VHO lighting

[gefune]

Hi everyone, I'm new to posting on this board, but everyone seems to be helpful so I thought I'd give it a try. I've kept a 75g fish only tank for several years now and I am considering converting it to reef. I have pretty much decided that VHO is going to be the best choice for what i can afford and setup. My question is that I have seen the icecap ballasts namely the 660 which everyone touts to be great and relaible and blah blah....etc. I have also seen VHO kits by other manufactures such as coralife and i think sfo or spo...something like that. They are complete with endcaps and seem to be a lot cheaper than an icecap set up. What are the real advantages of using ice cap over the less expensive versions? I'm not worried about special timers and things like that right now, I just need the 440W of light for my tank. And as long as were are on the topic, what bulb combination do you recommend, I was thinking 2 48" day and 2 48" actinic. Thanks

 

[chris_h]

I have not ever used VHO, but from what I have read you can save money with icecap. With the icecap if you put in regular flourescent tubes it produces equal light to VHOs. When you compare the price of bulbs, you will save very much money after a few years.

 

[afss]

If your the DIY type, you should check out this link. I think he may be on to something

http://www.reefcentral.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?s=&threadid=48133

Scott
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Marriage Advice Forum

 

[Ray Pollett]

THe reason most use IceCap is reliablity. From listening to people for years on the boards, that is the major selling point for them.

Ray

 

[dmm32]

HI,

IceCap has a great ballast,I have 2 of them, I purchased a set from Lampsnow.com and it is a retro, comes complete with endcaps for 139.00
and the bulbs were around 21.00 each VHO. I have been using this set for 6 monthes on my 75 and I find it to be as well built as IceCap's ballast.

http://www.lampsnow.com/4lampvhokit.html

David

 

[bigtank]

Howdy. I'm in College Station too.

I have a 70g reef tank which is a couple inches shorter than a 75. The lighting was the toughest decision for me. I went with an AB aquastarlight 2x150w HQI metal halide system and am extremely happy with this setup. These bulbs are very, very intense for the wattage and will blow away VHOs. They also hold their spectrum and intensity for 12-18 months as opposed to 6-12 months with VHOs. You can also keep anything with a 2x150w HQI system. You can't do that with 4x110w VHO, this system is not as bright.

I paid $400 for it at Champion Lighting. Some places still have this setup for $450 or a little less.

Most people who buy VHOs end up upgrading to various metal halide systems. HQI are the best type of metal halide IMO. Why not save hundreds of bucks in the long run and get an awesome system to start with?

Your corals will grow faster and look better too.