Just added a VHO to my t5 bank

D

derek_s

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I replaced my front most t5 (in my bank of 8) with a VHO Super Actinic.

WOW, these lamps are really nice. The colors are popping like never before.

Just FYI, if you are running T5s on a IC660 ballast, you can actually mix and match VHOs in with them. I decided to try this after asking icecap tech service and getting no definate answer. I had the 110W VHO running along with 3 other 54W t5s (running at apporx 80w overdriven) and it worked great.

Then I had the idea to run the VHO off of a seperate workhorse ballast so it could really be used for a nice evening viewing light, without the t5s. Oooh so nice.

I was gonna post some FTS but I find it very difficult to capture teh VHO look...
 
Ehh..

DSC_0198.jpg
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Looks nothing like that in person though. Very difficult to photograph.
 
dang! I have been thinking about changing my 2 54W T'5;s that I use for actinic's over to VHO. Are you running just one on the workhorse? I am using a workhorse for the 2 t5's...
 
Yeah, I am just junning one on the WH. I think it can run 2, but I just wanted to try 1 first. I may add a second in the back.
 
As I've said to everyone, VHO actinic is near impossible to replicate with T5. It's truly stunning....and yes, very hard to photograph.
 
It really is nice. Unfortunatly it is getting washed out by my t5s, so it really is only useful when I run it stand alone or with only 1 bank of 3-4 T5s (as opposed to all 7).

I dont know if the second one would help that or not. Bt at least the evening viewing is really neat.

I need to get the par meter under them and see if the change had any effect.
 
Man, I think I will do that. my 2 pure actinics are nice, but I think VHO is the way to go for actinic supplentation. If only I had a PAR meter to make sure I am not going to lose much...
 
Derek....although I don't really recommend doing this on a regular basis lol....stare at those VHO's for about 5 seconds and watch the pretty patterns!

Like a kaleidescope.
 
Well, after doing some research, here is what I found:
T5s on SLRs only really shoot PAR directly under them, and do not really spread so much. So theoretically, I could have the same par at any particular coral location, as long as the t5s directly above it did not change. So, my tank could possible have the same par where the corals are regardless if I have a 6 lamp or 10 lamp fixture, assuming all else is equal. There is a little bleed over from adjacent lights, but when you are looking at the extreme front or extreme back, those lamps are likely least beneficial.

Since my tank is 24" deep, and I had t5s all the way to the very front, the frontmost t5 was really only lighting the very front of the tank, where little really is.

I figure I lost very little PAR.

But it really depends on what is under the lamps, what orientation they are in, etc...
 
The endcaps are exactly the same dimensions as T5 endcaps. Actually, it looks like when t5s became popular, they just took the VHO endcap and put a different front on it.

THe length is a little different. I am using a 46.5" VHO, which with the endcaps, is just slightly shorter than a 48" t5 with endcaps, by maybe 1/2"
 
Oh, cool. I think I will try this the next time I order from Aquabuys...
 
You definitely lost PAR, VHO dont really give off anything. I guess it all depends on what bulbs were taken out...if it were something like a blue+....you lost a lot of PAR...but if it was purely an actinic bulb, it may be little. My 2x110W VHO's are barely visible when my halides are on....In fact I may turn them off when halides are burning, but it really doesnt matter. Once the lights go off though...it's insane what the corals looks like in pure VHO lighting. Loren you're right about those bulbs messing with your eyes, it's very similar to black lights.....infact people thought it was ok to put black lights over tanks.....makes the colors pop like crazy!!!! but it turns out that it's pretty bad for the fish and corals....oh well.
 
Seedless Reefer;315506 wrote: Derek....although I don't really recommend doing this on a regular basis lol....stare at those VHO's for about 5 seconds and watch the pretty patterns!

Like a kaleidescope.
Click to expand...

Did it. Love it. Even better on crack. Trust me.

Seedless Reefer;315516 wrote: Aren't these T12?
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Yes they are. And remember kids, 12 is 7 more than 5.
 
Seedless Reefer;315516 wrote: Aren't these T12?
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Yes. Good thing about them though....the URi Super actinic R...which I think might be the only actinic now offered (not sure) has an internal reflector so you dont need to waste extra space with a reflector :)
 
ares;315522 wrote: you can see a bit of a difference in the corals, but its like turning on a flashlight on a sunny day.
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Exactly....If you run 10K or so, you'll see the extra pop in the corals...but don't expect them to produce a 20K feel. If you run 15K and up, you'll not really notice anything.....until the lights go off.
 
glxtrix;315519 wrote: You definitely lost PAR, VHO dont really give off anything.
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Right, but in my research, if you are removing a t5 lamp that is positioned over nothing (usually front of tank) you really lose no par on the corals since the lamp was directed downwards into space.. If the lamp reflector was oriented at teh corals, or if it was directly adjacent to some corals, then you def lost some. Of course this was just the observations of Grimm Reefer/Rparty on RC's T5 thread, so I have not checked it against a par meter. I will soon though...I hope.

But anyways, I guess it really depends on exactly how much the light is dispersing through the water. I am really curious to see.
 
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