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Jeffs_little_ocean 
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 Topic: Shimmer
Posted: December 08 2009 at 1:15pm |
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I am thinking about going to a nice T5 fixture, but I know I will miss the shimmer my MH put off. Is there any way to still get the shimmer with T5's? I was thinking maybe one of those little LED clusters and somehow mounting it under the T5 right over the place of the most surface water agitation might work? any input?
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chk4tix
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 1:23pm |
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You can do a few things. 1. you can increase the surface disruption which will great the effect. 2. You can buy the powerbright LEDs which do a great job as well. 3. maybe a DIY of some type
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Jeffs_little_ocean
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 1:48pm |
I already have good surface disruption, but when the halides turn off the shimmer is gone. I was at HomeDepot the other day looking at this little office type LED desk lamp and thinking Hmmm...
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chk4tix
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 1:50pm |
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how many bulb fixture are you looking at? I didnt get shimmer with the 4 t5s that I was using for supplemental lighting, but with the big fixture I get it.
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Jeffs_little_ocean
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 1:55pm |
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Im looking at a 36 inch long fixture with 6 (39 watt) bulbs. Somehow I always thought you needed some kind of spotlight effect to get the shimmer?
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chk4tix
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:00pm |
 Jeffs_little_ocean wrote:
Im looking at a 36 inch long fixture with 6 (39 watt) bulbs. Somehow I always thought you needed some kind of spotlight effect to get the shimmer? |
well, it might make it easier to make with a spotlight effect, but it can be done without. Does the t5 have individual reflectors? also if you would like a recommendation of bulbs to get, ask Ryan or myself.
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:06pm |
I would get the Ecoxotic Stunner strips and use two or three of them on your fixture. You would just use 3M double stick tape and it would look nice and neat.
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Jeffs_little_ocean
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:13pm |
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Those are sweet. Thanks Ryan.
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chk4tix
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:20pm |
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Thats the ones I was thinking off, I knew Ryan would know.
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:23pm |
I am trying to convince John to setup an account with ecoxotic so we could be a dealer in the state. These are the best LED's I have found so far. They had them on display at the Reef Fest and they blew my mind. I figure we have another year and then LED's will run rampant on the market.
I am planning on installing some of these on my ATI Sunpower when I get it to help with shimmer but to also have night lights on my tank.
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chk4tix
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:34pm |
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if I knew for sure that there would be a viable LED light out shortly, I would save my money for that instead of what I am getting.
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:41pm |
Keith,
The Ecoxotic is a great fixture but personally I would wait at least a year before jumping into LED stuff. It is really sweet but still needs to be refined and the price needs to drop in half before it becomes a serious contender. T5 is still the way to go IMO
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Jeffs_little_ocean
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:43pm |
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I think T5's will be around for awhile, well, thats my opinion. But I do think that you will start seeing more T5-LED combo's and less MH-PC or MH-T5 combos. The benefits of LED's will soon outweigh the cost. More efficient, Less heat, better PAR, lower power bills, happier corals and so on and so on....
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Ryan Thompson
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Posted: December 08 2009 at 2:46pm |
The big issue with a T5-LED combo is the heat on the LED's. Heat KILLS output on LED's and most last a couple years with a ton of heat on them.
Aquactinics has a new hybrid fixture that has LED's right down the middle but that is yet to be tested IMO. The problem with the hybrid stuff is; if the LED's go out, can they be replaced and if so, how expensive will that be?
I really hope LED's drop in price and catch on. They are the BEST solution out there for all the reasons that you mentioned Jeff  |
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