Lighting

Discussion in 'General Equipment discussion' started by Clyde, Jul 28, 2009.

  1. Clyde

    Clyde

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    Hi Guys,

    I'm looking for so advise on the lighting in my tanks I have three tanks with 15W - 20W lights in Normal florescent tubes that you get from the pet shop, but the electricity is really starting to get out of hand. I have also been running the lights on a timer for about 12h a day. I was wondering if I could just use those energy saving screw type bulbs that you get from the local hardware store, and if not do you have any ideas for me?

    :amazed:
     
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  3. speedz

    speedz In need of a fishroom....

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    correct me if im mistaken, but arent florescent tubes economical? in terms of energy consumption that is
     
  4. Sean J

    Sean J

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    They are supposed to be... Besides the energy saver bulbs are T5's anyways. Invest in T5 lights, they are great, smaller tubes, higher output than normal florescent as well. Great lighting solution.

    If you put those energy savers in, just remember that you need to calculate the wattage as it is on the globe. So your 11watt bulb, which has the output of a 50watt normal bulb, still needs to be calculated at 11watts. You're going to need alot more energy savers to be able to grow plants in your setup.

    I'd go with dual T5 ballasts.
     
  5. speedz

    speedz In need of a fishroom....

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    also another thing about energy savers is that they contain mercury, so if it breaks somehow, it could get into the water and cause problems

    i agree with slagter, go T5 tubes
     
  6. Carping

    Carping MTS Victim

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    Sorry guys, stupid question coming up here.....
    According to that calculation you would never have enough space in your tank's hood for LED lights (that has an output of 0,8W & holding about 12 - 15 LED's), sufficient to grow plants. That would mean in excess off 50+ globes for a 100lt (3 ft) tank?
     
  7. Sean J

    Sean J

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    But, it all depends on Lumens. Someone must correct me if I am wrong, but the lumen output of the LED's is MUCH higher than the lumen output of your standard bulbs. Which is why T5's are preferred over the T8 fluorescent tube, because of their higher Lumen output.

    I think this is correct, I could be wrong though...
     
  8. neilh

    neilh

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    So do Flourescent tubes ie T8/T5
     
  9. Carping

    Carping MTS Victim

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    But what is the ruling factor then? Lumens or watts? Or even Kelvins? Or is it a case of finding a happy medium with all of the above?
     
  10. Laure

    Laure Cyano Terminator

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    Osram makes a CF bulb (energy saver) that puts out 1400lumens. I have 4 of those in a 3ft. It is rated as 18w (=120w incadescant). So I have 18W x 4 = 72W, but 5600 lumens over 80 litres. That is nearly 1W per litre. It is high light, trust me on this one! The bulbs cost R40 each, the bases R5 each, the cabling R25. Cheap solution for a smallish tank. Admittedly the colour isn't exactly right for plant growth, but with DIY CO2 they pearl like they're growing in champagne.
     
  11. Sean J

    Sean J

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    1Watt per liter isn't really high light is it Laure? My main tank has 2 x 150watt Metal Halides and is a 400L tank. That's about 100Gal I'm running 3watts per gallon.

    Ah, never mind, I see you are measuring in liters, yes, that's 4 watts per gallon. That is definitely high light. You'd need C02 in your tank at that light level. I need to get some Co2 going in my tank. Going to invest in it next month.
     
  12. Laure

    Laure Cyano Terminator

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    Yeah I am experimenting with DIY CO2 in that tank. It is just used to grow out cuttings and I keep some guppies in there to provide some fish waste in the form of NO3 for the plants. My point was really that I am running 5600 lumens in that tank with 4 cheap bulbs. Watts per gallon or per litre is an old style measurement. Light intensity is the real measure. Admittedly lumens are used to describe intensity as humans see light, not plants, but with high overall output you can expect that the spectral waves required by plants are also pretty decent. Unless you get 2700K or 3100K bulbs, which is mostly red, yellow and green. Not so great for plants...
     

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