All VHO users must read this

[chris_h]

I just found this article. http://www.icecapinc.com/famaarticle.htm
It says that if you use an icecap ballast, standard flourescent bulbs make equal light as VHO at a fraction of the cost.

If that article is true, we could save a ton of money by using standard flourescent bulbs instead of VHO.

 

[Clownkeeper]

This actually sounds promising if it will actually work.
Doesnt really say what they are doing about the actinic blues. But for the aquasuns it sounds great.. Keep us informed...

Troy

 

[Bubafat]

That article is very bias and has some faults in it, namely the fact that they state at the end that it will only cost $20 for four YEARS for bulbs. How did they get that figure? It should be A LOT more.

Although I tend to believe that icecap ballasts overdrive NO's, and I do like icecaps, i believe that this article was more a ploy to boost sales for icecap.

Buba

 

[chris_h]

HOw would that boost sales? IceCap sells the ballasts and not the bulb, so they should not care if we use VHO or standard output.

 

[J Crew]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by chris_h:
<strong>HOw would that boost sales? IceCap sells the ballasts and not the bulb, so they should not care if we use VHO or standard output.</strong><hr></blockquote>


on the contrary, it boost sales for icecaps by grabbing a larger market share among consumers that are very price sensitive. mainly consumers that are interested in purchasing a saltwater setup for the least amount possible. by adding the attribute to the icecap unit that it will overdrive regular bulbs, this will in all likelyhood appeal to the price sensitive consumer. because they believe now that they can run cheaper bulbs and achieve the same result as the much higher priced bulbs. not only that, but they will save money on their energy bill. all because they have purchased an icecap. the article looks pretty biased to me. peace

 

[Anonymous]

"fraction of the cost"? with URI bulbs the price diff between NO and VHO is about $3 per tube. i have 4 bulbs so that's $12 per year. i doubt that will put me in the poorhouse.

 

[suckair]

That is a true statment.. I run a Icecap 660 on my phytoplankton station and use 4 NO lamps. 2 are GE aquarium lamps that cost me 5.00ea at home depot and two are just standard cool white lamps I purchased for like 3.00 ea.. They are just as bright as VHO lamps! I don't know how long they will last but are very bright.. They are so bright I can't directly look into the lamps!

Randall

 

[stilmas]

Yes it is true, I've done it on my planted tank, and VHO's are way, way more expensive than NO bulbs unless you're buying Aquasun and super actinic, then you're paying for the name. They work well, but so do other cheaper bulbs.

 

[Gatortailale1]

When I look at the bottom of the webpage of the link chris H. provided, I see an "Icecap logo" and a link back to icecap homepage. Makes me think that Icecap published this ad in FAMA mag. Then posted disclaimer at top they had permission to publish article.

With all that said, If it really works then it's a plus for icecap users.

 

[Big R]

This is nothing new. I, as well as many others, were using NO lamps w/ our IceCaps years ago. As for the price difference between NO and VHO URI's; try $10 a tube, not $3. Plus you are not stuck with their yellowish spectrum. I ran Coralife 10,000K's.

R

 

[Anonymous]

A yellowish spectrum for the VHO's or the NO's?

 

[Super Len]

Questions for the folks using NO's on Icecap:

How often do you replace your bulbs?

Purely conjecture, but I would think "overdriving" bulbs designed for 400ma with 1500ma would significantly stunt the longevity of the bulb using a limited quantity of phosphors.

On the other hand, if the bulb isn't being driven at a full 1500ma (that is, somewhere between 400-1500 [NO-VHO]), the bulb shouldn't be as bright as true VHOs.

Very curious. Another quantitative test I'd like to see performed.

 

[J Crew]

<blockquote><font size="1" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">quote:</font><hr>Originally posted by Leonard v2.01b:
<strong>Questions for the folks using NO's on Icecap:

How often do you replace your bulbs?

Purely conjecture, but I would think "overdriving" bulbs designed for 400ma with 1500ma would significantly stunt the longevity of the bulb using a limited quantity of phosphors.

On the other hand, if the bulb isn't being driven at a full 1500ma (that is, somewhere between 400-1500 [NO-VHO]), the bulb shouldn't be as bright as true VHOs.

Very curious. Another quantitative test I'd like to see performed.</strong><hr></blockquote>


good questions there Leonard, maybe someone has some info on those. will the lampsnow.com ballast overdrive NO bulbs the same as the icecap unit? anyone tried this? peace

 

[Clownkeeper]

I am currently using the URI VHO bulbs over the top of my 55 gallon i am paying like $33-36 per bulb. And if the GE are only like 5 bucks that is saving my butt anywere from $27-31 per bulb. and even if they only last 6 months that is still cheaper then buying URI's
These are just GE aquarium bulbs and you can get them at HD? that just seems funny to think they wouild have something like that... but hey they seem to be a reefers best friend..*L*

Troy

 

[SPC]

Chris, I just read your little dissertation on RC where you tell everyone that "the main conversations on Reefs.org are flames". I guess you haven't seen those type posts on RC?
Steve

 

[Super Len]

Just wait til you're moderated there

wait .... who said that?

 

[chris_h]

Well I have only been reading there for 2 days, so there is a chance that they are just as flamboyant as here. I was just stating my reason for exploring new boards.

 

[stilmas]

VHO. Bulbs like Aquasun have a yellowish tint to them. They are nice bulbs though. They worked great on my 75g planted tank.

 

[columbusreefs]

I contacted zooqi who sells pom pom xenias and I asked him about The Coralife 4-Lamp VHO Ballast kit that he posted about them somewhere in the net. I followed his directions on kind of lights to buy and I put them on my ballast and I have not seen my corals as happy before. I saw my xenia corals pulsing non stop and they grew double in a week. I bought two GE Bathroom and Kitchen Light from K-Mart 40W. 1x 40 w blue bulb from local pet store. 1x vho bulb 50/50 that I had and it was used for over a year. zooqi told me if the light in the tank looks kinda yellow to me then I can change one of K-mart bulbs with 40W daylight from the pet store. I was not sure about it and I had two of my friends hold a towel on top of the tank when I turned the light on and they were more worry. I turned the light on and as any new light two of them started to blink in the corner but they stopped doing that in less than a minute, this does not happen anymore.

 

[DJ88]

Icecap ballasts will overdrive NO's by a factor of 1.5 times. The effect that they are as bright as VHO's is due to the fact VHO's are underdriven to approx 60% of rated output. ie a 110W VHO lamp is only being run at about 66W. It is by underdriving the VHO lamp that Icecaps give VHO lamps longer life.

A 40W NO overdriven by 1.5 times is 60W. Compare that to a 110W VHO underdriven to 66W and you get the appearance of an NO being massively overdriven.

*Disclaimer*

All these numbers are numbers available in threads online where Icecap posted this information freely.