Lumens and such

[Japola44]

Ok so in attempts to save money on lights for my 55gal planted I'm looking to buy outside of aquarium supply stores. So, i am looking at different types of florescent bulbs and some say 10watt bulb output of 150watt bulb. My guess is they are meaning the lumens output is that of 150watt NO. So I'm trying to figure out what a good output of lumens is.

sorry if i make no sense what so ever...TIA

 

[Simpte]

Those bulbs are incandescent pc retros. Not very effective in real use. While a watt is a watt (this only measures how much energy the bulb/ballast uses) not are watts are "equal". The standard in terms of lighting is a standard N.O. flourescent tube. Power compacts and T%s and VHO are more efficient in terms of lighting meaning you will get more lumens out of them per watt. A good output for lumens per "watt" is hard to define. Its easier to stick with buying 2wpg of N.O. flourescent or better for good plant growth. Same rules apply to saltwater though they need more lighting. For instance, 65 watts over 20 gallons is good when dealing with standard flourescent or power compacts. Not so good when dealing with incandescent. You will get a better answer if you give tank size and what you want to accomplish.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I've found the dual T8's from home depot are the best bang for the buck, You can also pick up Philips Daylight deluxe bulbs (2800 lumens per bulb @ 6500kelvin) or if you want a bit cheaper you can get the t12 shoplight fixture which has a lumen output of 2300 with the T12 daylight deluxe.

For the most part until you get into metal halide there are relative numbers.

The lower the T number, the higher the lumen output per watt, tho not always true, it's a general rule when dealing with the exact same bulb/temperature.

The T5's are equal to the T6's, however the T6 will run in a standard T8 fixture (electronic ballast).

So, when dealing with 4' fixtures.

a Daylight deluxe T8 will output approx 20% more light and use 8 less watts (not including the inherited efficiency of an electronic ballast over a T12's Magnetic ballast.) Definately T8 is the way to go, allowing you to expand to T6's if you want to buy some Quantum bulbs (only manufacturer I know of that sells them). They output about 3100 lumens (going by their figures). But for the 4$ T8 Daylight deluxe bulbs and a 30$ or less dual light fixture you'ld save a lot of money over buying an aquarium fixture, but it will take more space then a PC fixture to achieve the same light output.

 

[Japola44]

thanks, so wizzard found all the lights and fixtures at home depot? I am going to get the 2, 10 dollar glass canopies so i can have more of a lighting selection, and im not limited to just an all-glass light strip.

My tank is a 55gal I want to get atleast 1 to 2wpg, but also the posiblity to get more wpg, if i ever took on a CO2 system

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

If you are handy, you can make a wooden canopy and mount up to 240w of lighting (3 x 2bulbs x 40w)

I recently made my own canopy to house my lighting, and I use no glass on top of the tank (it's open), but the canopy is enclosed so the cat doesn't get free snack's, much to her dislike.

each fixture is 4" wide so you may be able to fit up to 160w on it if the glass permits, otherwise you can install a double and a single @ 6.5" with something on each end or side to keep the lights from resting on the glass. (I used 1x4 from home depot, got an 8' piece and cut it in half, used drywall screws to hold them on at each side of the fixture). if you are uncertain of your ability to wire them up, then some other stores have T8 shoplight fixtures, ready to go for about the sam price (no bulbs either)

 

[Japola44]

I dont think i am that handy, and i dont think my dad has touched the power tools in a few years lol. I was thinking i could get a 48" light strip and mount it on wood block on either end. I actually think we have a 48"light strip in our untouched work area that no one would miss lol...ooo! I just thought of this lol. haha free lights yay!

 

[greenmaji]

the WPG rule was made considering the output of NO bulbs wich is approximately 50 lummen per watt of power consumed.. if that helps at all..

 

[Japola44]

the WPG rule was made considering the output of NO bulbs wich is approximately 50 lummen per watt of power consumed.. if that helps at all..

That answers my original question thanks soo much! so for my 55gal tank to achive 1 wpg at least...i need a lamp/s that will supply 2750 lumens thanks

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

So 2 32w T8 daylight deluxe would break 2WPG on your tank. Interesting, I didn't know it was based on 50 lumens / watt. I may have to change my mind about adding another fixture since I'm already pushing over 3WPG now according to that number..

 

[Simpte]

You could go with a fixture from here.
http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=23

That will give you 2wpg of pc lighting. You will have to change out a bulb though as it comes with an actinic bulb. The 10000K bulb is nice when mixed with a 6500, 6700, or 8800K bulb.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

It's a 4' tank (55Gal) so 2 of them would be over 4WPG.

If that was the chosen route then http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=9 would be a better choice, but same problem of replacing the bulbs with 6700k or 10k only, add to the pricetag.

The prices on that site seem very good for lighting, how are they to deal with?

 

[Japola44]

I think i will just stick with the 48" NO light strip i found in our basement mount it on some wood and get glass canopies. it holds 2 48" bulbs so I would have 1.45 wpg or 4000 lumens...right?