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Re: Reasonably Priced Lighting????



> Date: Wed, 29 Oct 1997 14:42:23 -0500
> From: krandall at world_std.com
> 
> George wrote:
> 
> >Didn't she recommend something? Shame on her. Guess you can't offend
> >advertisers <g>.
> 
> First, although George included a "<g>" ... 

And let me tell you, I'm glad I did!  <g><g>  Psst, Karen, back of the
coffee!  <G><G><G> :-)

> I don't like to make "recommendations" ... I will, happily and upon
> request, tell people what I use personally.

I think that's all most people are looking for. "Guru X uses
thus-and-such, and I like their tank, therefore I will use
thus-and-such".  We all personally use what we think is best, based on
various criteria. I happened to make a lot of measurements of
intensity, and I like to maximize lumens/watt regardless of whether
the particular lumens are useful, so I have my favorite bulbs. 

Unfortunately, there is a lot of data that passes through APD and not
as much information.  Articles which do a "survey" of all possible
products are mostly useless to beginners and experts alike, since they
often use sorting parameters that are of little value to end users.

For example, there was a massive data file generated a few years ago
by myself and others that listed oodles of different FL bulbs along
with lumens, Kelvin temperature, initial lumens and design lumens, all
gathered from manufacturers data sheets.  Although it was a big list,
it wasn't exhaustive since many bulbs have "secret" values, especially
ones sold by the aquarium industry. And the sad thing was that end
users had no guidelines of what color temp was needed, or what CRI was
best or how many lumens they needed for their particular tank. So in
essence, the list was useless for selecting the "best" bulb to use.

Obviously, this extends to other areas as well, such as filter data
and trace element mixes.

So, at least until the liability lawyers find us, I will happily
"recommend" what I use and hope that readers understand that I'm only
saying "It works for me". 

George Booth in Ft. Collins, Colorado (booth at fii_com)
Need Info?  http://www.frii.com/~booth/AquaticConcepts.htm
* Last update: 10/21/97