Ok so the 90 gal set up from Lake Mary has the dual ballast VHO set up for sale. Am interested in buying to supplement my 2-250 halides on new 90 gallon tank. I have never used VHO's before so basically know nothing about them. So question is, what do i need to know? Are the ballast that i'm looking at good? Pretty much any info you can give me. thanks
Who uses VHO's and what do I need to know about them?
- Thread starter jade2122
- Start date
skinnyjoe1976
New member
vho's are t12 bulbs like your normal output bulbs found in shop garages etc but they are high output. 24" 75 watts 36" 95 watts 46.5 and 48" 110 watts and 60" 140 watts and 72" 160 watts. imo the vho's make the corals pop over pc's and t5's but do put some heat off. measure the inside of the canopy and depending on what endcaps they are 1 piece 2 piece or 3piece you might want to go with 46.5" space savers. and uri bulbs have built in reflectors. they are several different ballast on the market. imo icecap are the best but others work very well. wiring them can be a pain if your not handy with wiring but other than that the very dependable
skinnyjoe1976
New member
just noticed that tangers is selling some vho stuff. check out the thread
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1265581
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1265581
skinnyjoe1976
New member
if your ballast is blue like the one in the pic it's a icecap. it can be either a 430 which is 320 watts are a 660 which is 440 watts. and the spacesavers are the 46.5" bulbs. the endcaps depending on what kind are 3/4" long and when you add both sides and the bulb it will be 48" total and if your canopy has only 48" inside than that's what you will need. if you got 50" inside than 48" bulbs will work. if you want to run only 2 bulbs than the 430 will work but if you run 4 bulbs than the 660 is what you will need
lifesworksataol
New member
didnt you get 14k mh? iam running the 14k and when i turn my t5's on its too blue - so i am going without- just too much blue and too much heat.
skinnyjoe1976
New member
color is in the eye of the beholder. 10k will give you the growth but poor color imo even with actninc's. 14k's are better color with good growth but imo 20k's with actinic are perfect. people buy corals on color along with other things so why not show there colors off?
