Lighting Choices

[AndyR]

Hello, I have a 36" long by 12" wide by 20" deep aquarium which is 38 gallons. I want to upgrade the lighting so I can keep corals with 2 90 watt VHOs.

Presently I have an All Glass hood. I would really like to replace the existing ballast with either an Ice Cap or a Hamilton. Would it be possible to use the existing 30 watt lamp-holders?

I suspect that if I use the retrofit lamp-holders that the extra width of the lampholder can't be accomodated by the hood.

My maximum hood width is constrained to be about 5.5 inches by the all glass feeding door on the front and an emperor 400 filter behind the hood.

If any one knows of any hoods that are narrow enough (5.5 to 6.0) inches that could accomodate a vho ballast and two lamps that would also be good information.

 

[samurai9]

andy, you're trying to match 150 dollar(or whatever the cost of the lighting...over $100) to suit your 10 dollar hood. If i were you, id chuck the whole top. It wasn't designed for reef aquaria. For a little more you could get a power compact pendant or a used metal halide pendant on ebay. On my 100 gallon tank, i bought a power compact retr0-fit kit to accomodate my less than 4 inches tall canopy, and they were placed in the back half of the canopy so that i could also use my NO fluorescents which came with the tank. So i have 80 watts of light in the front half, and 260 watts in the back half. PLus i have heat problems cause everything is crammed into that small canopy. if i were to redo it, i would through out my canopy and put two 175 halides pendants over it. Much better performance and stress wise. My point is, look at what is truly important for your tank. Spend the money to get the important things right. "Stylish" and "normal" are insignificant words to reef aquarist, "good" and "bad" are determined by what the equipment actually does for your system. Just my $.02 Sounds like you're a newbie, you need to get off on the right foot. Cheers

 

[AndyR]

Well actually, I'm not a newbie but I'm only 14 I've had my FOWLR for four or five years now with little problems.

You don't have to worry about me being an uncaring kind of fishkeeper, I'm not. I worry about my fish a little too much. My dad and I wrote that post together and we are both confused over what to buy. When it comes to fish, I've read so much about all the species for four years that I know tons about them. When it comes to corals and lighting however, that's a different story. I have no experience with them. So basically I'm am trying to upgrade from a FOWLR to a reef, and I want two VHOs on there (my dad doesn't like PCs for some reason). Anyways thanks for the advice.

 

[Scott D Passe]

AndyR,

The sockets on the All-Glass fixture are only rated for NO (Normal Output) lamps, not VHO lamps.

It might be possible to retrofit the All-Glass fixture with VHO rated waterproof end caps, but you would probably not have enough room to do this.

Ventilation might also be a problem as VHO lamps create a lot more heat than NO lamps.

I would recommend a DIY fixture with VHO rated end caps or a Commercial fixture rated for VHO lamps.

IceCap ballasts are a very good thing, I have been using them since they first became commercially available. VHO lamps connected to them last 2X+ lamps with conventional coil ballasts.

Regards,

Scott Passe

[ December 09, 2001: Message edited by: Scott D Passe ]</p>