VHO Lighting

[travisurfer]

Why is VHO lighting so commonly overlooked? It seems to be a great lighting source that provides a good amount of par. So why dont that many people have them?

 

[Biscutz]

I think VHO is a great source of lighting if you are going with FOWLR or a soft coral setup. The SPS coral require more light than the VHO can offer to thrive and stay colorful. I tried keeping my VHO while I had a few SPS corals, they did survive but the growth rate and coloring was not so good. When I switched to MH's the SPS coral grew and colored up very quickly. I do use VHO's for supplemental lighting however, and as far as actinics are concerned, I think VHO's are by far the best. Just my .02.

 

[Craig Lambert]

I run 6 bulbs (630 watts) off of two ballasts on my 75G, which can keep pretty much anything (though I don't). I keep LPS and a RBTA. I plan to add one of the lesser light demanding clams as well as a couple of select SPS in the future. I run 2 110 watt super actinics, 2 110 watt 50/50's, and 2 95 watt 50/50's. I really like the effect and wouldn't have it any other way.

 

[asnatlas]

VHOs are also being replaced by T5s now a days... They are much smaller and run alot cooler... Alot of people like to use MH over a reef setup because it looks more realistic as it casts the "Shimmer lines" into the tank... It also depends on the tanks depth as VHO don't penetrate too well past a certain depth...

 

[travisurfer]

wouldnt vho's be better than t5 becasue they carry more wattage or are t5's really that much better?
t5HO=24watts
vho=75watts
both are a 24" lengths

 

[travisurfer]

is it just being phased out with t5HO being the most popular lighting right now?

 

[reeformadness]

I don't understand the T5 hype either. The don't offer the watts needed for corals. The VHO's are hot, but they give good looking wattage for a budget.

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

T5's can put out as much light as t12(vho), the watts is not always an accurate way to compare bulbs.

T5s run cooler, and the bulbs seem to last much longer without the big drop in output, compared to t12.

Being much smaller you are also able to fit more bulbs into the same space.

These are a few reasons T5 are becoming more popular than T12 (VHO).

 

[Jeremy Blaze]

Oh,

And I have seen many tanks with great SPS growth under VHO as well as a few T5 tanks.

 

[E-A-G-L-E-S]

i do personally feel vho is the best actinic supp. there is...and i've used both VHO and T5.
But i believe T5 is a better lighting source for corals of any type.
-JMO

 

[reeformadness]

good stuff to know

 

[Amphiprion]

I have had no trouble keeping anything under VHO. The growth rates are impressive and the coloration is good as well.

 

[Biscutz]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7271877#post7271877 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Amphiprion
I have had no trouble keeping anything under VHO. The growth rates are impressive and the coloration is good as well.

I thought the same thing until I switched to MH's. I was getting "good" growth from my sps with the VHO but after the swtich I was getting "amazing" growth from them. Some of the corals middle to bottom placement where coloring up too. VHO is fine if you have a bunch of bulbs and the light loving SPS are high up in the tank. JME

 

[Amphiprion]

I don't know about under halides, but I characterize good growth as in my Montipora "capricornis" (probably not the species, but a plating species nonetheless) which I have to frag off every few weeks. Some of the Acropora species I have now have grown from 1/4" to 6+" in about 4 months. I do believe halides could definitely boost this further, but these growth rates are easily achievable with good water conditions and reasonable lighting, anyway.