400W Radium SE Pendants: Lumen Bright 3 vs Lumen Max 2

bigben · 07/24/2009, 10:41 PM

Howdy,

I'm planning a 150g tank (48x30x24H), which will be rimless starphire construction. This will be an SPS display.

I'd like some feedback on which of these 2 pendants will provide the best coverage using two 400W Radium 20K SE bulbs driven by either Galaxy or Lumatek pulse-start ballasts. The Lumen Bright 3 or Lumen Max 2?

I'm open to suggestions on other pendants/hanging fixtures compatible with SE sockets, but due to financial restraints, I'm not interested in buying 1 of the really price MH/T5 combo setups. In general, I'd like to avoid T5 supplementation all together, because I'm not a huge fan of extremely blue tanks.

Thanks in advance!

Kshack · 07/24/2009, 11:30 PM

One advantage of the Lumen Bright is the bulb is 16" off the water. That puts the bottom of the reflector about 12" off the water which gives you less heat transfer. This could be a problem if you are limited by canopy height. I have 3 in a 250-400-250 array. If you want to keep chalice and acans, etc., you may want to consider one 400 and one 250.

07/24/2009, 10:41 PM	#1
bigben Premium Member Join Date: Jan 2000 Location: Tyler, TX Posts: 1,332	400W Radium SE Pendants: Lumen Bright 3 vs Lumen Max 2 Howdy, I'm planning a 150g tank (48x30x24H), which will be rimless starphire construction. This will be an SPS display. I'd like some feedback on which of these 2 pendants will provide the best coverage using two 400W Radium 20K SE bulbs driven by either Galaxy or Lumatek pulse-start ballasts. The Lumen Bright 3 or Lumen Max 2? I'm open to suggestions on other pendants/hanging fixtures compatible with SE sockets, but due to financial restraints, I'm not interested in buying 1 of the really price MH/T5 combo setups. In general, I'd like to avoid T5 supplementation all together, because I'm not a huge fan of extremely blue tanks. Thanks in advance!

07/24/2009, 11:30 PM	#2
Kshack Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Ridgefield, WA Posts: 202	One advantage of the Lumen Bright is the bulb is 16" off the water. That puts the bottom of the reflector about 12" off the water which gives you less heat transfer. This could be a problem if you are limited by canopy height. I have 3 in a 250-400-250 array. If you want to keep chalice and acans, etc., you may want to consider one 400 and one 250.