Potential issue/troubleshooting with a MH/T5 light?
- Thread starter IOnceWasLegend
- Start date
Much appreciated for the informative post and offers! Just to clarify: my current fixture has 2x MH (single ended) and 2x T8 bulbs.
Based on this, would I be correct in assuming the simplest approach would be swapping out my 250k 14k radium bulbs for 175w 14k, and likely just keeping the T8? This will be over a frag tank (48x24x10"), and I'd be more concerned with trying to optimize coral growth without needing to replace the entire light just yet.
xcaret
Guest
The best approach yes.
The tank is shallow so PAR won’t be of readings all over the place, I think.
If you can squeeze a reflective surface in there, that will improve the performance of the halides.
I’ll try to dig the bulbs, not sure where I have them, either at home or at my brother’s place.
sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
If you're unsure of the fluorescent pumps put a ruler across them to find the diameter the number means 1/8th of an inch, so a T8 is 8/8ths or 1 inch wide, T12 bulbs would be 12/8ths or 1.5 inches.
As to bulbs, get some cheapy ones, I used to live by the brand Plusrite, their 14000K bulb was pretty decently colored, but I did like the crisp white look more than most. Then for the fluorescent tubes get something like an actinic bulb and you can blue things up.
As to bulbs, get some cheapy ones, I used to live by the brand Plusrite, their 14000K bulb was pretty decently colored, but I did like the crisp white look more than most. Then for the fluorescent tubes get something like an actinic bulb and you can blue things up.
Thank you so much for the bulbs! No worries if you can't find them, but the offer is sincerely appreciated.
Will do on the Plusrite bulbs. What color would be good for the actinic T8s (Kelvin rating)? I'm realizing there is a LOT I don't know about non-LED lighting.
sfsuphysics
Supporting Member
actinic bulbs are just that they're "actinic" in color, they don't have a kelvin rating because they're just super purple. Traditionally those were used to "blue up" metal halides because unlike bluer LEDs halides will always have wavelengths across the whole spectrum. You will get more PAR from lower Kelvin but the lower the Kelvin the more yellow the bulb looks, so actinics were used for negate some of the yellow.
Jumping into some T5 literature would probably help as far as "non-LED lighting" as there is still quite a few users with that lighting and while not the same as MH lighting, it definitely does require some mixing of the color pallet with different colored bulbs, although they typically don't do Kelving rating either but rather give names that each manufacturer comes up with "Aquablue" "Fiji Purple" "Coral Plus" etc.
Jumping into some T5 literature would probably help as far as "non-LED lighting" as there is still quite a few users with that lighting and while not the same as MH lighting, it definitely does require some mixing of the color pallet with different colored bulbs, although they typically don't do Kelving rating either but rather give names that each manufacturer comes up with "Aquablue" "Fiji Purple" "Coral Plus" etc.
Huh; wonder how that got out there.
thesassyindian
Supporting Member
Maybe @Srt4eric can shed some light on that?
It's in front of VTA's Cerone bus yard. A bus hit the light pole on the way in.
thesassyindian
Supporting Member
Damn! the driver wasn't too bright, was he!
Coral reefer
Past President
I thought you were gonna go with “he must’ve been high”
thesassyindian
Supporting Member
Maybe he was "LIT" !