upgrading from NO to VHO
- Thread starter bms270
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Sorry, I didnt check back.
You probably got an answer already.
But ... You cant use that Coralife ballast.
You need a new ballast capable of running the 140 watt VHO's. The staple VHO ballast is made by Icecap. The Icecap 430 will run up to 12 feet of VHO lamps (max of 4 lamps total I believe) so that would work for two 6 foot VHO's.
The 660 will run up to 16 feet of lamps, max of 4 lamps total.
I would go with the 660 because it doesnt cost all that much more than the 430 and you have a little more flexibility.
Both will also run (actually overdrive) T5's if you ever switch.
But ARO also makes VHO ballasts and I believe that Fulham also makes some Workhorse ballasts that will run them. These are less expensive than the Icecaps.
Thanks for the reply, I have already upgraded to VHO Icecap 660 ballast and now I have 3x110w VHO lamps running... I dont like the result though, maybe wrong choice of lamps, my setup is 2xsuper actinic and 1xactinic white.
The problem is the tank is purple now, not natural at all and my fish dont look as good any more. the actinic lights are more purple than lovely blue that I was getting from coralife actinic.
Do you think I can run my regular output lights with this ballast? or I should add the old ones to this setup?
The problem is the tank is purple now, not natural at all and my fish dont look as good any more. the actinic lights are more purple than lovely blue that I was getting from coralife actinic.
Do you think I can run my regular output lights with this ballast? or I should add the old ones to this setup?
A very common lamp mix when VHO lighting was popular was two of the actinic whites and two of the super actinics. That gave a white look with a distinct violet/actinic tint. With only one white lamp, I can imagine it being very violet.
Here is an option for you ... UVL has come out with a new blue VHO. A true blue 454 nm lamp, not the violet colored actinics. Those super actinic are the best flourescent 420nm lamps in the hobby BTW.
Anyway ... you can try a couple of whites with a blue and actinic or a couple of the blues with one white and one actinic. That second combo would give you a good deal of blue. The actinic would still be present for coral flourescence and the white would, well, whiten it up some. But if you are looking for a dominant blue look, experimenting with the new 454 lamps is the way to go. Personally, I would have another white on hand and then pick up a couple of the blues as well. Having two of each lamp, 2 actinic whites, 2 blues and the 2 actinics, you will find a combination that you like. It means spending some more money on lamps but what you dont use you will have as spares for bulb replacement time. Champion lighting carries the new UVL 454 VHO's and all the UVL lamps.
Personally, I would have gone T5 with individual reflectors for all the lamps if they are main lighting for a reef. But to each his/her own.
To answer your other question, yes you can use standard output lamps with the 660 ballast. It will overdrive them, but I dont remember to what extent. But you can use them on that ballast.
DarG is on the right track, I have a 90 lighted with VHO I was running 3 atinic white and one super atinic 03 and was too white, I just got one of the new 454 blue bulbs and replaced one of the atinic whites. The 2 atinic whites, 1 454 and 1 03 look great! These new 454's are great. I would try this combination.
I ran VHO back when it was popular and for probably a dozen years or more. They didnt have the blue lamps back then.
I ran two 03's and two of the actinic whites. I actually liked the look but there werent the options back then. Two whites and one 03 was too white as you found out as well. If I were still running VHO as main lighting, I know the exact combo I would run ... 1 03, 1 454 and 2 actinic whites, just like you are doing now
Hi,
Thanks for the suggestions. I've been searching around to see if I can run my NO lamps with Icecap 660 and came across interesting articles. they all stated that its absolutely possible to override the NO lamps with Icecap 660. so I started different combination with my old NO lamps. the first try I was like whowawwa! the NO lamp (48" - 40w 10,000K coralife) was even brighter than my VHO lamp! so I got very excited and tried different setup with my NO 03 and vho super actinics, white actinics,... so the best setup IMO turned out to be 2x10,000k coralife (overdriven) and 2x VHO super actinics.
This was pretty similar to mixing 03 with actinic white. basically actinic white somehow intensifies the yellow color in the tank which 10k doesnt. after all Im so happy to get even brighter light by using less wattage and cheaper NO lamps. even if that shortens the lifespan of my lamps but still it would be cheaper to go with NO lamps.
Thanks for the suggestions. I've been searching around to see if I can run my NO lamps with Icecap 660 and came across interesting articles. they all stated that its absolutely possible to override the NO lamps with Icecap 660. so I started different combination with my old NO lamps. the first try I was like whowawwa! the NO lamp (48" - 40w 10,000K coralife) was even brighter than my VHO lamp! so I got very excited and tried different setup with my NO 03 and vho super actinics, white actinics,... so the best setup IMO turned out to be 2x10,000k coralife (overdriven) and 2x VHO super actinics.
This was pretty similar to mixing 03 with actinic white. basically actinic white somehow intensifies the yellow color in the tank which 10k doesnt. after all Im so happy to get even brighter light by using less wattage and cheaper NO lamps. even if that shortens the lifespan of my lamps but still it would be cheaper to go with NO lamps.
I dont know what degree the Icecap overdrives NO lamps (it may be near VHO levels) but it's not a surprise they appear brighter, they are lower K lamps. But my point was that if there is no internal reflector on your NO lamps, much of the output is wasted. The output from the top and top sides of the lamps isnt getting into the tank. The internal reflectors arent great, not like T5 SLR reflectors by any stretch but they do direct a good deal more light into the tank compared to the same lamps with no internal reflector. Are you using any type of reflector over the top of the lamps? Again, they arent very effective at all compared to SLR reflectors like those of T5 but atleast a large sheet reflector above the lamps is better than no reflector at all, internal or otherwise.
Actually, I think I read somewhere that mirrors make for pretty poor reflectors but I could be mistaken.
You cant make a reflector for T12 that would be anywhere near as effective as the SLR's available for T5. The reflectors for the T12 would need to be properly formed and faceted and also would end up being 6 - 8" wide as opposed to the 2" wide reflectors for T5. But I think using a piece of spectral aluminum (actual reflector material) is more effective than no reflector at all for the lamps that dont have the internal reflectors. Hello Lights sells reflector material in different lengths and widths. It is made to use for making combo reflectors for halide/flourescent combos, like inside a canopy. But could be used for your purpose.
The thing is that the spectral aluminum is relatively expensive. I dont think you can do a better job with it than the internal reflectors do on the internally reflected T12 VHO lamps. I ran a sheet of aluminum over my internally reflected T12 VHO's when I ran all VHO. But I used it to try and reflect some of the light from the sides of the outside lamps down into the tank. I dont know if it helped or not to tell you the truth.
Personally, I would skip it and just buy a couple of the UVL 454's with internal reflectors. But by all means, give a reflector a try if that is what you really want to do. Maybe it will work out for you. All I am able to offer are opinions based on my experiences with VHO and some info on what I have read over the years.
I am curious though ... is there any particular reason that you didnt go with T5 and SLR reflectors instead of VHO when doing your retro lighting? Just curious.
If I did all flourescent lighting, I would go with all T5 with SLR reflectors and leave a couple slots for the T12 VHO super actinics. To me, the super actinics lamps are the only T12 VHO lamps that have an advantage over the newer T5 tubes when combined with the individual reflectors. T5 offers more effective lighting ... more par into the tank with the reflectors at less wattage so less energy and less heat, with more lamp colors available as well as longer effective bulb life. And all one needs to do is provide fan cooling for the lamps to reap the benefits. Just that 420 nm lamp ... T5 still doesnt compete with T12 VHO in terms of the color from that one lamp.
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