plasma lighting...

[motortrendz]

i read an article in coral magazine the other day abt Plasma Lighting, and how it is the closest think we will ever get to the actual sun..

its initial cost is no greater than the cost of a good LED system, and replacment bulbs are less than MH..

i would assume that you would have to add t5's for attinic bc it seems like you only get one color from the plasma bit its more of a true sun spectrum..

does anyone else have any info in these? id love to see some change in discusssion form the LEDs to anything else.. not bc i dont like the leds but bc a new product is always worth talking abt..

 

[juiceguy]

Todd at Cherry corals had a demo of a Plasma light. i think he said it was plenty powerful but the color spectrum was not useful for home aquaria

 

[motortrendz]

Todd at Cherry corals had a demo of a Plasma light. i think he said it was plenty powerful but the color spectrum was not useful for home aquaria

makes sense.. thats y i was saying abt the t5s..i dont have any plans on getting one just wanna see some different views on new technology

 

[rickb]

Some dude on RC was going to set it up but had the problems, the color isnt really right.

check this out...
http://glassbox-design.com/2009/aqua-illumination-luxim-plasma-light-emitter-impresses-with-spread/

 

[ryangrieder]

http://www.oceanathome.com/more-detail-on-lumix-lifi-reef-lighting/

thats the origional overview i read awhile ago about it

 

[tynman]

I did some research on the plasma light and I think I my still have the emails from the company with prices, they said 1 bulb running at 1/2 power would give you about 10 to 12k. Now the problem I see with this is wasted light if you have a tank like mine, and now electric bill savings for the power. The bulb replacement I dont remember how long it lasts. but I think he saif $990.00 for the set up with the pyrmide reflector again wastes light in my case.. LED's are more direct but cover well. Im running my led's at 60% white and 58% blue now for the last day but I havnt been home to take a picture of it and post it... But this is JMO

 

[regal]

There is a DIY site selling the kit but they are out of stock. There is a complete unit commerically made which seems quite promising. LINK

 

[Ryanr1212]

wait im not sure im totally getting this.. do you mean plasma like flat screen tv?? cuz im picturing a tank with a tv hanging over it...

 

[SevTT]

Right now, the lights are plenty powerful to grow coral under, but the spectrum, at full power, is too cool -- 5500-6000 K, IIRC. Hopefully they'll come out with new bulbs or drivers to address this.

 

[juiceguy]

here is the plasma light that Todd had:

http://www.manhattanreefs.com/forum/cherry-corals/59333-my-new-toy-aqua-illuminations.html

 

[tynman]

LOL I dont think the fish or coral would enjoy the plasma tv as much as we would on the couch!!! LOL The plasma light wont save you any money every month on your bill because what the company told me at full power it would run at about 500 watt MH... so iits not a cost saving thing..

 

[DrHarryLopez]

LOL I dont think the fish or coral would enjoy the plasma tv as much as we would on the couch!!! LOL The plasma light wont save you any money every month on your bill because what the company told me at full power it would run at about 500 watt MH... so iits not a cost saving thing..

I wonder at full power would it be comparable to or greater then 400W mh?

 

[ryangrieder]

wait im not sure im totally getting this.. do you mean plasma like flat screen tv?? cuz im picturing a tank with a tv hanging over it...

haha no its litterly the size of an led but one single plasma light is powerful enough to light up a pretty big size tank. check out the video on the site that i posted

 

[SevTT]

LOL I dont think the fish or coral would enjoy the plasma tv as much as we would on the couch!!! LOL The plasma light wont save you any money every month on your bill because what the company told me at full power it would run at about 500 watt MH... so iits not a cost saving thing..

Depends on which light, IIRC. They've got a lower-power fixture. IIRC the par/watt is higher than MH, or even anything but the most recent batch of LEDs.

 

[regal]

....The plasma light wont save you any money every month on your bill because what the company told me at full power it would run at about 500 watt MH... so iits not a cost saving thing..

Are you sure? You might have misunderstood when they meant at full power the intensity of the like is equivalent to a 500W MH but the power consumption is only 250W (290W if you look at the link that I provided before)

 

[tynman]

I talk to the guy himself and I made sure I asked him what kind of power it would use at full light and he said 450 to 500 watts.. So im only tell you guys what he told me.. And yes it would replace a 500 watt MH but it would cost the same running it.. I dont know anything about the heat it puts off you might save some $$$ not having to use a chiller...

 

[AlohaTropics]

I'm pretty sure from what I read that the plasma light uses high powered radiowaves to heat up halide gas inside of a glass bulb. It heats up to temperatures close to the surface of the sun 6000K. At this temp, the gas turns into plasma and emites light greater than a 400w MH. It's my understanding that the waves emitted require much less wattage and your looking at 250w to create the same light as 500-700W MH intensities.




Sent from my iPhone using Reefs

 

[motortrendz]

I'm pretty sure from what I read that the plasma light uses high powered radiowaves to heat up halide gas inside of a glass bulb. It heats up to temperatures close to the surface of the sun 6000K. At this temp, the gas turns into plasma and emites light greater than a 400w MH. It's my understanding that the waves emitted require much less wattage and your looking at 250w to create the same light as 500-700W MH intensities.

yes that is 100% true, unfortunatly it is not in the least astetically usefull for the hobby at that power range.. if you lower the power level it will bring it into a more user friendly apearance but not nearly the PAR you would need..

and a 250w MH doesnt draw 250w.. if you hang an amp meter to the power side of the transformer you will see.. every unit is different tho.. just remember amps law.. ampsXvolts=watts

(hope im quoting that right, its been a while,, im usually working with DC..)

 

[stage3-S4]

yes that is 100% true, unfortunatly it is not in the least astetically usefull for the hobby at that power range.. if you lower the power level it will bring it into a more user friendly apearance but not nearly the PAR you would need..

and a 250w MH doesnt draw 250w.. if you hang an amp meter to the power side of the transformer you will see.. every unit is different tho.. just remember amps law.. ampsXvolts=watts

(hope im quoting that right, its been a while,, im usually working with DC..)

I*V=P or I^2*R=P or V^2/R=P. These are all the equations for calculating power so you are right. As far as plasma lighting is concerned, I really dont think it is very practical for the aquarium application. The equiptement to generate the microwave frequenceys is extremely expesnive. Waveguides and the RF circutry is extremly expensive. I Think the new and upcoming lighting for the future is Induction lighting.

 

[motortrendz]

I*V=P or I^2*R=P or V^2/R=P. These are all the equations for calculating power so you are right. As far as plasma lighting is concerned, I really dont think it is very practical for the aquarium application. The equiptement to generate the microwave frequenceys is extremely expesnive. Waveguides and the RF circutry is extremly expensive. I Think the new and upcoming lighting for the future is Induction lighting.

see that the silly grease monkey knew something.. lol:sgrin: