serratus Posted December 22, 2008 Report Share Posted December 22, 2008 Hi everyone, I'm fairly new to this thread and new to aquariums in general. I'm trying to setup a salt-water reef tank and have been doing some research on lighting. I find that there is a lack of information on what's this subject. I desire to find lights with most light output for the amount of money I'm spending. I'm going to just stick with fluorescent lights for now. GOAL: To find the fluorescent light with the highest light output to price ratio. I see in a lot of references, including books, where they just suggest the power (in terms of wattage) of lights that are needed for a particular setup. However, power isn't the thing that matters. What matters is the light output ("radiant flux" usually in units of Lumens), not the electronic power that's being drawn from our walls. A more efficient bulb might output more light at lower power draw than a less efficient light. Right now, I don't know enough about efficiency or how many lumens each particular light outputs, just know their power so I need some help to figure out what the light with the highest light output to price ratio is. I basically don't have any idea as to how efficient these lights are. I don't know how many Lumens they output and only heard of people saying one is more efficient than another but don't know by how much. It seems like most manufacturers have the same power ratings on the same type of lights so I can leave the manufacters out of the equation for power. Here is what I have gathered for 36" 10,000K bulbs: T12 Normal Output (NO) 36" Power = 30W 36" Radiant Flux = ? T12 High Output (HO) - Do these things exist? Are they used in aquariums at all? T12 Very High Output (VHO) 36" Power = 95W 36" Radiant Flux = ? T5 Normal Output (NO) - Do these things exist? Are they used in aquariums at all? T5 High Output (HO) 36" Power = 39W 36" Radiant Flux = ? T5 Very High Output (VHO) - Do these things exist? Are they used in aquariums at all? How about T8 lights? How do they fit into all of this? I've heard that a T5 HO produces more radiant flux at 39W than a T12 VHO at 95W. Is this true? The price varies by manufacturer and it would not be surprising if the efficiency varried by manufacturer as well so this makes it extra difficult. Any help/tips would be appreciated. Weiyang Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosshog Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 The two most common lighting methods for reef tanks at the moment are T5HO and metal halide. LED's are coming of age but are too expensive for my pocket book. It kind of depends on what you are going to keep in the tank. High light SPS may need halides, lower light animals may do alright under t12. Tank depth also comes into play in your lighting search. You have many hours of reading and research to do before you plunk down any cash for a setup. Everyone here will tell you to do as much research as you can before spending any money. It is far less expensive to do it right the first time. check out canreef.com, reefcentral.com, nano-reef.com. They all have extensive lighting forums dedicated to salt water. That'll keep you busy reading for a couple days!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serratus Posted December 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Thanks for the tips bosshog. Do you know what is the most efficient fluorescent setup? Also, do you know any websites where I can find circuitry for the LED lights, or even what LEDs are used? I am very comfortable with designing and building electronics and LEDs are extremely easy to power. Looking at the prices of those LED lights, I bet those LED fixtures have a HUGE $$$ margin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dmaan. Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 go practical and get some good bulbs with a regular light! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 I would personalyl take the the T5HO, they are the cheapest, and have the most light output from my experience. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bosshog Posted December 23, 2008 Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 (edited) Serratus, for a link to diy led's check here, evilc66 has been playing with these things for a while. link: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=134394&hl= Seems that evil is leading a diy revolution over there. As for fluorescent I'd go with t5HO. They seem to be at the leading edge of that technology. PC isn't as good, the older bigger bulbs are old school technology that doesn't seem very popular anymore. I've only used t5ho, mh and pc so I really don't know anything about the others, except what I've read. Another nice feature of the t5 is that the color of the lighting is easily adjusted. The more bulbs over the tank the more spectrum changes you can make to customize the light to your tastes. If it's too blue put in more white, like a more purple color pop in a fiji purple. I'm biased toward the t5 for this reason. Edited December 23, 2008 by bosshog Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serratus Posted December 23, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 23, 2008 Oh sweet! Thanks for the link!! Serratus, for a link to diy led's check here, evilc66 has been playing with these things for a while. link: http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?...=134394&hl= Seems that evil is leading a diy revolution over there. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murminator Posted December 30, 2008 Report Share Posted December 30, 2008 I been through fluorescent, PC, HO's, and metal halide don't make the same mistake I made... go straight for the MH the rest you will not be happy with , unless it is a real small tank (under 20" high). In a reef tank I found all fluorescents only maintains life nothing really grows. PC's and VHO do a little better softies will grow a bit better. The initial start up cost between VHO's and MH you will maybe save $100 BUT you will shell that out in bulbs the 1st year. 4 bulb VHO kit about $250 without bulbs and a 2X250W MH kits about $320 +bulbs. VHO bulbs that last only 4-6 months are about $38 per bulb for a 48". MH that last 1 year is $80 per bulb. If you are having a "reef" tank MH is the only way to go and you will end up there once you are hooked. If you are doing a FO or fish only with no corals the just go with the fluorescents. Some people are unsure in the difference in marine tanks a "Reef" contains corals, fish , and invertbrates. A FO or FOWLR is a fish only or fish only with live rocks both are 2 totally different tanks and different set ups. Tell us about you overall tank plan with the size of tank and the will help with the planning of lights because if you are talking a 20G nano then MH is way overkill, (or not I have a 400W MH over a 33G :shock:), 4VHO will be fine you could grow SPS under it. Here is one of the best online site to order from i use them all the time for livestock and parts http://www.jlaquatics.com/phpstore/store_pages/mainpage.php Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
serratus Posted December 31, 2008 Author Report Share Posted December 31, 2008 Tell us about you overall tank plan with the size of tank and the will help with the planning of lights Thanks for the offer Murminator! The plan: 50G tank 36"x18"x18" live rock + fish + crustaceans + molluscs + soft corals + anemones btw, i'm looking for used equipment if anyone is considering selling plz let me know. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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