Old reefer needs VHO to T5 lighting help

[jojokeo]

Hi all,

I've been in the hobby for decades but am out of the loop on T5 lighting. I have about a 4' x 18" x 18" ~75g reef for 30+ years. I've let it go (less and less attention) over the last 7 or so for various reasons but became despondent mainly due to a pesky mantis that I could not trap or find or kill for at least 15 years. I believe it to finally be dead. No words to describe the frustration and money lost over the years due to that rat bastard POS. I have zooanthids, 18" mushroom, & frogspawn left of what once was filled with numerous sps, lps, & inverts. I will give it a try to make one last attempt due to just maybe having a fighting chance now that the devil shrimp seems to be finally gone for good.

I have an old Champion Lighting hood hanging from the ceiling with 2 - 175w halides mounted in the middle (using Ushio 10k's over the years) and it came with the 2- 4' VHO florescent lights (powered via an Icecap ballast) mounted along both sides of the halide bulbs. I cannot seem to find VHO actinics any longer? So it appears I will have to remove & replace them with a T5 retrofit kit from BRS? Unless anyone has a better suggestion?

Questions:
What is the PAR of T5 vs VHO? (same or much better?)
Do T5 bulbs have an interior built-in reflector like VHOs did?
I am thinking that my Icecap ballast will not work with T5 bulbs and simply changing the end caps for the T5 bulbs simply will not work?
What is the lifespan of T5 to VHO?
Anything I may not know or need to know/be aware of in retrofitting?

Thank you in advance!

 

[pecan2phat]

VHOs run at a higher wattage then same length T5s so I would think the VHOs would have a higher PAR.
If I remember correctly, my 4' VHO bulb would run at 90w vs a 4' T5 bulb at 54w.
UVL use to make T5 bulbs with internal reflectors but I don't think that they are out there any longer.
You definitely can use your IceCap ballast, this is what I used to overdrive T5s back then.

 

[Big E]

You can run 4 t5 bulbs on your Ice Cap Ballast. The bulbs will be over driven so they won't last longer than 6 months as over time the spectrum shifts. For LPS and softies it's not an issue but for acropora you'll lose growth and color past 6 months.

Those 4 bulbs will have plenty of par for any type of coral.

If you buy the kit that has the ATI Ballast you will need the six bulb kit. You can probably get an extra 2-3 months out of the bulbs.

 

[cody6766]

It's been a few years since I read up on this, but I believe you get more PAR out of T5s than VHOs due to reflector efficiency. A DIY T5 kit uses clip-on reflectors instead of the internal reflectors on VHO bulbs. A T5 light fixture will have smaller reflectors, but still one for each bulb. The T5s that had internal reflectors were less efficient than their non-reflector counterparts, IIRC. This is because the more efficient external reflectors would be blocked by the bulb's internal ones.

I don't remember much about the ballasts, but the advice above sounds familiar.

Based on your tank depth, you'll be able to run 4 bulbs and grow just about anything. You will likely run into some color concerns if you're using T5 only, however. I've come to find that it's harder to dial in the color with less than 6 bulbs. Now, if you're using your MH bulbs or LEDs, 4 bulbs will look great.

I prefer ATI and Geissman bulbs. Both are great and I'm sure there are other good brands, but ATI has the best options for nailing down the right color, IMO. Expect 6 mos to a year out of the bulbs, depending on what ballast you're running and cooling. Mine are in an ATI fixture and I change them after a year. I did the same on other T5-lit tanks in the past.

 

[Big E]

4x54w is plenty for your 75g with an Ice cap ballast. You can color anything very well with good par.

Here's my tank thread for pics. I have been running these for 8+ years.......approx. 4 years on a standard 75g tank and 4 years on my 24x24x48" 80g.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2197142&page=33

 

[Nanook]

I still run vho super actinic with internal reflectors, along with LED and MH bulbs. You can buy them from Premium Aquatics. That said, I’d run a six bulb ATI T5 fixture over that tank.