends on what you're going for. In my case, going to 250's really isn't that cost effective, mainly because my Iwasakis are punching more PAR than most 250's. I don;t think there is any specific guideline people go by for selecting wattage for tanks...some goto 250's, so will do 400's...all depends really on what you want to grow, thats my opinion solely.

LooseHip · 03/23/2008, 08:50 PM

Quote:

I purchased my LB from Aquatic Reef in Carpentersville, IL and I had the same problem. They are working with the company to get a new sets of those sockets. I guess there are some LB that came out that the sockets are wrong. You may have to either talk to where you purchase your LB or talk to coralvue.

Just an FYI for anyone else who may have this issue, I talked to coralvue explained the issue I had, and they sent me out 2 new sockets for my reflector. Apparently the metal clips in the socket are too short. I have not installed the new sockets yet, but I was impressed with the customer service from coralvue. The sockets arrived within a week!

Again this is for the 250 DE version.

just dave · 03/23/2008, 09:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by salmon alley
Anyone run supplemental actinics with your Lumenbrites? I'd prefer to have a dawn/dusk effect with T5s but with the LB being mounted so high over the tank and the T5s only being 4-6" off the water, I'm worried the T5 reflectors will create linear shadows.

Maybe look into the Powerbrite LED strips from Current-USA. IMO they are too bright for moonlights and you wouldn't notice them with the metal halides on but they make a nice transition light.

grandp10 · 03/23/2008, 09:31 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by salmon alley
Anyone run supplemental actinics with your Lumenbrites? I'd prefer to have a dawn/dusk effect with T5s but with the LB being mounted so high over the tank and the T5s only being 4-6" off the water, I'm worried the T5 reflectors will create linear shadows.

I had this question also. I was told by Mike at ReefSpecialty that it would be fine, just hang the t5's about 6" above the water. I am planning on doing this, I will just put the t5 reflectors on the outside edge of the LB's so I am not blocking direct light right under the reflector. I have seen people that run vho's and they have them hanging under the LB about the same height you would hang t5 reflectors but somewhat inside the area of the LB's direct light. What I mean if you look from the top you would not see parts of the vho's because they are directly under the LB. These guys do not seem to mind it at all and think it has very minimal impact, these guy's know there stuff also as far as lighting. So I think if you hang the t5's like I said it will be great. Please let me know what you think when you get yours done.

JCTewks · 03/23/2008, 09:39 PM

If you are only wanting dawn/dusk out of your T5's you'll have no problem mounting them up by your reflectors....You will not be counting on HUGE PAR from the T5...only some blue d/d light....You'll get all of your primary lighting from the MH.

nreefer · 03/25/2008, 01:23 PM

I just installed 4 x DE LB reflectors with 4 T5 Superactinics on my 8 foot long 400 Gal tank. The T5's are housed in Icecap reflectors. I mounted the T5's right beside the base of the LB reflectors and you don't see a shadow from the MH's. Infact the light from the very edge of the LB's is not very intense so even if the T5 reflector overlaps the LB reflector by 1/2 an inch you can't tell.

I must say the LB's are definitly bright. I mounted mine so the top of the reflector is 16 inches from the water surface. At night you can see the "spot light" effect between the bulbs so I may need to try and raise them another inch or so. (I think the max. I can go is 17.5 inches before I run out of room)

I went from 4 x PFO Mini's and there is a big difference in lighting up all the little nooks and crannies but I would say that for a 16" wide reflector the real usable lighting area is probably about 12 inches at the top of my tank before you can visably see the light diminishing.

I had this effect with my PFO Mini's as well and had to raise them up to spread out the light spread.
I would rate these as very nice reflectors, in the DE version they produce the same spot light effect as a very large PFO Mini would (if it existed)

dja1980 · 03/26/2008, 03:55 PM

Wow. I just got to the end of this monster thread. Man, there's some good information here. Not only on LB's, but I learned a ton about lighting in general. I do have one question...

I'm in the process of setting up a 120g (4' x 2' x 2'). Originally, I was planning to use LA's with ReefLux 12K SE bulbs, but I was on the fence about which ballast to use. I was torn between using the Coralvue Electronic or PFO HQI (both 400w) due to total par vs. cost to run. I want my tank to be as bright as possible without risking damage to my corals, but I also don't want to spend more than I have to on my energy bills and replacing bulbs prematurely.

Now that I've read so many good things about the LB's, I'm thinking that if I go with the Coralvue Electronic ballast with LB's, the par numbers might be very similar to what I would have gotten with the PFO HQI ballast with LA's, only with less operating costs.

Has anyone tested this? I would also assume that using the PFO HQI ballast with LB's might be overkill on a 2' deep tank. Would you agree?

bubbletip2 · 03/26/2008, 06:27 PM

Interstingly enough, a PFO HQI ballast will not fire a 12K Reeflux hard enough. I have tested a 12K Reeflux on a PFO HQI and the numbers were 50% of what they are with a CV ballast or electronic in general. You definitely don't want to run them on a PFO. Another thingthat is different is a PFO HQI ballast gives this bulb a pinkish hue that looks really unnatural.

For a few more dollars in purchasing a CV ballast, you will have saved the amount of money you spent in energy costs within a couple months time. Check the amps generated by a PFO and an electronic. PFO's are archaic in terms of lighting in my opinion. A serious waste of energy and especially with rising electric bills.

You obviously read the thread and have seen that the PAR numbers with these ballast far exceeds most anything we have seen and will certainly be plenty of light for anything you want to grow.

Hopefully that helps

Jim

dja1980 · 03/26/2008, 08:56 PM

Seriously?! The reason I was looking at the PFO / 12K ReefLux combo was because I've had this recommend by a few people who REALLY like the par / look. I was told that overdriving the ReefLux bulbs gives you better par numbers and better look than an Electonic ballast. Is there anything special about the Coralvue Electronic ballast, or are all Electonics pretty much the same? I can't say that I've seen HQI / 12K ReefLux combo in person... yet, but I hope to soon. Thanks for the input, Jim!

JCTewks · 03/26/2008, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dja1980
Wow. I just got to the end of this monster thread. Man, there's some good information here. Not only on LB's, but I learned a ton about lighting in general. I do have one question...

I'm in the process of setting up a 120g (4' x 2' x 2'). Originally, I was planning to use LA's with ReefLux 12K SE bulbs, but I was on the fence about which ballast to use. I was torn between using the Coralvue Electronic or PFO HQI (both 400w) due to total par vs. cost to run. I want my tank to be as bright as possible without risking damage to my corals, but I also don't want to spend more than I have to on my energy bills and replacing bulbs prematurely.

Now that I've read so many good things about the LB's, I'm thinking that if I go with the Coralvue Electronic ballast with LB's, the par numbers might be very similar to what I would have gotten with the PFO HQI ballast with LA's, only with less operating costs.

Has anyone tested this? I would also assume that using the PFO HQI ballast with LB's might be overkill on a 2' deep tank. Would you agree?

I relly don't think you'll want to do 400w reeflux 12K's on a 120 gal tank....in LB's or LA's. They push PLENTY of PAR on the 250 to keep anything. IMO the 400's will allow you to grow SPS on the sandbed, and nothing will survive in the top 18" of the tank.

If you've learned anything from reading this thread, just get the CV 250w ballast, reeflux 12K, LB mini's and call it a day. You may even save some money over the PFO's by dropping down to 250w....You'll definitely save money every month

sailfish2 · 03/26/2008, 10:32 PM

nreefer
Quote
"I would say that for a 16" wide reflector the real usable lighting area is probably about 12 inches at the top of my tank before you can visably see the light diminishing."

I agree with this. I found that the par droped from 350 to 150 at just 1â€ to 1.5" outside the reflector. This is with the bottom of the reflector 7 Â¼â€ of the water and the bulb around 12â€ away.

I like these and I am glad that I bought them but you need to buy the largest you can fit. I feel they give no useable light outside the dimensions of the reflector. JMHO

I wish they made a pendent in the larger version.

It seems someone could make a similar reflector that would be square so you do not have the voids left from the octagon shape.

Joe

JCTewks · 03/26/2008, 10:37 PM

they do...it's called a luminarc

Rickyrooz1 · 03/27/2008, 06:49 AM

Anyone see Marc's site? He is going to be posting PAR readings for his tank with Lumen Bright's. He already has a few readings with Spider reflectors and various bulbs.

http://melevsreef.com/par_readings.html

nreefer · 03/27/2008, 07:10 AM

Sailfish2, I too am happy with these reflectors, My problem was the open water space I had if you take into account my Eurobracing was 18 inches. So I couldn't go much bigger if I wanted to include the t5's with reflectors running along side the LB's. I considered the LA DE reflectors but I liked the idea of having the reflectors mounted high to reduce salt spray and heat in the tank. The tank certainly looks alot brighter than before.

03/09/2008, 01:12 PM	#826
salmon alley Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Balto/Washington Area Posts: 716	Anyone run supplemental actinics with your Lumenbrites? I'd prefer to have a dawn/dusk effect with T5s but with the LB being mounted so high over the tank and the T5s only being 4-6" off the water, I'm worried the T5 reflectors will create linear shadows. __________________ "will spay for frags..." Current Tank Info: None currently, but researching for a new system

03/10/2008, 06:01 PM	#831
salmon alley Premium Member Join Date: Feb 2002 Location: Balto/Washington Area Posts: 716	Okay, so no one wants to tackle the supplemental actinic issue, so let's try another one. Anyone using 175w Coralvue Reeflux 12K bulbs? Curious to get some feedback on these. __________________ "will spay for frags..." Current Tank Info: None currently, but researching for a new system

03/13/2008, 11:11 AM	#835
sirreal63 Go Spurs Go!!! Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Meadowlakes Texas Posts: 13,357	You won't get any argument from me. I run 150 watt 10K DE bulbs in a LumenArc and kept clams and sps frags happy on the sand. This was on a 21" tall tank. If you don't plan on trying to grow a forest of sps corals on the sand you can use the 175's. The LB may be the better choice than the LumenArc in this case. __________________ Jack No One has ever been seriously injured by using the search function. Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms should be a convenience store, not a government agency. Current Tank Info: Reefing the Pentagon.

03/26/2008, 06:27 PM	#844
bubbletip2 Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Illinois Posts: 736	Interstingly enough, a PFO HQI ballast will not fire a 12K Reeflux hard enough. I have tested a 12K Reeflux on a PFO HQI and the numbers were 50% of what they are with a CV ballast or electronic in general. You definitely don't want to run them on a PFO. Another thingthat is different is a PFO HQI ballast gives this bulb a pinkish hue that looks really unnatural. For a few more dollars in purchasing a CV ballast, you will have saved the amount of money you spent in energy costs within a couple months time. Check the amps generated by a PFO and an electronic. PFO's are archaic in terms of lighting in my opinion. A serious waste of energy and especially with rising electric bills. You obviously read the thread and have seen that the PAR numbers with these ballast far exceeds most anything we have seen and will certainly be plenty of light for anything you want to grow. Hopefully that helps Jim __________________ 3-250W 12K Reeflux-CV Bllsts-3 Mini LB's,2 54w T5's,Advncd. ballast,2 - VTech MP40Ws,Reeflo Dart & Orca 200,Eshopps 37gsump, Ltrmtr + 1 - top off/alk-ca,RK 2 & AC JR,2 TLF Phosban Rctors,4 Orion fans Current Tank Info: 156G Oceanic SPS Dominant Reef System(L60.5 x W24.5 x H25) - 30g Cube plmbed into DT - 1 LG LB Pndt. - 250w EVC 14K(EVC Ballast) - Panworld(790gph feed)

03/26/2008, 10:32 PM	#847
sailfish2 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: AL Posts: 402	agree nreefer Quote "I would say that for a 16" wide reflector the real usable lighting area is probably about 12 inches at the top of my tank before you can visably see the light diminishing." I agree with this. I found that the par droped from 350 to 150 at just 1â€ to 1.5" outside the reflector. This is with the bottom of the reflector 7 Â¼â€ of the water and the bulb around 12â€ away. I like these and I am glad that I bought them but you need to buy the largest you can fit. I feel they give no useable light outside the dimensions of the reflector. JMHO I wish they made a pendent in the larger version. It seems someone could make a similar reflector that would be square so you do not have the voids left from the octagon shape. Joe

03/09/2008, 01:50 PM	#827
TheReefKeeper Aquaholic Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Somewhere Posts: 800	I have all my T5's in a box. I'm told you don't need them its a waste. I too like the dawn to dusk idea been using my lights like that since I've started this hobby. If anybody has any Ideas I would love to hear them. I am thinking of just adding moon lights. The only thing I can think of is putting two smaller ones between the two reflectors the short way.

03/10/2008, 02:46 PM	#828
martinphillip03 Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Charlotte, North Carolina Posts: 1,300	Is there any difference between running coralvue ballasts and Icecap ballasts on the LB with the 250 Reeflux Bulbs? Marty

03/10/2008, 02:50 PM	#829
JACOXVIII Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: KC MO Posts: 248	they will blow up JK it will work fine but CV reeflux bulbs seam to do the best on CV ballast

03/10/2008, 02:50 PM	#830
JACOXVIII Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: KC MO Posts: 248	they will blow up JK it will work fine but CV reeflux bulbs seam to do the best on CV ballast

03/13/2008, 10:30 AM	#834
JillNairn Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Gainesville, Fl Posts: 93	I am thinking about switching to lumenbrights or lumenarcs for lighting over a 180. Would go with three. I have hamilton pendants set up right now that sit on top of my canopy and would do the same for the new reflectors. I have 2 250's on the sides and a 400 in the center. After looking at all these tanks and all these lights, I am questioning why I really need the 250's, let alone the 400 watter. Does anyone run 175w lb's or la's on 24in depth tanks? Larger or smaller gallon tanks, doesnt matter. Just the depth. Why does everyone go to 250w when they go to longer tanks? The height is the same as the smaller tanks that they ran 175's on, so why go up? I bought my tank from someone who had 175 fixture above it. I had the bigger has to be better mentality and didnt purchase the fixture, thinking I had to have more wattage halides. He grew some sps and alot of lps just fine. I have went through most of the pages here, but not alot of info on 175w. Would like data on them on 24inch tanks. Is there info somewhere? Jill

03/13/2008, 11:26 AM	#836
glxtrix Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ATL, GA Posts: 882	I have actinics with my LumenBrights. I run 175 Iwasakis in them and for actinics I have 2 URI VHO super actinics. They work great. I have them mounted pretty much right at the base of the reflectors. I dont have any reflectors on the bulbs because they have "built in" ones but I don't need them for PAR so it doesnt matter to me.

03/13/2008, 11:30 AM	#837
glxtrix Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: ATL, GA Posts: 882	Jill - as stated above I run 175's and my tank is 55x24x24 I get great numbers from my bulbs. As far as going to 250's....all depends on what you're going for. In my case, going to 250's really isn't that cost effective, mainly because my Iwasakis are punching more PAR than most 250's. I don;t think there is any specific guideline people go by for selecting wattage for tanks...some goto 250's, so will do 400's...all depends really on what you want to grow, thats my opinion solely.

03/23/2008, 09:39 PM	#841
JCTewks Moved On Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wilmington, Ohio Posts: 3,040	If you are only wanting dawn/dusk out of your T5's you'll have no problem mounting them up by your reflectors....You will not be counting on HUGE PAR from the T5...only some blue d/d light....You'll get all of your primary lighting from the MH.

03/25/2008, 01:23 PM	#842
nreefer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 362	I just installed 4 x DE LB reflectors with 4 T5 Superactinics on my 8 foot long 400 Gal tank. The T5's are housed in Icecap reflectors. I mounted the T5's right beside the base of the LB reflectors and you don't see a shadow from the MH's. Infact the light from the very edge of the LB's is not very intense so even if the T5 reflector overlaps the LB reflector by 1/2 an inch you can't tell. I must say the LB's are definitly bright. I mounted mine so the top of the reflector is 16 inches from the water surface. At night you can see the "spot light" effect between the bulbs so I may need to try and raise them another inch or so. (I think the max. I can go is 17.5 inches before I run out of room) I went from 4 x PFO Mini's and there is a big difference in lighting up all the little nooks and crannies but I would say that for a 16" wide reflector the real usable lighting area is probably about 12 inches at the top of my tank before you can visably see the light diminishing. I had this effect with my PFO Mini's as well and had to raise them up to spread out the light spread. I would rate these as very nice reflectors, in the DE version they produce the same spot light effect as a very large PFO Mini would (if it existed)

03/26/2008, 03:55 PM	#843
dja1980 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sycamore, IL Posts: 1,375	Wow. I just got to the end of this monster thread. Man, there's some good information here. Not only on LB's, but I learned a ton about lighting in general. I do have one question... I'm in the process of setting up a 120g (4' x 2' x 2'). Originally, I was planning to use LA's with ReefLux 12K SE bulbs, but I was on the fence about which ballast to use. I was torn between using the Coralvue Electronic or PFO HQI (both 400w) due to total par vs. cost to run. I want my tank to be as bright as possible without risking damage to my corals, but I also don't want to spend more than I have to on my energy bills and replacing bulbs prematurely. Now that I've read so many good things about the LB's, I'm thinking that if I go with the Coralvue Electronic ballast with LB's, the par numbers might be very similar to what I would have gotten with the PFO HQI ballast with LA's, only with less operating costs. Has anyone tested this? I would also assume that using the PFO HQI ballast with LB's might be overkill on a 2' deep tank. Would you agree?

03/26/2008, 08:56 PM	#845
dja1980 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Sycamore, IL Posts: 1,375	Seriously?! The reason I was looking at the PFO / 12K ReefLux combo was because I've had this recommend by a few people who REALLY like the par / look. I was told that overdriving the ReefLux bulbs gives you better par numbers and better look than an Electonic ballast. Is there anything special about the Coralvue Electronic ballast, or are all Electonics pretty much the same? I can't say that I've seen HQI / 12K ReefLux combo in person... yet, but I hope to soon. Thanks for the input, Jim!

03/26/2008, 10:37 PM	#848
JCTewks Moved On Join Date: Oct 2005 Location: Wilmington, Ohio Posts: 3,040	they do...it's called a luminarc

03/27/2008, 06:49 AM	#849
Rickyrooz1 Acropora Nut Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newtown, PA Posts: 2,453	Anyone see Marc's site? He is going to be posting PAR readings for his tank with Lumen Bright's. He already has a few readings with Spider reflectors and various bulbs. http://melevsreef.com/par_readings.html __________________ 120 Gallon Acropora dominated tank, barebottom, APEX Controller, ATI Sunpower 8x54w, Skimz SM163, Jebao DCT 6000 return pump & two Jebao OW-40. Current Tank Info: SPS Dominated

03/27/2008, 07:10 AM	#850
nreefer Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2002 Location: Canada Posts: 362	Sailfish2, I too am happy with these reflectors, My problem was the open water space I had if you take into account my Eurobracing was 18 inches. So I couldn't go much bigger if I wanted to include the t5's with reflectors running along side the LB's. I considered the LA DE reflectors but I liked the idea of having the reflectors mounted high to reduce salt spray and heat in the tank. The tank certainly looks alot brighter than before.