# Lighting on Ebay.



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

This has to be the cheapest T5 lighting I've seen available so far.

http://tinyurl.com/2wlpmzk

It makes me think there's something wrong about it. Maybe the reflectors are crappy. It certainly looks pretty ugly but I can live with that


----------



## Hitchhiker (Jun 27, 2010)

One of my LFS had this same set up on sale for a few buck less, and I got as an early Father's Day gift. So far I love it and it works great. I plan on taking it apart to incorporate it into my the hood that I building. The only complaint that I have had with it is that the stands only work if you don't have a large lip around your tank. My tank is an acrylic tank with that is semi-enclosed on the top so I had to build a set up stand for it to attach to, other than that its been great.

Each switch controls two bulbs, but you can remove one bulb and it will run just fine. Also the blue LEDs must cross over into the UV A spectrum, because my GLOfish really pop when they are on. I know of a few people that have ordered this seller and they had nothing negative to say about their experience.


----------



## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

I bought from that same seller a 36" double fixture T5HO and a 16" compact hood. There is nothing wrong with them. I would buy again and plan too. I think there pretty good quality. Plus it has a feature that is nice but maybe not necessary. The fixture can flip-up allowing you to get into the tank without having to remove the light.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Thanks for the feedback guys. I'm impressed that you can flip it up, I would have thought it was narrow enough to get at the tank without doing that.

Can either of you tell me what the reflector's made of? And are they separate reflectors for each tube?


----------



## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

T5 tubes are small. The tubes are about 1inch apart. Just one reflector that covers both tubes.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

So there's a bit of restrike, but with 4 of them that's still a lot of light.


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi All,
Interesting, does not seem to be Underwriters Lab (UL) Listed. Might be smart to have it on a Ground Fault Interrupt Circuit power strip for extra user protection.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Good catch, Seattle_Aquarist.


----------



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Hmmm,

I'm not all that well versed in lights, but it sure looks like the 4 bulbs are crammed in there. I'd think you could get nearly the same output with 2 lamps, using an excellent reflector, and use less watts in the process. 

The more I read, the more it seems quality reflectors are the most bang for the buck when purchasing a fixture. I can see how the price is very tempting, though.

Just my 2 cents.
-Jane


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

I think you're right. If the tubes (I can't say bulbs) are too close together you will get a lot of restrike.

I wonder if the circuits are staggered? I.e., are the circuits on tubes 1/3 and 2/4 respectively? Maybe Blue Thumb can answer that one for us.


----------



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Here's a picture of a fixture which has only 2 T5HO lamps, but the reflectors look excellent, IMO:










And here is a picture of the underside of the fixture I've gotten recently, with which I've been very pleased (the AquaticLife dual T5HO "linkable")

http://www.petsolutions.com/Images.aspx?ItemID=10901138&ImageID=3105









I look at the lamp housing for my 3 yr old Coralife Compact Fluorescent fixture now, and see how its getting re-strike from 3 sides of the too-close boxy "reflectors", and think gee, if I had only known then.....

As a comparison, its a 24" 65 w CF, and while I know its not fair to compare a CF with T5HO's, I'm amazed at how much brighter the AquaticLife fixture is (also a 24", both are over planted 20H tanks) while only running 48 watts. Besides, using less electricity and being more "eco friendly" helped to justify getting the T5HO fixture to my hubby  *grin*.

-Jane


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Jane,

That is a nice looking light; I like the fact it is "expandable"!


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

I looked that one up. I have seen this more than once and it frustrates me a bit: they describe the lighting as, "420/460nm and 10,000K lamps". First of all 10,000K is not optimum for plant growth and why is the other lamp measured is nm? How does that translate into Kelvin, if it does?


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Gramazing,

Apparently there is a "Freshwater" version as well:

"Freshwater includes Pink Roseate 650nm Lamp and 6,000°K Lamp"


----------



## Emily6 (Feb 14, 2006)

Wow, I'm looking at the same T5 lamp on Ebay (but 36"). I was also trying to figure out what the catch was. I currently have a 110w CF lamp that I regret buying- I hate buying new bulbs every 6 months and mine happens to have weird dimensions so they're always hard to find.

In short, this would be my first swing at buying a brandy new light. How long do T5 HO bulbs last? I see they cost about half as much as CF straight pins. Are they significantly more energy efficient, Jane?

I lied- I bought a T5 one other time and sent it back b/c the fan was crazy loud. Does anyone else have that problem- Hitchiker/BlueThumb? Do you find this one to be quiet? 

Is the verdict that the reflectors on this are sub-par given the bulb arrangement or did I misunderstand? All the comparisons got me mixed up.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Seattle_Aquarist said:


> Hi Gramazing,
> 
> Apparently there is a "Freshwater" version as well:
> 
> "Freshwater includes Pink Roseate 650nm Lamp and 6,000°K Lamp"


Ok, I've worked the nm out now. It's literally the color, the wavelength of the light. A white light of a certain K value would emit electromagnetic radiation with a range of nm values. So I guess 460nm and 10,000K lamps balance each other out to a certain extent, at least to the human eye, although probably not as far as the plants are concerned.


----------



## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

My 36" double hood does not have a fan so there is no noise coming off it. I'm not sure what you mean by "restrike". I wouldn't get a four bulb in a single fixture on any brand. If you plan on running 4 bulbs I think its better to get two doubles so you can spread the light apart as you feel fit. I also have the Hagen "Glo" 36" double T5HO fixture. It also uses a single reflector for both bulbs but the bulbs are spread alittle apart more then the ebay light. On my 25 gallon tank I have two Aqualife 24" T5HO double fixtures that are joined together to make it a 4 bulb setup. On Aqualife there reflectors are also one piece also but are shaped so each bulb has its own area or reflection. Now what I can tell is having each bulb with its own reflection area is you can get shadowing between bulbs. If you run two different k bulbs or one bulb is brighter then the other you will get a shadow from the brighter bulb being partially blocked by the other bulbs recessed reflector area. You can see a distinct area on the plants where you see one color then the other colors light reflection begin on the plants if you know what I mean. With the hoods that have single area for reflection for both bulbs you get an equal reflection even when you have two different bulb right next to each other the light blends together with almost a unnoticeable transition. All my double fixture have only 1 switch for 2 bulbs. but you can remove one bulb and the other will still light up.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Restrike is when the light from a tube hits the reflector and bounces back into the light itself, cancelling itself out. I hear you on the double fixture thing though. I was wondering about that: if the light fixture is quite barrow front to back does the whole tank gets lit up equally. Probably not.


----------



## blue thumb (Mar 30, 2010)

Restrike, oh ok. I think you will get that anyways in all light hoods to some degree. I don't think it cancels it self out. I mean not significantly to hinder light output. I know some VHO bulbs have built in reflector inside the bulb. 

Light spread front to back. Well depending on how wide the tank is. Example a standard 40 gallon that is 18" wide with just one double fixture in the middle about 3"above the water then yes its noticeable. But you can raise the light higher to get a more wider light spread. But that is why you may need to run 4 bulbs in a two double fixture setup if the tank is wide front to back.


----------



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Gramazing said:


> Ok, I've worked the nm out now. It's literally the color, the wavelength of the light. A white light of a certain K value would emit electromagnetic radiation with a range of nm values. So I guess 460nm and 10,000K lamps balance each other out to a certain extent, at least to the human eye, although probably not as far as the plants are concerned.


I'm using the one w/ the freshwater lamps. I was going to switch them out, but decided to try them for awhile, and they're pretty good. I think when I do swap them out with new, I'll go for the geissman mid-day, but these are growing my plants nicely, and the color rendering (to my eye) look pretty good.

The "650 nm" is sort of a pinkish lamp, putting out light in the red peak. The other, the 6000K, is like a mid-day, and supplies the blue wavelengths.

The one you're looking at Gramazing, with the 460 nm, is for coral growth, and IMO, 10,000K is wasted on plants, and makes the fauna and flora look very blue and stark. Definitely either get the freshwater lamps, or switch them out with more plant-friendly lamps (include this in your budgeting!).

When looking at fixtures, I made a little spreadsheet (yeah, I'm a numbers wonk) and included the price of lamps and shipping in the total cost of the fixture comparison, since many come ONLY with saltwater/coral oriented lamps.

-Jane


----------



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Emily6 said:


> Wow, I'm looking at the same T5 lamp on Ebay (but 36"). I was also trying to figure out what the catch was. I currently have a 110w CF lamp that I regret buying- I hate buying new bulbs every 6 months and mine happens to have weird dimensions so they're always hard to find.
> 
> In short, this would be my first swing at buying a brandy new light. How long do T5 HO bulbs last? I see they cost about half as much as CF straight pins. Are they significantly more energy efficient, Jane?
> 
> ...


Hey Emily,

I'm surprised that a T5 fixture came with fans. The heat output of T5 and T5HO is less than the CF. I bought a two-lamp CF fixture which had fans (Odyssea, an inexpensive fixture I regret spending money on) and the fans were so loud that they were BANISHED after 6 weeks of using the darn thing. I'll be selling it at the BAS auction meeting later this month. And I'm going to put a label on it that the fans are a bit loud, but a lot of the guys have fish-only rooms, so it may not be an issue for them.

Anyhow, YES, at least in my opinion the sub-par reflectors and bulb arrangement may not prove to be a savings in the long run. A good reflector returns more light INTO the aquarium, instead of either A) bouncing light to re-striking itself, or B) hitting the enclosure and its neighboring lamp/bulb. Both those scenarios waste light, and SHORTEN the lifespan of the lamp!

T5 HO lamps can last 18 months, or even 2 years, according to what I've read. Lamp life is one of those tricky things - a housing where there is a lot of restrike can shorten the life span, the quality of the lamp in the first place (i.e., the phosphors used) can affect it, and the operating temperature can affect it. This is my first foray into T5HO lamps as well, so I will probably look at them in a year, and get my gut reaction as to whether the plants are still growing well, whether the colors look good, and if it all seems OK, I'll make a note to do another gut-check in 6 months, and 6 months after that. I would definitely change them out at the two year mark. Its still a relatively new technology in aquarium lighting, and hearing what other growers actual experience is, vs. manufacturers' claims, will be interesting.

T5HO lighting is very high efficiency. There are many others here who have more technical know-how, but in a nutshell, they're more efficient than CF lamps (which were an upgrade from other lighting choices) because they're not "folded in half" like the CF lamps. That fold means that there is built-in restrike along the axis where the lamp is parallel to itself. A linear shot, like the T5HO are, without the bend, can put out more lumens for the watts, or more bang for the buck.

In my own experience, I have two fixtures, both 24", one is a 65w CF, the other 48w (2x24w) of T5HO. The T5HO is far superior to the CF, for less watts, which is a plus. Also, its not just my own subjective sense of light output (what we see and what plants "see" can be different), but the plants responded. I swapped the fixtures out, just for kicks, because the tanks are different - different plants, different age, etc. The ones that got the "new" T5HO fixure responded like they had an upgrade in lighting. The ones that got the CF fixture slowed, and it definitely seemed like a downgrade in lighting. So, I put them back, since I'd intentionally put lower light plants in the tank with the CF fixture.

Sorry to blab on, but I hope this answers your questions. Basically, when I bought what I thought was a "bargain" (the 2x 65w Odyssea w/ the fan from h*ll) I regretted it. But the one I researched, and thought through, I've been pleased with.

-Jane


----------



## Jane in Upton (Aug 10, 2005)

Emily6 said:


> Does anyone else have that problem- Hitchiker/BlueThumb? Do you find this one to be quiet?


Oh, and PS - most T5HO fixtures do not have fans, and are VERY quiet.

Catalina Aquarium has a nifty one, the Black Solar T5 Series, which comes with a perforated section of the housing - this looks SO smart, IMO - it lets the heat dissipate up and out very effectively, cooling the lamp housing, and preserving the longevity of the lamps.

http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/popup_image.php?pID=1426&image=0









But again, I'm thinking that the reflector housing is a really important thing - if the "reflector" is a boxy recess which holds the lamps/bulbs, there will be more heat buildup, and may make a fan necessary. If they're wider, and dissipate light, they will also dissipate heat better, and the fan is not necessary.

-Jane

*stepping down off the reflector soapbox*, LOL!


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Jane in Upton said:


> The one you're looking at Gramazing, with the 460 nm, is for coral growth, and IMO, 10,000K is wasted on plants, and makes the fauna and flora look very blue and stark. Definitely either get the freshwater lamps, or switch them out with more plant-friendly lamps (include this in your budgeting!).
> -Jane


Yes, I saw that later on. Hmmm.... I wonder if this fixture with 2 x 54 W of light will work better than the slightly cheaper one with 4 x 54 W, especially given that I would probably not have the full 4 lamps on for more than a few hours anyway. I currently have 4 x 32W of T8 lights with basically the insides f 2 lighting strips lined with reflective tape.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

Gramazing said:


> This has to be the cheapest T5 lighting I've seen available so far.
> 
> http://tinyurl.com/2wlpmzk


What brand was it?


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Oops it's gone. I'm blowed if I can remember now. I will have to look it up tomorrow. Eventually I hope to get one of whatever it was.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

You've got to check out sea corals website. Here they have solar max light system quite cheap. Jacob here is using one.


----------



## Emily6 (Feb 14, 2006)

Ok so I waited a while to give this new lamp a fair run (about a month and a half) but I did end up buying the one on Ebay sold by "Top Dog." Here's the list of sketchy things first:

No brand- so hard to follow up on with user reviews etc. Comes in a brown box that simply conveys the same specs on the website.

3 plugs- I guess some people like this but I personally don't paint or cover the back of my tank so finding room for all that AND the filter lines takes some magic. Plus my wall's not made of outlets, let alone grounded outlets.

The legs don't allow it to fit under my canopy... personal issue, I guess.

Gets VERY hot. So far to no consequence however.

Good things:

Works great! Light looks wonderful and it has made a marked improvement in my plants.
No noise. 
Cheap!!!
Seller was great- UPS screwed up my other purchase from them and everyone walked away happy (though I'm avoiding UPS if I can help it now).

Jane- I did buy one T5 (can't remember the brand- fairly common though) and it was crazy loud. This in fact has no fans, as you speculated.

Hope this review helps others who might think about this option.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

dawntwister said:


> You've got to check out sea corals website. Here they have solar max light system quite cheap. Jacob here is using one.


Found that sea corals doesn't always deliver their products. Pet Boulevard sells the light and only found 1 complaint against them, which they resolved.


----------



## trag (Jan 9, 2008)

Emily6 said:


> Ok so I waited a while to give this new lamp a fair run (about a month and a half) but I did end up buying the one on Ebay sold by "Top Dog." Here's the list of sketchy things first:
> 
> Good things:
> 
> ...


That fixture (see first post in thread) is very affordable. So affordable, it compares favorably with do-it-yourself costs. The margins on that thing must be pretty thin.

A four bulb T5HO ballast is about $50, a two bulb ballast is about $30 so two 2-bulb ballasts is $60 (plus shipping). Sockets are about $2 each (eight needed). 48" T5HO bulbs can be as cheap as $2.50 each. So for a do it yourself, one is looking at $86 *before* adding in power cord, switches, housing and reflectors.

They sell the whole fixture for $100 plus $23 shipping.

Wow. Cheap.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Emily6 said:


> Ok so I waited a while to give this new lamp a fair run (about a month and a half) but I did end up buying the one on Ebay sold by "Top Dog." Here's the list of sketchy things first:
> 
> No brand- so hard to follow up on with user reviews etc. Comes in a brown box that simply conveys the same specs on the website.
> 
> ...


Emily, was it this one you bought?


----------



## Emily6 (Feb 14, 2006)

Gramazing, did you mean to include a link or are you generally referring to the previous post? I bought the T5 on ebay sold by "Top Dog." I don't see any 36" fixtures for sale currently. For a 36" 78w x 2 plus lunar lights fixture, I paid $75 plus $15 in shipping. 

Still happy with it.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Emily6 said:


> Gramazing, did you mean to include a link or are you generally referring to the previous post? I bought the T5 on ebay sold by "Top Dog." I don't see any 36" fixtures for sale currently. For a 36" 78w x 2 plus lunar lights fixture, I paid $75 plus $15 in shipping.
> 
> Still happy with it.


The moderators had to take the image off from my post. (The original Ebay auction I linked to in the first post was expired so I did a screen capture.) I will edit it to take out the Ebay stuff and repost it in a couple of days. I can't do it from home.

The one I was referring to was from Top Dog. It was a 48" T5x4 lighting fixture, but it's not for sale now. They have an identical one for sale for reef tanks, with 2 actinic lamps and 2 10,000 K lamps. I asked Top Dog if the freshwater version was still available and they said they would sell the Reef tank version to me with a "custom bulb configuration for an additional $10". So it's the same fixture with different lamps.


----------



## Emily6 (Feb 14, 2006)

Yeah, sounds about right. They were pretty easy to do business with- I got a UV sterilizer from them as well but in the end, UPS failed to ship it and long story short, it was actually easier to spend the outrageous amount of money the LFS wanted given my green water algae than it would have been to negotiate further with UPS, dragging Top Dog into it. 

Mine is billed as freshwater with 2 x 6700K bulbs (36" though). Though it still has the lunar lamps (on a separate switch of course)... I just ignore them. Good for re-sale I guess if later on I change my mind.

Hope that helps.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

I hear you on UPS, although I have had good service from the people at the distribution office. Of course why I had to go to the distribution office in the first place is a different question.....

I must admit I was taken with the idea of the lunar lamps, I thought at might look nice at night.


----------



## Emily6 (Feb 14, 2006)

Honestly never tried mine- the third plug is one too many for my power strip. Enjoy if you choose to get it!


----------



## nilocg (Sep 14, 2010)

Gramazing said:


> The moderators had to take the image off from my post. (The original Ebay auction I linked to in the first post was expired so I did a screen capture.) I will edit it to take out the Ebay stuff and repost it in a couple of days. I can't do it from home.
> 
> The one I was referring to was from Top Dog. It was a 48" T5x4 lighting fixture, but it's not for sale now. They have an identical one for sale for reef tanks, with 2 actinic lamps and 2 10,000 K lamps. I asked Top Dog if the freshwater version was still available and they said they would sell the Reef tank version to me with a "custom bulb configuration for an additional $10". So it's the same fixture with different lamps.


Huh thats weird I just emailed them about switching out the actinic light on a 24" one and they said they wont do it.


----------



## nilocg (Sep 14, 2010)

Gramazing said:


> I think you're right. If the tubes (I can't say bulbs) are too close together you will get a lot of restrike.
> 
> I wonder if the circuits are staggered? I.e., are the circuits on tubes 1/3 and 2/4 respectively? Maybe Blue Thumb can answer that one for us.


As far as I can remember they arent staggered, I will have to check tonight when I get home.


----------



## 61*north (Jun 20, 2010)

Gramazing said:


> Restrike is when the light from a tube hits the reflector and bounces back into the light itself, cancelling itself out. I hear you on the double fixture thing though. I was wondering about that: if the light fixture is quite barrow front to back does the whole tank gets lit up equally. Probably not.


I've seen this term used at least twice now on this site and this definition of restrike is incorrect. The other time I saw it used was in the wrong context. Restrike refers to the time required for a (usually) HID lamp like a metal halide or high pressure sodium to re-ignite, or "re-strike" an arc after being shut off and therefore begin to produce light again. For example, if a metal halide fixture is operating as normal over your aquarium and you mistakenly pull the plug on that fixture it will obviously turn off. You notice the problem and plug the fixture back in.

From that point it will take several minutes for the typical metal halide lamp to cool down enough to re-strike it's arc and then a few more minutes for that lamp to reach optimal operating temperature and produce the amount of light you expect. Generally speaking you're looking at 7 to 15 minutes, total.

Restrike isn't normally a term that concerns aquarium hobbyists though. It would be the concern for example of an engineer designing the lighting for an indoor basketball stadium or a high school gymnasium as you can't have an outage and expect that a thousand people or more will be fine in the dark for 10 minutes; they definitely won't. In these cases usually a quartz lamp or similar will be installed in the fixture for emergency situations so that there never is a total black out in the gym.

Similarly, the idea that reflected light cancels itself when reflected back to the source is not accurate. It's inefficient... but it doesn't cancel anything. If it were there would be drastic problems associated with putting more than one tube in a reflector... and maybe even more than one lamp in a room.


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

Restrike occurs when much of the light going directly up from the bulb is simply reflected back to the bulb. And when the bulb is positioned too close to the reflector, much of the light going up at other angles is also reflected back to the bulb. In addition to this initial light loss, restrike also increases the temperature in the fluorescent bulb which, in turn, results in overall reduced light output, including the light that is emitted from the downward facing side of the bulb.

The phrase light itself, cancelling itself out when restrike occurs may have just been in slang that light output is decreased.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

I guess it's not that the definition of the word is wrong, it's that "restrike" the wrong word to describe the phenomena I was talking about.



61*north said:


> I've seen this term used at least twice now on this site and this definition of restrike is incorrect. The other time I saw it used was in the wrong context. Restrike refers to the time required for a (usually) HID lamp like a metal halide or high pressure sodium to re-ignite, or "re-strike" an arc after being shut off and therefore begin to produce light again. For example, if a metal halide fixture is operating as normal over your aquarium and you mistakenly pull the plug on that fixture it will obviously turn off. You notice the problem and plug the fixture back in.
> 
> From that point it will take several minutes for the typical metal halide lamp to cool down enough to re-strike it's arc and then a few more minutes for that lamp to reach optimal operating temperature and produce the amount of light you expect. Generally speaking you're looking at 7 to 15 minutes, total.
> 
> ...


----------



## 61*north (Jun 20, 2010)

dawntwister said:


> Restrike occurs when much of the light going directly up from the bulb is simply reflected back to the bulb. And when the bulb is positioned too close to the reflector, much of the light going up at other angles is also reflected back to the bulb. In addition to this initial light loss, restrike also increases the temperature in the fluorescent bulb which, in turn, results in overall reduced light output, including the light that is emitted from the downward facing side of the bulb.
> 
> The phrase light itself, cancelling itself out when restrike occurs may have just been in slang that light output is decreased.


I was wondering why that usage seemed pervasive on this site. Thanks for sharing the source. I have the highest regard for AH Supply's product but their usage of the term restrike is incorrect. The following describes restrike as it applies to the old school mercury vapor lamps but in a broader sense it applies to all HID light sources (metal halide, high pressure sodium, mercury vapor and to some extent, low pressure sodium) in varying degrees:



> The pressure in the silica glass tube rises to approximately one atmosphere once the bulb has reached its working temperature. If the discharge should be interrupted (e.g. by interruption of the electric supply), it is not possible for the lamp to restrike until the bulb cools enough for the pressure to fall considerably.


Source

You can google the word restrike with any number of other terms relating to lighting and come up with similar references. You can google the word restrike and fluorescent and come up with references that direct you back to restrike in the context of HID lamps.

I'm not confused just in case that's the way it might appear. I'm also not wanting to make myself appear a subject matter expert. I do have 35 years experience in this and related fields though and IMHO it would be better to choose a different term or describe the problem rather than use the term "restrike". It is misleading and the term's common usage describes a completely different condition.



Gramazing said:


> I guess it's not that the definition of the word is wrong, it's that "restrike" the wrong word to describe the phenomena I was talking about.


Correct. Mostly.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

Whaddya mean, "mostly?


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi All,

I think that 61*north is correct about the industry standard definition of "re-strike".

However, since I have been in the hobby the term "re-strike" in relation to aquarium lighting (and indoor garden lighting) has meant the light that leaves a bulb, "bounces" off a reflector, and hits (re-strikes) the bulb rather than entering the aquarium. An effective reflector design can provide substantially more usable light to a designated area.


----------



## 61*north (Jun 20, 2010)

Gramazing said:


> Whaddya mean, "mostly?


I mostly mean that a technically oriented guy should probably not work a long day and then put a pedantic response on an internet board. I apologize to you, Gramazing.

I'm new here and don't deserve an opinion of how things _ought_ to be. If the site were mine I would prefer it to be a comfortable, accurate and comprehensive reference for aquatic plant types to learn from and share. I would also prefer to limit the number and type of real errors where possible. From a purely selfish perspective I have learned a lot here and have assumed that all of what I ran across on this site was accurate and correct. In all reality though... that might not be the case.

Further, if a random vendor of fertilizers referred to his nutrients as 'red washing machines' we could all from this point forward do the same. It wouldn't be much different than hobbyists redefining what restrike ought to mean for our purposes.

It would be better though if we avoided redefining industry terms for our own use... even if an otherwise respected source initially got the ball rolling.


----------



## Gramazing (Mar 6, 2010)

No need to apologize, I was just pulling your leg


----------



## 61*north (Jun 20, 2010)

Gramazing said:


> No need to apologize, I was just pulling your leg


:doh:


----------



## dawntwister (Sep 29, 2007)

61*north said:


> You can google the word restrike with any number of other terms relating to lighting and come up with similar references. You can google the word restrike and fluorescent and come up with references that direct you back to restrike in the context of HID lamps.
> 
> I'm not confused just in case that's the way it might appear.


Yeh, that is what I found. Thus obvious wrong terminology to describe the affect of light reflection. If you have only read the info talked about at AH supply you get the jest of the idea that if light isn't reflected into the tank the light into the tank is diminished.

I thought you were confused!


----------



## 61*north (Jun 20, 2010)

dawntwister said:


> I thought you were confused!


I leave many with that impression.


----------

