mjenner
Member
Hi Guys,
I've already pondered this one in my journal but rather than getting into a big conversation there, I thought I should bring it where it belonged... the lighting section.
I'm in the process of upgrading and restarting my Rio 125. My fiancee won't let me have a luminaire or an open-top tank in the lounge, so I upgraded the Juwel lighting bar instead to a High-Light version (saw a good deal online and thought it easier than starting a pre-marital dispute over getting a luminaire). It looks great in the tank, and a lot brighter than my original setup.
However, if I take the WPG value of the T5 bar, it's lower (in theory) than my original T8 setup.
125l = 33 US Gallons (roughly)
Original Setup - T8 Lighting Bar with 2 Extra Piggy-Back Tubes
4x T8 Light Bulbs = 72w
2.18wpg, but it actually looks dimmer.
T5 High-Lite Only
T5 Juwel High-Lite = 48W
So, that's 1.46wpg, so not good, but to the eye it looks brighter?
Planned Setup - T5 Lighting Bar + 2x T8 Bulbs
T5 Juwel High-Lite = 48w
2xT8 Light Bulb = 36w
2.55wpg, the desired level, but having trouble fitting this all in the tank? .
As per many people in this section of the forum, I'm chasing an elusive 2+ WPG as I'd like a nice carpet of HC or glosso.
With the two T5's alone and reflectors, it looks brighter than if I add the T8's in, this is because to add the T8's in I need to lift the reflector to get the T8 underneath, changing it's angle and I think getting a lot of the output of the T5 striking the T8 rather than the reflector and vice-versa.
I can't mount it further away towards the front/back as the incredibly helpful brace is in the way .
I've done a small cross-section diagram (not to scale) to illustrate my problem below if it helps:
Note, the T5's alone work really well with the reflectors, they rotate round and the outer edges rest on the centre brace, they're not quite as flat as they appear in the diagram (they're the standard Arcadia T8 reflectors) but my drawing skills let me down a little .
Does anyone know of a way of shoe-horning in two T8's with the T5's, and do they know of any more compact but still efficient reflectors any ideas? I really want to get my plants soon but I don't want to watch them go leggy, die and fade away through lack of light? (CO2 shouldn't be an issue, I have pressurised CO2, a ceramic diffuser (still in the post) and 2 Koralia nanos for flow).
Thanks in advance,
Matt
I've already pondered this one in my journal but rather than getting into a big conversation there, I thought I should bring it where it belonged... the lighting section.
I'm in the process of upgrading and restarting my Rio 125. My fiancee won't let me have a luminaire or an open-top tank in the lounge, so I upgraded the Juwel lighting bar instead to a High-Light version (saw a good deal online and thought it easier than starting a pre-marital dispute over getting a luminaire). It looks great in the tank, and a lot brighter than my original setup.
However, if I take the WPG value of the T5 bar, it's lower (in theory) than my original T8 setup.
125l = 33 US Gallons (roughly)
Original Setup - T8 Lighting Bar with 2 Extra Piggy-Back Tubes
4x T8 Light Bulbs = 72w
2.18wpg, but it actually looks dimmer.
T5 High-Lite Only
T5 Juwel High-Lite = 48W
So, that's 1.46wpg, so not good, but to the eye it looks brighter?
Planned Setup - T5 Lighting Bar + 2x T8 Bulbs
T5 Juwel High-Lite = 48w
2xT8 Light Bulb = 36w
2.55wpg, the desired level, but having trouble fitting this all in the tank? .
As per many people in this section of the forum, I'm chasing an elusive 2+ WPG as I'd like a nice carpet of HC or glosso.
With the two T5's alone and reflectors, it looks brighter than if I add the T8's in, this is because to add the T8's in I need to lift the reflector to get the T8 underneath, changing it's angle and I think getting a lot of the output of the T5 striking the T8 rather than the reflector and vice-versa.
I can't mount it further away towards the front/back as the incredibly helpful brace is in the way .
I've done a small cross-section diagram (not to scale) to illustrate my problem below if it helps:
Note, the T5's alone work really well with the reflectors, they rotate round and the outer edges rest on the centre brace, they're not quite as flat as they appear in the diagram (they're the standard Arcadia T8 reflectors) but my drawing skills let me down a little .
Does anyone know of a way of shoe-horning in two T8's with the T5's, and do they know of any more compact but still efficient reflectors any ideas? I really want to get my plants soon but I don't want to watch them go leggy, die and fade away through lack of light? (CO2 shouldn't be an issue, I have pressurised CO2, a ceramic diffuser (still in the post) and 2 Koralia nanos for flow).
Thanks in advance,
Matt