Reflector comparison

[mattboy]

Hello;

After reading the comparison of mogule based reflectors article, I'm left with a question about the light spread of PFO parallel vs perpendicular reflectors. I'm assuming the y axis represents a line running lengthwise down the center of the bulb. In other words, if I want to visually compare the representation of the light spread in an aquarium for these two reflectors, I would have to turn one of them 90o. Is this correct? What I'm trying to determine is which reflector will spread light more widely along the length of the aquarium. I'm about to set up a 2X250 mh lighting system on a 100 gal (60x18). For this, I want each reflector to spread the light over a 30" by 18" area, obviously with the 30" dimension along the length of the tank.

On first look, it appeared as if the parallel reflector would do this more effectively, due to the more "rectangular" and less "square" footprint of the light spread. However, on second look, it appears as if the parallel reflector does the opposite; spreads more light towards the front and back of the aquarium and less along the length. Which interpretation is correct?

IOW, which of these reflectors will be better at handling this set up?

Thanks;

Matt

 

[sanjay]

Hello;

After reading the comparison of mogule based reflectors article, I'm left with a question about the light spread of PFO parallel vs perpendicular reflectors. I'm assuming the y axis represents a line running lengthwise down the center of the bulb. In other words, if I want to visually compare the representation of the light spread in an aquarium for these two reflectors, I would have to turn one of them 90o. Is this correct? Matt

Yes, this is correct. If you are going to mount the reflectors perpendicular then you need to rotate the plot for comparison.

sanjay.

 

[mattboy]

Sanjay; (or someone who knows this)

Does this mean that the bulb orientation in the visual representation is vertical or horizontal with regards to the diagram as it appears on the page? since the y axis is the same on both diagrams, I'm assuming the bulb would be oriented the same way for the tests; not the reflector oriented as it is designed to be mounted in the tank.

I'm not sure why I'm having a tough time figuring this out, but I want to be sure before I mount the reflectors in my new hood. Bottom line; I'm trying to spread light across 30" of tank length, and 18" of tank width. Which way should the parallel reflectors be mounted in order to best achieve this?

Thanks,

Matt

 

[sanjay]

Sanjay; (or someone who knows this)

Does this mean that the bulb orientation in the visual representation is vertical or horizontal with regards to the diagram as it appears on the page? since the y axis is the same on both diagrams, I'm assuming the bulb would be oriented the same way for the tests; not the reflector oriented as it is designed to be mounted in the tank.

The bulb orientation for all plots is such that the bulb's long axis is aligned along the Y axis.

So given this if you look at the perpendicular reflector and want to mount it perpendicular, then you should rotate the plot. Once you do this you will see that if you have a long tank, you are actually better off mounting this reflector parallel. After doing the tests, I reoriented my perpendicular reflector to run parallel to the length of the tank.

sanjay.

 

[mattboy]

Thanks, Sanjay. It appears then, that for my application, the best thing to do is to mount the parallel reflectors with the bulbs parallel to the tank. This way I'll get the most appropriate light spread along the length of the tank.

Matt