Promoting aquarium related discussion.
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aquarium-forums.com Promoting aquarium related discussion. |
40watt NO T-12's, disabled down to three tubes. One of my 2-tube-ballasts has gone bad. It's a complete 2-tube Coral Life system, so the ballast looks difficult/dangerous for me to change out. Since I've never been happy with my watt/gallon ratio, it's time to do some thinking... Here's a decent price on a 3 VHO system: http://www.hellolights.com/3laaromo4lvb.html In going from 40watt NO to 110 VHO, do the lumens change in the same 4:11 ratio? Is the 330 watts of VHO light equivalent to 330 watts of NO light? Or am I putting out seriously more/less lumens per watt? On the CF issue, I could go with four 65watt tubes using the DIY kit at the same site: http://www.hellolights.com/2xbalkit.html It's a bit more pricy going this route. So what do I get with CF vs VHO? Longer tube life? Less heat? More lumens per watt? I'm not looking for space savings, I have a roomy slatted wooden hood with the ability to install clips for any of the tubes I select. The CF ballast indicates it can do 55 or 65 watt tubes. If I do CF, how do these comparisons work: 200 NO watts vs 330 VHO watts vs 220(or 260) CF watts Am I baking my plants at either of the VHO or CF configurations? My plants are OK right now. I'd like to see them do a little better. Fish are healthy. Algae under control. Pressurized CO2 system running at a slow trickle. Thanks for reading this far. Bill. P.S. I have access to sheet metal bending equipment. I can make my own reflector to accomodate any tube configuration. |
> In going from 40watt NO to 110 VHO, do the lumens change in the same > 4:11 ratio? No. VHO is more efficient then NO. IIRC NO is from 40-60 Lumens/watt, and VHO is 75-85 lumens. Power Compact Flouro (PC) produce about 85-90Lumens/watt. PC tubes should last 2 times longer then VHO which have an expected life of about 6-9mounths. PC last about 12-18 months. I think that PC is the better technology, and that we will gradually see the VHO phased out. If you are in the UK look for T5 tubes. These are supposed to be a little nicer then PC. Deffinately get an electronic ballast. Most are flexible enough to run different tubes, and possible only one of two tubes. In terms of heat all lights will add about 1 watt of heat per watt of bulb. There is a perception that hotter bulbs, such as metal halide, add more heat, but it is not that big a difference. Conservation of energy states that the power you put into a light has to go somewhere. Most of that energy will end up in your tank as heat. > http://www.hellolights.com/2xbalkit.html HelloLights lists these as CF lights. I prefer the term "Power Compact." People often confuse "compact flouresecent" to mean the mogul lights used to replace standard incandescent bulbs. |
wrote: >No. VHO is more efficient then NO. IIRC NO is from 40-60 Lumens/watt, >and VHO is 75-85 lumens. Power Compact Flouro (PC) produce about >85-90Lumens/watt. PC tubes should last 2 times longer then VHO which >have an expected life of about 6-9mounths. PC last about 12-18 months. Okay, so let's do some math... I'll eliminate one of the VHO tubes to put the wattages in the same range. My setup options thus compare in this way: 200-watts NO vs 220-watts VHO vs 220-watts PC (my CF) or: 200 : 330 : 220 using your ranges, the lumen ratio is: 8000-12000 : 16500-18700 : 18700-19800 (or 22100-23400 65-watt PC) I can thus eliminate the third VHO completely. If I went with the three VHO bulbs, the lumen count would shock my aquarium with a range of 24750-28050. If I were to use NO tubes, I'd need 12-15 tubes to produce that many lumens. ( I'd also need a dozen cooling fans and a fire suppression system.) I think the 4 55-watt bulbs should be enough for my tank. It'd be more than double the lumens I was getting before. The lower cost over the life of the tank for tubes is another selling points. Thanks, Bill. |