pc VS vho actinics

[MandarinFish]

Thoughts on power compact actinics?

VHO flourescent actinics?

I am considering 2 x 175 (or 250) MH lights, with actinics (and tons of sunlight too).

Is either type prevalent in the hobby? I know PC bulbs are costly. More powerful? Burn cooler?

Does everyone use VHO?

 

[dvmsn]

IMO there are no equals to the VHO actinic. Corals do not fluoresce as brightly under PC's as they do under VHO

 

[LFS42]

From what I've seen, PC don't hold the spectrum like VHO's.

 

[MandarinFish]

What are the best VHO ballasts?

Bulbs?

Where to purchase? I am going to have a lighting warehouse do my retrofit. They have low prices but need something to compare, in case I can save more.

 

[beerbaron]

bulbs dont know

balast- ice cap is the best

champion lighting has good prices http://www.championlighting.com/

hth
BB

 

[MandarinFish]

I assume I should get 48".

How many ballasts? As many as can fit?

 

[tpro]

go to thesea.org for your icecap ballast on sale 660 for $159 w/ free shipping.Pc's run the ballast very hot it will not last. 4-4' vho actinics are great if they fit your canopy. vho bulbs just about anywhere they are all close in price.

 

[tetra]

I think the "true" pc 03 aren't too bad. If you already have pc ballast, might as well get pc 03. If you don't have the ballast already, then I would definitely go with VHO.

 

[MandarinFish]

I have a PC setup, but I think I'll use that on another tank.

Where on http://thesea.org/default.asp do I find IceCaps for sale? I don't see the shopping section.

 

[reefann]

PCs run very cool in my opnion
jj
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Immune Disorders Forum

 

[StirCrazy]

What are the best VHO ballasts?

the Best VHO ballast for our purpose, would be a Fulham WH7 ballast.. it can run 2 VHO in series at full power, and is a high quality electronic multipurpose ballast.. you would need 2 of them to run four 48" tubes but that would still be 1/2 the cost of a IceCap. (I have seen WH7 for as low as 27.00 in the US)

Steve

 

[King Jason]

www.MarineDepot.com has good deals on VHO kits. You get everything you need for a good price. I got the 2x 72" VHO Kit for $245. I think 4 48" VHO's is around $320 or something.

http://www.marinedepot.com/a_lt_fl_ic_retro.asp?CartId=

 

[MandarinFish]

Jeff's Exotic Fish has a special right now -

NEW URI Ice Cap 660 only $145.95

Is this a good deal? What I should use?

 

[King Jason]

Jeff's Exotic Fish has a special right now -

NEW URI Ice Cap 660 only $145.95

Is this a good deal? What I should use?

Pretty good. Do you have bulbs, end caps, mounting brackets, etc?

 

[MandarinFish]

"Loving is what I got" - Sublime

I have a lot of things, but not what you mentioned. This is my first real foray into serious lighting. I have nothing VHO related.

Does that make this a not-so-good deal? Is there a better one you're aware of

 

[King Jason]

Well I was in the same boat as you. All my previous lighting setups were MH so I didn't have anything VHO. So I got the VHO "kit" from MarineDepot.com (link above) that included everything I needed. If you add up all the other pieces you will need (besides the ballast) you will probably spend more even if you get the ballast for a good price.

 

[beerbaron]

I have nothing VHO related.

well this is everything you need for running vho's if you go the ice cap route:
ballast: 150-170 is an average price for icecap 660 which can run 4 - 4' vhos or 3 - 6'. the 440 is a bit cheaper and can run 3 4' vho's - i think
1 pair endcaps for each bulb : $10 each
power cord: minimal
reflector: depends

the nice thing about ice caps is you can run a combination of any type (vho/no/ho) of bulbs. you can different size combinations, and you can run different amounts of each. all you have to make sure of is you have to stay under the maximum wattage and legnth.

but since this is just going to be in addition to MHs you could probably go with the cheapest route like StirCrazy says.
HTH
BB

 

[MandarinFish]

Alright - next questions....

What's the best VHO actinic bulb? Where to get them?

Do IceCaps burn cooler? Do they have any advantage other than those mentioned? I don't understand why people with halides also seem to universally pick IceCaps. Why is that?

 

[LFS42]

I run URI Bulbs.
I'm pretty happy with them.

 

[King Jason]

I run URI Bulbs.
I'm pretty happy with them.

Same here.