VHO Lighting

[KSH]

Resently I purchased a couple of VHO Actinic bulbs-coralife. Up until that day I had know concerns that what I was buying were actually VHO bulbs. These new bulbs have sleeves that say VHO but all the other bulbs I have used in the past have had a clear sticker stuck on the bulb stating that they were VHO Actinic these ones don't have any markings. How does the consumer know that these are actually VHO? According to the manufacture the labeling on the bulb was a missed process at their factory before they were shipped around the world. I am not doubting their integrity the question I have is if I want to test these bulbs or any other in the future what kind of light meter would I have to buy? and will this tell me if they are VHO or not.
Any help would be appreciated
KSH

 

[ChrisRD]

If the manufacturer has said they're VHO lamps I wouldn't worry about it personally. My guess is that even if they were NO lamps and you were running them on a VHO ballast the only thing you'd probably notice is decreased lamp life.

As for measuring light output - if you post a question asking about where to buy a PAR meter in the General Reefkeeping Discussion forum (top of the page) I'm sure you'll get some good feedback.

BTW, the reason you didn't get a timely response here is because this is one of the Advanced Aquarist Online Magazine forums. If you post in one of the main forums (top of the page) like the General Reefkeeping Discussion forum or the New Reefkeepers forum you'll get much quicker/better responses.

HTH