more VHO headaches

[Gary Majchrzak]

Love my lighting. Halides and VHO are hard to beat IMO.
However, the hard start of icecap 660 ballasts plus the frequent replacement needed for vho lamps have me rethinking my VHO lighting.
These things have always been a PITA.

Looking for suggestions.

If suggesting LEDs please don't respond unless you know what you're talking about

 

[maxxII]

Sent you a PM.

 

[mr.maroonsalty]

I'm down a 48" and a 36" t12; I click on the last remaining lamp in the evening to extend viewing. I figure I'm saving ~190w per hour, or about ~¢25 per day without them. I too am curious if their is an affordable full coverage led option.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I'm satisfied with the appearances of my Reef Brite 20k halides alone.
But it's very quiet and relaxing in the evening when the actinics are on alone...without the halide cooling fan running and everything is glowing...

 

[rssayer]

Gary, have you looked into a single point led light source like a multichip led? I hate to bring up the led option but with the multichips you have a lot of color temp options plus you can always supplement with t5s or mix them with your mh setup. Just wanted to throw that at you

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Multichip is an option as long as it's a 72" long strip

I would favor a strip that allows you to move different colors around

 

[rssayer]

Take a gander at ac/rc led. 10-100 watt multichip components. Would take a little work to set up and I'd be more than glad to help you out. Let me know

 

[magdelan]

You should try LEDs... and I don't know what I am talking about; it's the booze talking.

 

[erndog1001]

I added MH to my LEDs about 3 months ago now Very nice mix!!! not to mentions that if you get the right LED Then you have the best of both lighting worlds.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

I added MH to my LEDs about 3 months ago now Very nice mix!!! not to mentions that if you get the right LED Then you have the best of both lighting worlds.

Can you explain more about your lighting?
Do your halides provide most of the lower kelvin spectrum?
Do you use leds for dawn/dusk effect or ?

 

[erndog1001]

I started the tank with 4-Radions. As we all pretty much know They are high end and do it all. Any K you want sunrise/sunset, moonlight etc etc.
And as we all know too They are real expensive. So when I decided to add more I figured Id give MH a try. I found 2- 250W pendants on here pretty cheap and bought them I couldn't be happier. Like I said Now I have the best of both worlds.
More to the point The LEDs now provide sunrise/sunset/moonlight and ramp up and down according to the schedule I set.
The MHs have 14K Ushio bulbs so during the main daylight phase that's what my LEDs are set to as well.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Nice.
Is all your lighting enclosed in a hood or ?
Radions have fans built in.
Are you running any extra fans for halides?

 

[Capt_Cully]

Gary, for your application, why not T5s? The hard start still exists but there are a lot of actinic options with a nice price point. Readily available on the shelves of most LFSs. Relatively simple to mod and retrofit your current hood. Bulbs have 3-4x the longevity, and you could likely avoid any LED transition issues. You could do what you're looking for, for under $200.

Don't get me wrong, I love my Radions, but after trying most of the modern lighting configurations, for my money, combo lighting is the way to go. My favorite results to date were obtained with MH & T5. Simplicity and energy efficiency lead me to LEDs.

 

[erndog1001]

Nice.
Is all your lighting enclosed in a hood or ?
Radions have fans built in.
Are you running any extra fans for halides?

It is all in a hood. But two things make extra fans unnecessary First is that its a big hood It measures roughly 4'+ both ways. Second is that it's open to the air.
And yes the Radions do have their own built in fans.

The lights themselves are layed out like this:

X O X


X O X

X = Radion O= MH And there is about 6"-7" one way and at least a foot of space the other way between the lights.
What's really happening during the peak periods is that the MHs are lighting the center and the Radions the outsides. And as I already mentioned The Radions provide sunrise/sunset etc to the whole thing.
It's a very nice balance and my corals are growing like crazy so it must be a good mix. Knocks on wood! hahaha

Somewhere in another thread is a picture I took That shows the whole setup. but i forget the thread

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Good info and suggestions so far.

You guys got me thinking. Congrats!

 

[Breadman03]

Multichip is an option as long as it's a 72" long strip

I would favor a strip that allows you to move different colors around

I'd looked into Steve's LED's a bit. Their tubular heat sinks may be a good option for you, though you might need a couple in order to light your tank from front to back.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Here's Ernie's, I had a copy of the pic

 

[erndog1001]

Thanks Mark One of these days I have to take the time to figure out how to do this myself I have some pretty decent pictures.

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

Who's set up is that, Cully?

Does anyone offer 72" T5 retrofits?
What color T5 do you suggest?

 

[Capt_Cully]

I was a fan of ATI blue plus and super actinic if I recall those names correctly. They should sell a 72" kit. Keeping in mind I'm a "blue guy". Those bulbs will give you a nice pop, but your halides will out shine them. They won't make your tank overly blue when the MHs are on. Especially when you're pushing 400s. They can be quite powerful, so acclimation should be considered and implemented. Reflectors are also important. I always liked the Sunlight supply Tek series. Their retrofits came with the same reflectors. Don't be afraid to peruse the used section. Plenty of guys in Rochester that work for beer if it's not something you're comfortable doing yourself.