HELP...pendant vs reflector??

[RICKY81]

l'm looking to buy some DIY lights for my new tank 210gal (72L x 24W x 29D) but having trouble deciding which one would be better...

??? do i really need the pendant ??? or should i just stick to the reflector???

this is the websites of the two that i am debating of.

this one is the icecap ballast with just a spider reflector
https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/product_info.php?cPath=55_64&products_id=116

this other one is the pendant reflector with ballast sold separately
https://diyreef.authsecure.com/shop/product_info.php?products_id=750


i guess my main question is which would u guys choose for mh 400w? ANY SUGGESTIONS ARE APPRECIATED.

[LoneStar]

Are you using a canopy right now? If you are, then a good reflector will suit you just fine. If you do not have a canopy, a lot of light will escape from the reflector into the room......more so than a good pendant. Of course a open top tank with a pendant will look better than just a reflector there. Most of the good quality reflectors like Lumenarcs can be found in pendant fixtures as well.

[mikedelgado]

I like luminarc mini reflectors. I have 3 over my 72" tank.could have gotten away with 2

[RICKY81]

yeah.. i currently don't have the canopy..as i'm still working on getting the stand and canopy made. but will be getting a canopy... that is really good information. i didn't know if could just buy the luminarc reflector cause i haven't found any (or maybe just haven't looked good enough)... but thanks for the infor guys really appreciate it.

[longhorn_20m]

I have a 180 gallon, same footprint but not as tall. I'm using two LumenBright mini (by Coralvue) 250 watt pendants. I wanted to go for the open top and minimize use of fans / heat build up. You can get away with two of them. It works perfectly for me since I have two islands directly under each pendant. The pendants also do an excellent job to direct the light into the tank with minimal light escaping. I first had hung each pendant, but the wife didn't like the look. I ended up building a rack for the two pendants to sit in and skinned it with oak veneer to match my stand (I also left space to add two t5 or VHO actinic later). The rack is hung and the two pendant sit on the rack.

Let me know if you want me to snap a picture.

[LoneStar]

yeah.. i currently don't have the canopy..as i'm still working on getting the stand and canopy made. but will be getting a canopy... that is really good information. i didn't know if could just buy the luminarc reflector cause i haven't found any (or maybe just haven't looked good enough)... but thanks for the infor guys really appreciate it.

Here's a site that sells the Lumenarc's

http://reefexotics.com/lumenarc.htm

[Bill S]

Also look at the Lumenbright reflectors. They are supposed to reflect even better. I have 3, and bought at the advice of those that saw a comparison at MACNA.

As noted above: Canopy, reflectors are OK. No canopy, they are butt-ugly.

[Bill S]

P.S. If you aren't in a hurry, depending upon what I decide to do, I may have 3 reflectors & 3 ballasts available in a month...

[RICKY81]

i checked out the website http://reefexotics.com/lumenarc_retro.htm and noticed that they have the dimmable ballasts "REEFLUX".... compared to the ICECAP 400W vs. REEFLUX 400W.... which would u guys recommend.. i could be able to do the ICECAP + Luminarc reflectors, right or no?

[RICKY81]

longhorn... could u snap a picture of ur lights... thanks RICKY

[LoneStar]

Yes you can just get the reflector and then get any ballast you want for it. Reefexotics just pushes reefulx brand ballasts. The dimming feature really isn't that great since you have to manually adjust the dim setting.

[Bill S]

Here's a pic of my lumenbrights right after I got them:

http://www.maast.org/forums/showthread.php?t=42181&highlight=bill+streep

I use coralvue 400w ballasts.

[RICKY81]

bstreep....gotcha here are the pictures of ur lumenarc