New canopy, lighting layout ideas...

[project5k]

So i'm looking into building my new canopy now.. and i have basically decided that i need 8 t5 54W bulbs over my 75, cause i dont want to be limited by my equipment.. so, here is where i am so far...

8 bulbs, ||||||||
now, i'm looking at a couple different ballast configurations...
i can either go with 2 ballasts that run 4 bulbs each, or i can use 1 ballast on 4 bulbs, and then 2 ballasts, each with 2 bulbs.

I'm kinda leaning towards the 4-2-2 configuration, just thinking that i can use seperate timers and have 3 levels of brightness, rather than the 2 levels i have now, or would have with the 4-4 configuration..

which is better?

also, how do i lay out the bulbs, and which bulbs should i get, they will be the 54w 48 inch t5's...

i was thinking of grouping them like this:
ABCCCCBA so that the a's come on, then the b's and then the c's and then at the end of the day, the c's go off, then the b's and then the a's...

the other layout i was considering would give more of a realistic sweep of the sun across the sky... i would group them like this ..... AABBBBCC so that the a's come on, then the b's, then the c's, and then in the evening, the a's would go off, then the b's and then the c's...

is there a better layout?

which bulbs go where?

I'm thinking that i would like to really "span" the spectrum, cause i would really like to get into some corals down the road, but for now, just some softies, zoos and shrooms, stuff like that...

 

[bjohanson1234]

What 2 hours and no pics?:mrgreen:

Sounds like the DIY bug has hit a few of us lately

I think that putting them ABCCCCBA would look the best.

If you put them AACCCCBB, the B's might be too blocked out by the rock work. Also, since the lights are pretty much right above the tank, there really isnt going to be much sun action IMO

You could also get 4 ballasts and run em ABCDABCD.
Brian

 

[project5k]

yea, i was wondering about if them "passing by" would actually work or not...

i think your probably right, abcccba is probably the best...

I'm gonna stick with the 3 balast system for now just cause of cost... the bulbs alone are gonna be over $120...

speaking of which, which "colors" of bulbs should i get?

 

[daugherty]

how tall is the canopy going to be?

 

[project5k]

Total height will be 13 inches, 1 inch hang down over the edges of the tank, and the inside top will be 1 inch down from the top of the face boards, so the bulb mounting surface will be 11 inches from the top rim of the tank, or about 12-13 inches from the surface of the water...

 

[daugherty]

you may want to have more bulbs than 8 or drop the bulbs down closer to the surface of the water.

 

[project5k]

Why is that?
You think ~~6 watts per gallon isnt enough?

Or do you think that there will be enough loss in that 12 inches to significantly lower my effective w/g ratio?

 

[bjohanson1234]

Remember that the brightness of light gets dimmer inversly squared by distance. Or something like that

If you are twice as far away from a light source, you get 4 times less light. So every little bit helps.

You can use some stainless steel chain to hang the lights

Brian

 

[project5k]

yes you are right, energy radiation from a single source, as measured by a target is inversly proportinate to the square of the distance.

so, yea, your right, but considering that if you go by lumens output, and not watts of electrical energy input, the t5's are doing WAY more than the cf's i have now...

plus there will be more of them, spread out over the surface of the water, not just peeking through a 6 inch dirty window in the lids, i think that the amount of light energy reaching the sand at the bottom of the tank should land in the 2x what i have now neighborhood, if my math is right...

oh, and end up only using 1.2-1.5 times as much electrical energy, so its a major efficiency boost as well...

 

[daugherty]

just remember that t'5's put out a lot of light but the amount drops alot after it hits water my lights aremaybe 3in off the water my old lights put out almost 550w and was alot dimmer than they were closer to the water.my canopyput the lights 10in off the water. i would just drop them down some or add a couple more and get good reflectors like the icecap ones that clip on the bulb. or get some icecap balasts and overdrive the 8 bulbs to 80w insted of 54w. just my thoughts

 

[project5k]

again, not gonna overdrive anything cause i'm trying to use the balasts that i already have.... and purchasing reflectors is money i dont have, thats why i'm gonna build my own...

 

[ccCapt]

So i'm looking into building my new canopy now.. and i have basically decided that i need 8 t5 54W bulbs over my 75, cause i dont want to be limited by my equipment.. so, here is where i am so far...

8 bulbs, ||||||||

also, how do i lay out the bulbs, and which bulbs should i get, they will be the 54w 48 inch t5's...

This seems to be a very popular configuration.

Front
ATI Blue Plus (or actinic plus)
ATI or Giesemann Aquablue
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
ATI or Giesemann Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus

or

Front
ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
ATI Aquablue
ATI Blue Plus
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus
GE 6500K or UVL 75/25
ATI Aquablue

 

[project5k]

ok, that i can follow, whats your thoughts on the "turn on" order?

 

[ali1]

t5s do put out lots of light