100 gallon tank lighting...

[PeeJ]

Thanks matt. However, I do not know if this is a PFO reflector or not. Its from Marine depot. It's the ReefFlector, and is a perpendicular design. It was a toss up between this and the Spiderlight. The Reef-flector was cheap so I got that one. It looks similar to the spider light as well.

I'm interested in clams (maxima) and I really love the bright colored Acros and brains. Yay or nay with the 250s?

[matt]

Yeah, the 250s are fine. Quit worrying about it! I would consider sending back the reflectors, though, and getting the PFO parallel ones. This will result in better light going into your tank more evenly than if you keep the same reflectors and switch to 400s. If you don't believe it, check out Sanjay Joshi's analysis of reflectors. There's a BIG difference, and the spiderlight tested lousy.

I'm a little grumpy because I've been working like a maniac to get this big skimmer finished. It looks great, though, I must say.

[PeeJ]

This is the one I got

http://www.premiumaquatics.com/Merch...y_Code=Sockets

So I should get the parallel reflector instead? The only thing I'm worried about is that with the perpendicular reflector, I could fit some 65 watt PC bulbs between the halides. With the 15 inch parallel reflector, I loose this option. And this is the only real option I have for suppliments in the future.

[matt]

You got the PFO perpendicular reflector, if that's the exact reflector you bought. There are copies around that are a little different. The PFO perpendicular did test better than the spider light, and supposedly PFO has changed this reflector to be more like the parallel one. But, the thing is, in your tank, it's more about the shape of the light spread. The perpendicular reflector, with the bulb mounted perpendicular, throws a light spread that's more or less square; a little rectangular, in the wrong way for your tank. The parallel reflector throws a much more rectangular light spread; this will give you better light along the entire length of your tank. You'll absolutely notice the difference. As far as actinics go, the parallel reflectors have brackets on them specifically for vho or PC clips. I have 2 vho tubes plus the 2 mh bulbs over the same footprint tank you have. I really researched it before going that route, including a couple of posts on Sanjay's author forum on reefs.org.

[PeeJ]

Ok Matt I took your advice and told them to send me the 15 inch parallell reflectors. Cost me an extra 6 bucks a piece. I'll send you the bill. :-D :-D


The lights should be here on Thursday or so. I'm pretty stoked. Can't wait to see how big of a difference they will be from the PCs.

Anyone got any cool frags I could buy?

[matt]

I'm pretty sure you'll be glad you spent the extra $12. As far as mounting them, make sure you put the bulbs parallel to the length of the tank. Each one should be centered over half the tank, which means the center of the bulb should be about 15" from each end. You can move them a little closer to the middle, but not much. That's the way to get the most even light spread.

[PeeJ]

Yup, thats exactly how I have the hood marked already. I might go 16 inches in from the outside, just to give the center of the tank a little more light.