new lighting set up

[StirCrazy]

well I bought some new lights and changed some stuff around and I am very pleased with the results.. befor I say what all i am using now I will post a couple pic and see if you can guess.

thease pics have not been color altered and what you see in the pic is what it looks like right here (well now that I look at it again it is a little more purple in real life, but I don't know how your moniter shows it either.. )

http://members.shaw.ca/stircrazy/maintank/sidenewlightssm.jpg

http://members.shaw.ca/stircrazy/maintank/endnewlightssm.jpg

Steve

[ 15 September 2002, 16:21: Message edited by: StirCrazy ]

[BC_Grl]

Cool Steve- I like your lighting!! :D

[Delphinus]

Indeed very nice. I haven't the foggiest what to guess though -- some kind of higher-Kelvin bulb perhaps? :confused:

[kris]

looks good steve!...

[Terrance Wong]

Does the person that guesses correctly get a prize ;) ?

I'll guess a 400w 20k Radium without actinics.

Terrance

[StirCrazy]

If I offer a prize, which I did think about... then one of the two people that know what it is would probably be posting fast :D

Anyways the way I did it was by running two 36" Uri super actinic VHO's in series using the full amperage of the Workhorse (so they are being driven at full VHO levels) also there are two 10000 K 96 watts PC's and finally one 10000K 175 watt MH on the one end where it is brighter...

I am going to add another MH on the other end in the near future.

The main part of this was to show how you can get better results from your actinics and still increase bulb life by using WH ballast instead of IceCap. The fact you are using a Electronic ballast alone will increase bulb life over a tar ballast... with my experience with florescent tubes in fresh planted tanks... you double the useful life of your bulb just by switching to a electronic ballast, for icecap they claim 6 times the life because in addition they under drive the tubes.. So cool your tubes last 3 years... but at 30ish a tube... I think it is fine if you have to switch them once a year... after all I am pumping a full 95 watts into a 95 watt bulb... not 64 watts as you would see by using a electronic HO ballast such as IceCap, but if you are happy with that amount of light a IceCap puts out you can split the WH to two wires per tube and you will get the same power out put.

I am going to let the new actinic bulbs burn in for a week or so then I will do some more tests with my PAR meter to get hard numbers on the increase of light in the tank...

So some of you might ask why run all those different types of bulbs... well this is my theory

I run the actinic for 14 hours a day, so they come on at 7am and turn off at 9 pm

The PC's come on at 8 am and go off at 8 pm for a 12 hour total.

The MH comes on at 10 am and turn off at 6pm for a 8 hour cycle

What my thinking is that the actinic will handle the dawn, daytime and dusk.

The PC's will give the ambient daylight, and the MH will provide the intensity of the hot part of the day. This allows me to run the MH for a shorter amount of time each day (I am thinking of cutting it back to 6 hours a day in the winter to kind of create a season change)

Some people say ahh the PC's are a waste but I don't think that running a MH on for 12 hours is realistic either... I have spent months and months in the tropics and the mornings and evenings are not near as intense as the mid day so I feel my way is closer to the real thing... does it matter???? Who knows but I hope it does :D

Steve

[fishboy]

Very nice Steve.

I'm a little curious about your actinics. Are you driving them with a workhorse 7? I'm using a wh7 to overdrive 3 no actinics(2 in series 1 by itself). The fulham website indicates that you need 3 of the 4 wires to drive one 96w vho. Wouldn't running two in series actually be under driven slightly? I was thinking of trying some vho bulbs but didn't want to buy another ballast.

[StirCrazy]

Originally posted by fishboy:
Very nice Steve.

I'm a little curious about your actinics. Are you driving them with a workhorse 7? I'm using a wh7 to overdrive 3 no actinics(2 in series 1 by itself). The fulham website indicates that you need 3 of the 4 wires to drive one 96w vho. Wouldn't running two in series actually be under driven slightly? I was thinking of trying some vho bulbs but didn't want to buy another ballast.<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">I am using all 4 wires so i am alowing the full 1.2A of current to pass through the bulbs so the ballast thinks there is one 6' VHO tube, and yes it is a WH7.

Steve

[Terrance Wong]

Hey Steve,

Wow that was quite an answer...I'm not sure even the people you told would have remembered everything :D .

I'm curious if anyone has seen tanks running T5's? There's been a lot of discussion over at Reef Central about these bulbs. They are 5/12" in diameter, and are very similar to power compacts except they're regular straight tubes. With properly design reflectors, watt per watt throw out more light than either power compacts or T12 Vho's.

I'd being interested in getting actinics, but haven't yet found anyone in North America carrying them.

Terrance

[Canadian]

Very off topic here . . .

Steve, how long have you had the Flame Angel? Just curious to find out if hobbyists are having more luck finding healthy ones within the last year. I know that about 5 years ago they were quite healthy, but that within the last few years people have had difficulty keeping them alive for more than a year (theories ranging from punctured swim bladders to viruses to internal parasites were tossed around). Just hoping that the success rate has improved because they're basically my favorite fish, and should I set up another tank I'd like to dedicate the tank to it.

P.S. In a thread that was quickly deleted (a few weeks ago) I posted a response in which I commended you on the progress you've made as a hobbyist. I don't know if you got a chance to see it or not, but I wanted to let you know (take this for what it's worth to you) that I'm impressed with the leaps you've made in your understanding and your conscientiousness as an ethical hobbyist. I wasn't being a total jerk when I said that you'd benefit from ". . . actual hands on experience."

[StirCrazy]

Terrance Wong,

the T5's are not realy new but they are new in the fish industry, yes watt / watt they have more light but they are lacking in intensity and there are no high powered version out.. they are a good replacement for NO bulbs but the cost makes it not worth it.

Canadian,
The flam came from a tank that was taken down here in town and I got a few fish from it. from my understanding it is older than a year and it seams to be very helthy. so Far it hasn't nibbled on anything it isn't suposed to (that I have seen anyways :D ) and it loves my dry food, golden pearls, and frozen plankton.

I think I missed that thread but Thanks, and it is good to see you around more. (it had something to do with Brad beating me with a stick every time I had a un-ethical thought ;) )

Steve