PC Lighting - Disappointments

[PhillyB]

All,

I thought I would share some disappointing results with PC Lighting. The Power Compact (PC) lamps that I own which have a single bulb do not spread the light out evenly, especially on one side of the lamp. I believe this is due to the location of the plug, it blocks light distribution on one side of the lamp. These are Coralife lamps.

Please see the photo below, the red square is the plug. The blue square is the area that does not get much light. You can actually see that the reflector there does not reflect much when the bulb is on.

I have 2 tanks using these kinds of bulbs. The plants under this part of the lamp are dying in one tank, and are growing strongly in the other direction in the other tank. I have a fixture they raises them about 6 inches above the water, but this does not seem to be enough.

Cheers,
John

 

[PhillyB]

Also...

I have a 3rd tank which has a dual-bulb setup with the CoraLife lamps. It is 65 Watts per bulb. Since I turn one bulb off and the other on during midday there is not the same problem in that tank.

 

[Grafalski]

Coralife

I know what you mean. I also have a dual-bulb Coralife pc system with a total of 130 W. Each bulb should "cover" the whole lenght of the reflector but in 30 in
Coralife system they get to 3/4 of its lenght. That's why I always have 1/4 of my tank in the shade. The only solution to that problem is to keep switching bulbs every day so the left bulb is going to kick in first and the next day the right one.

 

[Crazy Loaches]

Most types of fluorescent have large plugs, PC, or linear. The diameter of the endcaps on my T5 are several times bigger around than the bulb. But the reflectors dont usually go past the bulb ends, so thats just extra unused reflector you have there anyhow. The key really to any light, IMO, is a good reflector, be it PC, T5, or MH. I am guessing the coralife reflectors arent ideal shaped like the ahsupply ones? But this is one reason I like T5's since they are very thin and linear you can get a better reflector.

 

[VaughnH]

The problem I see with that light is that the reflector is barely wider than the bulb, so very little light from the back of the bulb can make it down to the tank. I think the reflector should be at least three times the width of the bulb.

 

[Grafalski]

VaughnH. Do you have any experience with Coralife systems especialy for 29 G tanks? What brand would you recommend?

 

[VaughnH]

I have no experience with Coralife systems for any size tank. I am a great fan of AH Supply light kits.