VHO Lighting Question

[SkankinSurfer05]

On my never ending search to set up the best 46 gallon tank i can, i finally realized that i wont be able to afford metal halides. I came to a different idea, VHO's. I have seen some awsome soft coral tanks, and i would like to try this instead of metal halides. I found a fixture that is 36 inches, 4 bulbs, with a total of 440 watts. It is set at $369. Would this be enough light and power for most soft corals on the market? And if you know of any better deals on a fixture, please let me know.

Thanks tons,
Alex O.

 

[Anonymous]

Price sounds fair, expecially if it includes the lamps.

IMHO, you could keep any soft corals with that lighting.

Louey

 

[Len]

I agree. Any soft coral will do fine underneath those VHO lights.

For $400, you can build yourself a MH system if you've got DIY skills. The custom canopy is the biggest challenge for me, but the MH DIY itself is fairly simple.

 

[shawnz28]

Do you have a wood canopy on this tank? If so you could get a retrofit cheaper than a full fixture.

Shawn

 

[Ocyurus]

I have the same lighting, could anything other than just softies grow under it? I have kept only soft in the tank but have been considering adding some light tolerant hard corals.

 

[shawnz28]

If you ran 4 3 foot bulbs over a 46 you should be able to keep softies most LPS, and even some low light SPS.

On a side note 4 3 foot bulbs would be 380 watts not 440 watts as stated above

 

[LCGoldman]

On my never ending search to set up the best 46 gallon tank i can, i finally realized that i wont be able to afford metal halides. I came to a different idea, VHO's. I have seen some awsome soft coral tanks, and i would like to try this instead of metal halides. I found a fixture that is 36 inches, 4 bulbs, with a total of 440 watts. It is set at $369. Would this be enough light and power for most soft corals on the market? And if you know of any better deals on a fixture, please let me know.

Thanks tons,
Alex O.

May I ask where you bought that from? Sounds like something I'd be very interested in.

Thanks!

 

[srbayless]

Howdy,

You should be able to keep some SPS, but they will have to be at the top of the tank. Check out Championlighting.com's website. They have a 180 gallon tank lit soley by VHO lighting and they are keeping some SPS corals. The one caviat will be that the SPS will probably not grow as fast or have as bright colors as it would under MH.

As for a cheaper price, I have dealt with and recommend hellolights.com. I purchased the 4 bulb retrofit setup from them. $400 for a 4 bulb VHO hood sounds about right, it should include bulbs for that price though.

Good luck,

Scott.

 

[Juck]

>>i finally realized that i wont be
>>able to afford metal halides.

I don't think so,,,you can pick up a 2 x 175w Metal Halide retro, with ballast and bulbs, for about $250 or less.

Why spend $120 more on VHO's? For less money you get more light with a smaller wattage.

 

[SkankinSurfer05]

Thanks for the help everyone! I found a 440 watt retrofit at hellolights.com for only $165. Pretty good. Just need the bulbs, and my tank will be beginning! Thanks again!