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

[46bfinGA]

I just bought four Lumenbrights for my 600 gallon tank(96"x48"x30"). The tank is going to be mostly Softies/Anenomes.......with a few SPS/LPS thrown in. Will the 175W. Icecap E-ballasts and Iwasaki 15k's be enough light in a 30" tank? I will probably supplement with 6-8 Giessemen Actinic T5 lamps.

Should I be looking at 250's instead??? If so what lamp would give me a nice blue,that way I could do without more Watts. I bought four Coralvue 400's from Jayybird but really dont want 1600+ watts running.

[46bfinGA]

OOps double post.

FWIW....... I have approx. 17" from the ceiling to the top of the tank. So where is that going to put the lamp from the top of the tank??? These are the large LB's.

[melev]

Originally posted by giants4pc
Hoping someone can shed some light (no pun intended) on this issue. After getting these lumenbrights in the 250's from reefspecialty for my 90 to replace my old 175's with parabolics, I cut the light time from 6.5 hours to 2.5 hours(per Mike's suggestion). Still, my SPS has almost all bleaced. Here is a pic the first day I installed the lumenbrights:



Here they are after 1 week:



When I told Mike this, he was shocked that only 2.5 hours a day did this. I have a lobo on the sandbed that went from deep red to whiteish pink.
Anyways, Mike suggested getting eggcrate and screen to lessen the intensity. Then, he told me to increase the light time and gradually take off pieces of screen. So, I have the light time up to six hours now. I hope to remove one of the two pieces of screen by early next week.
Based on this pic, should I cut off the white bleached coral or is there a chance of it coming back? It's discouraging because I hoped after spending this money, my corals would "pop" not bleach. Any other ideas? What do I need to do - only get frags from those who have these reflectors??

Sorry to see that. How high up are the bulbs from the water? How far down in the tank from the surface were these corals, in relation to the bulb? Dead center under each one?

Your corals should be fine with the new lighting with a shorter schedule. Since I don't know enough facts yet, I'm on the fence whether it was too much light or not enough (only 2.5 hours per day) that caused this, or if it was completely unrelated.

If you want to salvage any of those corals, frag out the best looking sections and mount them to some rock. You might study the corals closely before cutting to see if you can find any living polyps in the bleached sections. If the sections are dead, nuisance algae will grow there.

[melev]

Originally posted by 46bfinGA
I just bought four Lumenbrights for my 600 gallon tank(96"x48"x30"). The tank is going to be mostly Softies/Anenomes.......with a few SPS/LPS thrown in. Will the 175W. Icecap E-ballasts and Iwasaki 15k's be enough light in a 30" tank? I will probably supplement with 6-8 Giessemen Actinic T5 lamps.

Should I be looking at 250's instead??? If so what lamp would give me a nice blue,that way I could do without more Watts. I bought four Coralvue 400's from Jayybird but really dont want 1600+ watts running.

FWIW....... I have approx. 17" from the ceiling to the top of the tank. So where is that going to put the lamp from the top of the tank??? These are the large LB's.

I would use 250w fixtures for a 30" tall tank. With the footprint being 8' x 4', I'm not sure how I would orient that lights -- perhaps staggered like a zig-zag pattern.

If the ceiling is 17" and you have a way to mount these flush up agains the ceiling, they will still be too low unfortunately. The bulbs should be 16 to 18" off the water, which means the base of the reflector should be 12 to 14" off the surface. These reflectors are 9" tall (IIRC), plus the eyelet hooks on top adding more height.

What is there no more room above the tank? Is it on a very tall stand, or is this a drop ceiling above the tank?

[46bfinGA]

Originally posted by melev
I would use 250w fixtures for a 30" tall tank. With the footprint being 8' x 4', I'm not sure how I would orient that lights -- perhaps staggered like a zig-zag pattern.

I was going to put them directly across the middle of the tank. All the rock and corals will be put in the middle of the tank anyways in a few "rock islands" so to speak.To leave room for fish to swim openly around the whole tank and for cleaning purposes.

[i] If the ceiling is 17" and you have a way to mount these flush up agains the ceiling, they will still be too low unfortunately. The bulbs should be 16 to 18" off the water, which means the base of the reflector should be 12 to 14" off the surface. These reflectors are 9" tall (IIRC), plus the eyelet hooks on top adding more height.

What is there no more room above the tank? Is it on a very tall stand, or is this a drop ceiling above the tank?

The tank is in the wall behind a bar in my basement. So the stand height is 48" which only gives me 17" from top of tank to ceiling.I was thinking I could mount them directly to the ceiling. Thats why I was thinking the 175's would suffice since they would be mounted a little closer then most people do. I guess I could always sell them and go with the Lumenarcs????

[JRaquatics]

Originally posted by giants4pc
Hoping someone can shed some light (no pun intended) on this issue. After getting these lumenbrights in the 250's from reefspecialty for my 90 to replace my old 175's with parabolics, I cut the light time from 6.5 hours to 2.5 hours(per Mike's suggestion). Still, my SPS has almost all bleaced. Here is a pic the first day I installed the lumenbrights:



Here they are after 1 week:



When I told Mike this, he was shocked that only 2.5 hours a day did this. I have a lobo on the sandbed that went from deep red to whiteish pink.
Anyways, Mike suggested getting eggcrate and screen to lessen the intensity. Then, he told me to increase the light time and gradually take off pieces of screen. So, I have the light time up to six hours now. I hope to remove one of the two pieces of screen by early next week.
Based on this pic, should I cut off the white bleached coral or is there a chance of it coming back? It's discouraging because I hoped after spending this money, my corals would "pop" not bleach. Any other ideas? What do I need to do - only get frags from those who have these reflectors??

There has to be something else at play here. What I mean is there has to be other variables that contributed to this because 3 hours a day or less photoperiod should not cause this. I am wondering how the corals were prior to the lights. Were they brown? What are your tanks parameters, temp fluxuations. Explain your equipment on your setup. As you see what I posted ealier of my 90gal and the par levels my corals were at, I did not loose or bleach one coral even with the transfer to a new unestablished tank. This is why I feel that your acros my have been under some sort of stress and the new light drove them over the edge. If you could just post a little more info on your tank we can all try to figure out how to solve your bleaching problem.

[melev]

Originally posted by 46bfinGA
I was going to put them directly across the middle of the tank. All the rock and corals will be put in the middle of the tank anyways in a few "rock islands" so to speak.To leave room for fish to swim openly around the whole tank and for cleaning purposes.



The tank is in the wall behind a bar in my basement. So the stand height is 48" which only gives me 17" from top of tank to ceiling.I was thinking I could mount them directly to the ceiling. Thats why I was thinking the 175's would suffice since they would be mounted a little closer then most people do. I guess I could always sell them and go with the Lumenarcs????

Especially with columns for the fish to swim around, being able to move the lights to key areas may be fun. If you can attach drawer slider guides on the ceiling and mount the reflectors to these, you could move each one from the front to the back to get the perfect spot. Like I said before, you'd have bright spots and dimmer ones, which actually could look pretty neat with good aquascaping. And if you got tired of it, move the lights forward and back to change things up.

Using 175w bulbs would be less intense, that's for sure.

With the reflector secured, how high is the bulb from the surface of the water? With that number, we can be more helpful.

[melev]

Originally posted by JRaquatics
There has to be something else at play here. What I mean is there has to be other variables that contributed to this because 3 hours a day or less photoperiod should not cause this. I am wondering how the corals were prior to the lights. Were they brown? What are your tanks parameters, temp fluxuations. Explain your equipment on your setup. As you see what I posted ealier of my 90gal and the par levels my corals were at, I did not loose or bleach one coral even with the transfer to a new unestablished tank. This is why I feel that your acros my have been under some sort of stress and the new light drove them over the edge. If you could just post a little more info on your tank we can all try to figure out how to solve your bleaching problem.

I agree with JR, especially since I converted my spider reflectors to the Lumenbrights over an established reef myself. When I did this, I measured the PAR before and after, and the lighting was far brighter. One particular coral was getting 110 PAR, and after the swap it was 444 PAR. That's incredible, especially when you consider the original bulb was 9" from the water and with the new reflector the bulb was 18" from the water!

None of my corals were cooked. I just did a write up for our club's newsletter that talks about this subject:
http://www.dfwmas.org/NewsLetter/dfw...ter2008_06.pdf

[46bfinGA]

[i]
With the reflector secured, how high is the bulb from the surface of the water? With that number, we can be more helpful. [/B]

I thought the 175 Iwasaki 15k's outperformed most 250watt??? If I was to go with 250 watt(The Icecap ballast price is almost the same) what lamp would you suggest??? I want something 14-20k range with decent PAR.

The reflectors will be mounted exactly 17" from the tank to the top of the reflector so you may be able to tell me the exact height of the lamp. The water level will probably be about 2-3" or so below the top of the tank. FWIW, I plan on keeping roughly a 3-4" sandbed.

[giants4pc]

My old system was dual parabolics with 175 watt XM 20k's. It's a 90 gallon with a 75 gallon sump, Euroreef 135 and fuge. I drip kalk overnight and have been doing so for over a year now. I also dose Randy's two part. Essentially, each part has about a shot glass worth each night. I did not change anything about the tank or parameters. Everything checks out fine. Temp hovers between 82-84.
I know it has to be the lights. I have 4 ricordeas midway in the tank. Before the lights, they were just about the size of half dollars. Now, they are less than the diameter of a dime. Nothing else has changed.

[melev]

Originally posted by 46bfinGA
I thought the 175 Iwasaki 15k's outperformed most 250watt??? If I was to go with 250 watt(The Icecap ballast price is almost the same) what lamp would you suggest??? I want something 14-20k range with decent PAR.

The reflectors will be mounted exactly 17" from the tank to the top of the reflector so you may be able to tell me the exact height of the lamp. The water level will probably be about 2-3" or so below the top of the tank. FWIW, I plan on keeping roughly a 3-4" sandbed.

The large reflector is 9" tall. The bulb is 4" up from the bottom of it. 9" (tall) from 17" (total) is 8" (off the tank), + 4" (inside the reflector) equal 12" (of the bulb) off the water. They would be too close in your application.

You'd be better off with Luminarc reflectors that can be closer to the water.

[melev]

Originally posted by giants4pc
My old system was dual parabolics with 175 watt XM 20k's. It's a 90 gallon with a 75 gallon sump, Euroreef 135 and fuge. I drip kalk overnight and have been doing so for over a year now. I also dose Randy's two part. Essentially, each part has about a shot glass worth each night. I did not change anything about the tank or parameters. Everything checks out fine. Temp hovers between 82-84.
I know it has to be the lights. I have 4 ricordeas midway in the tank. Before the lights, they were just about the size of half dollars. Now, they are less than the diameter of a dime. Nothing else has changed.

Too much light makes ricordia close up, so your observation makes sense. Sorry about the losses.

[46bfinGA]

Originally posted by melev
The large reflector is 9" tall. The bulb is 4" up from the bottom of it. 9" (tall) from 17" (total) is 8" (off the tank), + 4" (inside the reflector) equal 12" (of the bulb) off the water. They would be too close in your application.

You'd be better off with Luminarc reflectors that can be closer to the water.

Well the water is probably 2-3" below the top of the tank so do you still think at 15" or so they will not work???? That bums me out since I just bought them and haven't even recieved them yet.

Is the height issue more about the Spread of the reflector or the Par produced? If it is a Par issue then it would seem to me that I could get away with the 175's.

[melev]

It is both. Too much PAR (check out some of Glxtrix posts or the current article in the magazine) and light spread as well.

You've already purchased them, go ahead and use them. If you have or can borrow/rent 175w ballasts and bulbs, see how you like it. Even better, borrow or rent a PAR meter too.

[46bfinGA]

I dont live far from Lee(Glxtrix) so I will ask him his opinion. Plus the ARC has a par Meter so once I get the tank running I'll do some testing.

Thanks for your Time Marc. Can't wait for Macna XX in Sept.!

[melev]

See you there!

[mrkalel]

Hey guys, reading more and more about these new reflectors, I am convinced they will help my situation....

My current set up is a 144 Gal Half-Circle...



And the top looks like this...



...Except that I cut the far left and right plastic pieces so that the top looks like its completely open except for two braces....

The lighting that I am using is two 150 Watt PFO pendents on the far left and right, and 1 150 watt Current USA Pod in the back and 1 250 Watt Pod in the front... All bulbs are 14K....


Now adding all that up its 1100 Watts, and the bulbs are only about 3" from the surface, but I am able to fit the canopy on when company comes over....

What I am planing on doing is building a completely new canopy / cabinet above the tank and putting 2-3 of the new reflectors...





What I am wondering is what arrangement do you think will work best?...

Melev has suggested 2 reflectors, which I believe will work great, but I was thinking about maybe one large one in the middle and 2 smaller ones on the side...

Also what do you guys think about bulb wattage?... I like Melev's use of the 400 watt in the middle and 2 250 on the side, and also using some type of PC lighting for dusk & dawn (plus some type of moon lights)...

And the biggest issue I see having with this new setup would be having full access to my overflows and back of tank... since my tank kisses the wall behind it....



Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated as well as suggestions on mounting the reflectors to allow for movement up and down for tank maintenance.....

[JRaquatics]

What is the dimentions of your tank?

[mrkalel]

It is 60 ' * ~ 30 " (cant remember) at its max width.... and about 25-27 " at its deepest.

[JRaquatics]

I would also think two reflectors would be plenty coverage. I am a little indecisive about which size reflector would work best for your tank though.

[mrkalel]

60 " (lol)

[JRaquatics]

Originally posted by mrkalel
60 " (lol)

Yea, I think we all knew what you meant. That would be one he** of a home aquaria.

[glxtrix]

Yeah James, my LB's are only 11" off the water....however my tank is only 24" deep. Depending on what 250's you look at, yes the 175's will have a higher PAR output. If you're set on the 175, try them out and see if you like them...I mean, like you say, you'll be running mostly softies, so lighting wont be much an issue....not to mention the number of T5's you want to run, those too will help with PAR. Best part is, if you hook them up and don't like them, they sell themselfs! So sell them and get the LA's for more spread...unless you like how the LB's perform for you If you need some help, let me know and I'll try to get over and help you with the setup.

[mrkalel]

Bump

[46bfinGA]

Originally posted by glxtrix
Yeah James, my LB's are only 11" off the water....however my tank is only 24" deep. Depending on what 250's you look at, yes the 175's will have a higher PAR output. If you're set on the 175, try them out and see if you like them...I mean, like you say, you'll be running mostly softies, so lighting wont be much an issue....not to mention the number of T5's you want to run, those too will help with PAR. Best part is, if you hook them up and don't like them, they sell themselfs! So sell them and get the LA's for more spread...unless you like how the LB's perform for you If you need some help, let me know and I'll try to get over and help you with the setup.

Thanks Lee