Add another Icecap 660? t5 vs vho

[aerius007]

A friend of mine has a 90g tank. For lighting he has 4 48" VHO's powered off of an icecap 660. I dont have any experience with VHO's so is that enough or is that low for today's standards? I was thinking he would be much better off adding another 660 and retrofitting a t5 setup. 8 bulbs with individual reflectors? Would heat become an issue, it isnt now, or would 6 bulbs be better?

 

[serpentman]

There are 2 schools of thought on the T5 vs VHO debate. It really depends on what your friend intends to grow vs what is currently working. IMO, if he/she is getting good growth and color, I would leave well enough alone.

From a PAR perspective, I believe switching to 8 T5's would probably give better results. Plus you can vary the spectrum with multiple bulbs.

Personally, I am a big fan of VHO's. Although more power hungry, I have found that I like the coral coloration better under them, especially with VHO super actinics.

Additional T5's will generate some heat. In order for the bulbs to work efficiently and live out their "life", they need to be cooled so if the canopy isn't vented, it should be in addition I would install fans.

Again, in the end, it might not be worth the cost and time if his current arrangement is working.

 

[aerius007]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14815723#post14815723 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by serpentman

Again, in the end, it might not be worth the cost and time if his current arrangement is working.

What he has now really isnt working, its been setup for a long time, in a somewhat old-school kind of way (bioballs, skimmer stops working when water level drops, etc.). I have tested the water a few times and other than a low alk everything is fine. Most of the thought went into the stand and canopy design which to this day looks outstanding. So we have been talking about updating everything, getting a controller, new sump and of course lights came up.

Right now the only corals he has are some softies, I doubt it would ever be a sps dominated tank but it would be nice to grow a few pieces here and there.

 

[Akronviper]

I cant speak for VHO's but I'm amazed with how much I'm getting out of my 4 overdriven T-5's. I'm going to add 2 more but I can get growth from SPS in the top 1/3 of my tank and all the LPS and zoos are growing like crazy on the sand bed.

 

[Murphs205]

i ran VHO for 2 years over a 72 gal bow , and loved them !! great growth , a different color than T-5 , VHO can get a bit purple if ran 2 blues, 2 daylights. but looked great still to me , T-5 run more crisp if you ask me , i have 6 blues , 8 daylight in my 72" T-5 Constellation T-5 fixture , and is a very crisp white with nice mix of blue. but i still am a big fan of VHO , and i did have a few SPS that did very good in VHO up top of my rock , monti cap grew like mad, Birdsnest grew great too, you can grow sps with VHO for sure , just has to be up top a bit more

 

[aerius007]

But wouldnt having 6-8 t5's overdriven be an improvement over 4 vho's?

 

[Murphs205]

for sure ,,, it would be a up grade if you ask me . use less power too. and you can mix up T-5 bulbs for the desired light your looking for , VHO is VHO , i think there is only a couple different bulbs out there for VHO , T-5 has MUCH more to choose from bulb wise .

 

[Tswifty]

T5's will easily compete, and even outcompete a lot of MH systems. I was popping PAR values of 180 - 300 on the sandbed of my 90g tank with 6 overdriven T5's.

That being said... T5's have yet to come out with a bulb that will compete with the color of a Super Actinic VHO.

 

[itZme]

I had clams living on the sandbed and SPS growing for me in my 75 gallon tanks with two overdriven T5s on each tank. I added two more after a few months and eventually added a fifth bulb so now I have 5 over each 75g and have no trouble growing anything.
I have also run VHO and T5 on the same IC660 ballast so he could try them out by just getting 2 sets of T5 endcaps, standoffs, reflectors and bulbs. Then he could run them in the same fixture and compare the brightness.
I know that crazyseany went from 4x VHO to 4x T5 and was amazed by the difference.
If he tries out T5a and really likes them but wants more then you could add another ballast and 4 bulbs setup.

I think you would be surprised by the difference in light output between the 4ft VHO and overdriven 4ft T5.

You could save him a few hundred dollars by just converting the current setup.

Hope that helps.
-- Kevin