Lighting --250w DE ~VS.~ 400w DE

[Spooda420]

Ok, need some advice. I am upgrading my lighting shortly.

I what to keep SPS and clams ANYWHERE in my tank top to bottom.

My tank is 60"x18"x27" tall, thats right 27 inches tall are the 400w DE too much light for that tank? or is 250w more what I'm looking for.

I want SPS all over the tank dont forget. there is no DSB

please help...

 

[mps9506]

Originally posted by Spooda420
Ok, need some advice. I am upgrading my lighting shortly.

I what to keep SPS and clams ANYWHERE in my tank top to bottom.

My tank is 60"x18"x27" tall, thats right 27 inches tall are the 400w DE too much light for that tank? or is 250w more what I'm looking for.

I want SPS all over the tank dont forget. there is no DSB

please help...

No it's not too much , I'm a firm believer that you cannot have to much lighting for sps. They can readily acclimate to more intense lighting.
Get the 400watt de if you are willing to pay for it. I personally myself am waiting for a few more companies to start making bulbs and pendants for them, before I decide if I really want to get them.
Mike

 

[Spooda420]

well..... with the lack of posting today i went ahead and ordered the CV 400w DE pendants, I should get them by WED.

I ordered them from one of our sponsors Captivereefs.com, Darin has been great to deal with.

hopefully this are some kick@22 lights, we'll see in due time!

C

 

[mps9506]

Which bulbs are you going with?
I think you will be happy with them, seems so far evreyone that has them is stoked. I personally would wait out the long term results...
Mike

 

[Spooda420]

I went with obviously the CV 400 DE 20000k look, I hear that they are not windex blue but not washed out blue either, I should have them theis week and I'll post some pics.

I bet those friggin' things are BRIGHT!

 

[tkjeffrey]

You should like the look. Sweet, I am very jealous.

 

[mps9506]

Originally posted by Spooda420
I went with obviously the CV 400 DE 20000k look, I hear that they are not windex blue but not washed out blue either, I should have them theis week and I'll post some pics.

I bet those friggin' things are BRIGHT!

Seems everyone is stunned by how bright they are. I can't wait for some hard data from Joshi or someone...
Let us know what you think about the pendants when you get them in.
One of my main concerns is there still doesn't appear to be a standard size for the bulbs yet as far as length is concerned. It also makes me concerned about standards being set for running standards as far as wattages, ballasts and firing capabilites...

Better post pics as soon as you open up the boxes

Mike

 

[Spooda420]

Yeah Mike I was worried about the 'standards' as well. from what Ive heard/read that the PAR numbers will be close to double that of a 250w DE bulb and the intensity is out of this world.

I should be able to grow helluva SPS with no problems, like i've heard heat will be an issue im gonna have to deal with.

I post pics ASAP.

 

[captivereefs]

I think you will be very amazed at how bright they are. When the bulb is coming up to temp you will keep thinking is it gonna stop? They are very, very bright!

 

[Maxx]

Chris,
Somehow I knew you were gonna go that route!
Have you thought about how you are going to acclimate corals to the new lighting? Will this be a seperate/new pendant set up, or is it retrofitting into an existing canopy?
Nick

 

[Spooda420]

Nick,

Planning on using 3 window screens and fireing the bulbs up putting the 3 screens over the tank and takinging one off every 5 days or so.... thats the plan any way

 

[Curtswearing]

Sounds like a good plan to me Chris. I'm looking forward to pictures.

 

[Maxx]

Sounds good to me too. Just curious if you had a plan in place or not. Don't forget you'll have to do that every time you replace a bulb too.
When are you expecting them to arrive? I'm definately looking forward to seeing these in action.
Nick

 

[Spooda420]

every time a new bulb is installed? why? does the light quality go down that much?

Should arrive Friday... at least that whats the packing info says.

You and Curt always have an open invite to my house. one of you can cut my grass while the other does the windows...

 

[mps9506]

If you take a look at Sanjay Joshi's studies the par DRASTICALLY decreases during the first 100 hours of bulb burn in. So you get a big spike in intensity during the first 100 hours when you install a new bulb, not to mention the degradation of output a bulb experiences after 6-12 months.

 

[Maxx]

Originally posted by Spooda420
every time a new bulb is installed? why? does the light quality go down that much?

Mike pretty much covered that in his post. You also have to realize that the bulbs are deacresing in intensity during the time you're using them, (otherwise you wouldnt have to replace them, right?), and when you do replace them you're increasing the intensity of the lighting all over again, so you need to re-acclimate. Have you done any checking to see what kind of bulb life expectancy you should have? I would guess that with DE bulbs you should be able to run them for at least a year, most likely 18 months before needing to replace them. Have you thought about what kind of schedule you will be replacing bulbs? For example, I bought 4 250 W AB 10k DE's (they were on sale...couldnt pass em up) and plan on replacing the first bulb at 6 months. This way I'm not replacing two bulbs simultaneously. Just thinking out loud here...not trying to give advice or anything.
What kind of ballasts are they, Magnetic or Electronic?

Originally posted by Spooda420
You and Curt always have an open invite to my house. one of you can cut my grass while the other does the windows...

Yeah.....We'll get right on that......
Where's my 5 gallon can of gas..........Hmmmmm.....

Nick

 

[Spooda420]

GOT 'EM.... installed and burning now... SHEESH Darins right they are BRIGHT even 20000k ( I think I might be partially blind I looked right into the bulb after they were on for 15 -20 minutes. Even my old welders goggles would not have blocked the light.

Looks good and really brings out the colors in the fishies. oh yeah the corals to.

Had a problem with one of the bulbs but hopefully this will be worked out.

The pendants do get a little hot, wishing they had fans on them... but wow ... bright... I should be able to have ANYTHING I want!

Its a little ghetto the way I set them up but its a inwall tank so shant be a problem from the front side...

I'll post some pictures later its beer time.

C

 

[middletonmark]

I'd also follow with the `100 hours of first burn are REALLY intense'. Talked to some of the lighting whiz guys at IMAC and I know one of them [Joe?] has a separate ballast/bulb setup that he uses [not in tank] for the first week or two of burn-in to avoid any issues from that initial huge PAR output.

 

[Spooda420]

well, my initial idea of window screens is not going to work as I had hoped, balancing the screens on the tank and the proximity of the screen to the light is to close for my comfort. (the lamp does get pretty darn HOT, I want to try to avoid a fire if at all possible, ya know)

how else can one acclimate the corals to the new light? Length of the photo period? 2 hrs on 3 hrs off 2 hrs on?

I cant raise the light to much more than what I have them now, they are about 8 inches off the water.

any suggestions?

Thanks!

Chris

 

[Maxx]

Yeah, thats about the only other way I now of. Do you already have corals in the tank right now?
Cause if you do, what Mark suggested about the separate ballast to "burn in" and deal with the huge PAR spike on the outset might be a good idea.......if you feel like buying yet another 400w ballast.....
Nick