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chrisslc 
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 Topic: PC twist bulb output
Posted: April 03 2004 at 5:02pm |
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I'd Like to up my lighting slightly and slowly on my reef but don't want to make the big jump to MH's yet and am looking for a CHEAP solution. I use PC twist bulbs on my 30g., my 'fuge, and bs hatchery and am wondering just how the light output of these really compares to a NO flourescent bulb? I currently have two 48" NO's at 40 watts a piece and want to know if I replace these with say four 60 watt PC twisties am I really tripleing my output? (80 watts -> 240 watts). If so I can start with two then three then four to avoid upsetting anyone.
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Murray, Utah just north of the park.
"It's all the same to the clam" -Shel Silverstein
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Marcus
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Posted: April 03 2004 at 5:06pm |
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Are you talking about the twist PC's that screw into regular light sockets? I have one of those that I got at home depot about a year ago and its 6500K. I can't find any like it anymore, but I haven't looked very hard either. Mine is only 13 watts but on the package it says that it compares to 65watt incandescent.
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: April 03 2004 at 5:14pm |
I'm a little confused. But that happens a lot to me. You said you have two 48" bulbs over a 30 gal? Do they stick out like 6 inches on each side? And I'm wondering also about the twistie bulbs, because I used the same bulbs Marcus mentioned. I had three of them on my 6 gal eclips (sold to Kingsspot). I would think on a 30 gal you would need a ton of them.
I too have a 30 gal, but I'm switching lighting from Four 65 watt compacts, to Two 65 watt compacts with a 150 watt halide.
I'm just thinking that what you have, and what you are upgrading to, are both way too little light.
Adam
(but then again, maybe I just like light too much as I was told many times last night)
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chrisslc
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Posted: April 03 2004 at 5:36pm |
No, no, I also have a 30 gal. tank that's currently awaiting a seahorse or two, as the previous resident lion just moved out today. it's got three 75 watt 6500k PC twisties (yes the socket type from HD, recently BTW marcus) and only caulerpa racemosa and serrulata and some mushrooms. On my 55 reef I have four 55w PC's and two 40w "daylight ultra" NO's, I wonder if the 13 watt actual usage is more representative of it's comparison to the 40's. Size wise that would make sense. If so I guess it would take 7 bulbs before I'd eclipse the current setup  . Does the 40 watts on an NO represent it's usage or output is the real question here I suppose.
Edited by chrisslc
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Murray, Utah just north of the park.
"It's all the same to the clam" -Shel Silverstein
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chrisslc
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Posted: April 03 2004 at 5:59pm |
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I realize even that setup on my 55 is a little underlit for a good reef but I've started with mostly low-med light corals and cant afford to jump up to Mh's yet, even if I could I want to increase VERY slowly as I have a squamosa who tell's me he's pretty happy with things as it is and wouldn't like to have to make any sudden adjustments, thus the interim solution proposed here. I figure if this is viable I can keep adding bulbs and sockets (their pretty cheap and small - bulbs = $7, sockets = salvage) till I'm nearer to the eventual MH output (I'm thinking 2-100's or 175's) then making the change over.
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Murray, Utah just north of the park.
"It's all the same to the clam" -Shel Silverstein
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: April 03 2004 at 6:52pm |
 chrisslc wrote:
caulerpa racemosa and serrulata |
Take that Carl!
Adam
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chrisslc
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Posted: April 03 2004 at 9:29pm |
I did that just for you  !
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Murray, Utah just north of the park.
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Travis
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Posted: April 04 2004 at 9:19am |
Does the 40 watts on an NO represent it's usage or output is the real question here I suppose.
I'm a little confused on what your planning to do but... wattage is a measurement of the lamps usage only (how much electricity it consumes). The reason the say a 13 watt PC is compared to 65watts of incandescents is because the 13w PC produces more light per watt used.
it's got three 75 watt 6500k PC twisties
Is this the incandescent compairison? Most screw in PC are low wattage. Although I think they may work, it would be worth looking into tube PC for your main lighting IMO...
BTW, I'm using two 13w PC on my refug and they seem to be working out fine...
but then again, maybe I just like light too much as I was told many times last night
Not sure as to what your refering but light is very, very important in our hobby...
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Marcus
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Posted: April 04 2004 at 9:26am |
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If the twisty bulb has an output of 13 watts but compares to a 75 watt incandescent, then you have to add 13 watts to your total light output, not 75. If you really have 75 watt output twisty power compacts, then please tell me exactly where you found so that I may go have a look for myself. Fluorescent lighting wattage somehat correspends to the linear inches of the bulb. For example, for ever 12" of NO lighting on a T12 bulb you have to add 10 watts (48" = 40 watts). Its similiar on a power compact but I don't know how many watts per foot. This means to me that a twisty like I have which is 13 watts that is 4" long is much, much, much, smaller that a similiar bulb that is 75 watts. But I hope that I am wrong and that there really is a 75 watt bulb like you are mentioning. Do you but any chance know what the Kelvin rating is on that bulb?
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chrisslc
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Posted: April 04 2004 at 1:23pm |
I was just at HD today and did some real comparing and here's what I found.
The 75w "daylight" pc twists are 6500k, the 60w are 3000k.
75w 6500k PC bulbs (13w usage)= 1200 lumens
48" 40w phillips "daylight-extra" 6500k NO bulb (40w usage?)= 3000 lumens
I assume this is a more fair comparison. There are however 150w pc twists that have an output of 2350 lumens but a kelvin of 4000. They are pretty Friggin' big for a socket bulb BTW.
Travis, I do have tube PC's as my main light source at the moment, my goal is to replace the NO flourescents with something a little bit brighter, at the ratings above it seems I would have to replace the two of them with either 6 - 75w pc bulbs or 3 - 150w pc bulbs to eclipse the lumen output. As for the kelvin ratings I figure my PC tubes are filling in in that department and I'd be ok with the 3-150's even at that size they'd be better than the chopped shop light fixture in there now
just to postface (is that a word?) I don't think this is anything I'll try in the near future, just postulating really, but if I do I'll let you know what I think of the results.
Edited by chrisslc
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Murray, Utah just north of the park.
"It's all the same to the clam" -Shel Silverstein
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Adam Haycock
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Posted: April 04 2004 at 4:09pm |
Home Depot also sells a 65 watt (same as 500 watt) pc twist bulb + ballast. Its 6500K and has an output of 8,905 lumens. It comes in an outdoor lighting fixture, but could easily be taken apart. With the twist bulbs, I feel that the light emitted at the back of the bulb is wasted. I think a 65 watt pc bulb made specifically for aquariums gives better/more light.
I hate doing lighting upgrades (since im on my forth right now). I wish I would have just bought the lighting setep I knew I would eventually want.
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Will Spencer
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Posted: April 06 2004 at 1:41pm |
Soooo true Adam!!! I have tried cheap lighting upgrades in the past as well and have come to the conclusion that if what you have is working stay with that until you can save the money and get what you really want.
The lighting on my 180 was already pretty low when I lost half of it due to old ballasts and fried wiring. I looked into what it would cost to replace the lighting already there and found it would take about $100. Instead of doing that I put $100 into the pot for my MH's. Sure it took several more months to be able to afford the MH's but my tank just had to live with the lighting it had. Everything seems to have faired nicely even so.
As I said I had a low light tank to begin with. If I had SPS corals in a high light tank and lost half the light I may have had to replace the lighting. Of course that would mean that I probably had the lighting I wanted to begin with.
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Travis
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Posted: April 06 2004 at 2:15pm |
Travis, I do have tube PC's as my main light source at the moment
I do, my 55g has a JBJ 4- 65w PC Hood and the 6g has a 32w. The 110g has 2- 400w MH and 2- 110w VHOs. BTW, lumen output of bulbs is misleading.
Edited by Travis
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chrisslc
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Posted: April 06 2004 at 5:58pm |
Travis wrote:
BTW, lumen output of bulbs is misleading. |
Yeah, I'm starting to sour on the whole stop gap solution here. I may just start hunting for a good MH setup and save for it myself. Good advice all, thanks for helping me ferret out a resolution.
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Will Spencer
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Posted: April 08 2004 at 2:12pm |
Travis wrote:
BTW, lumen output of bulbs is misleading. |
I am no expert at lighting so I will ask those who are.
Isn't lumen output a better comparison than wattage? My understanding is that wattage is the amount of electricity that is used. In this case there is a huge difference in the amount of light a 150 watt MH puts out over a 150 watt incandescent. This is I believe measured in lumens is it not? More lumens per the 150 watt MH than lumens per the 150 watt incandescent?
Or am I just up in the night?
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