[bananablack]

hi all, im going to replace my vho's with pc's. does anybody know if these are any good. or is there something better i should go with? 96 Watt Bright Kits

thanks

[malawi]

well....the guy I deal with don't like pc or t-5 he still like the VHOs cause he said the compact don't reach down to bottom for as lighting for your coral..I don't know but I'm going VHOs if you all out there know better let me know thanks

[glampka]

I originally had 2 or their 55W units on my tank. They were fine. AH Supply has incredible customer service. Everything is of high quality. Their reflector design returns tons of light to the tank.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

VHO's are decent units but I have always been sceptical of there built in reflector.If you want good penatration to a depth of 29 inch's you cant beat t-5 vho.Even with lower wattage the single lamp reflector type t-5 vho will put more light on the bottom of the tank.With bulb choices from 3000k to 14000k they again leave t-12 VHO in the dust.With a bulb life nearly double that of t-12 vho t-5 vho comes out the winner again.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

The bright kit actually looks pretty nice.And you cant beat the price.

[bananablack]

thanks...im getting the 96w 2 bulb bright kit. should i get the mixed bulbs or 1 white and one actinic?

[bananablack]

im getting the 55wx2 not the 96 watt

[pogodzib]

I have used both VHO and PC bulbs and I would NEVER switch from VHO to PCs. If you want to upgrade your VHOs, I'd suggest either T5HO, T5V-HO or MH.

[Lowej82]

so what vho's you got? ill swap ya a 96 x 2 PC for them any day

[malawi]

ok anybody give me the website to go on where I can get T-5 Vhos.Thanks

[NATIVEVAMAN]

T5HO Retro Kits - DIYReef
You can look here or ar Reef geek,one of our sponcers.

[pogodzib]

I don't think either one of them sell T5V-HO lighting yet. They only sell T5HO or VHO

Try these links.

marineandreef.com/ Reef Aquarium Supply (Aquarium Lighting, Coralife light, Aquarium Light, Power Compact, Compact Fluorescent, Metal Halide Lights, Aquarium Chillers, Aquarium Pumps, Coralife lighting, UV Sterilizer, Reef Aquarium, Current USA AquaP

Pet supplies, pet products, pet supply store, pet shop — Petstore.com

Aquarium supplies for your tropical fish tank, saltwater fish tank, saltwater aquarium fish, freshwater aquarium fish & reef aquarium. Aquarium filters, aquarium lighting, aquarium tanks, protein skimmers & more for your reef tank.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

You are right Brian,you have to build your own.Thet require a canopy.

[Rainman69]

What kind of ballast are you using You should be able to keep it and just change bulbs and end caps.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Its the balast you haveto have for t-5 vho.At this point in time you have to use an Ice Cap 430 or 660 ballast.The chances are that the Ice Cap ballast wont fit inside a regular fixture.Of course you could always use the fixture and have the ballast be external.

[Rainman69]

So the pfo or coralife vho ballast cant run t5.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I do believe those are t-12 vho ballasts

[NATIVEVAMAN]

HMMMMMMM As I think about it they might work.I will have to look into that.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

The PFO web site is not to forthcomming about there flourescent ballasts.No info about total bulb length or total watts.So I guess my answer has gone from no to maybe to maybe not lol.

[Rainman69]

I'm not really sure about other ballast either. I know the icecaps work they also overdrive the bulb getting you 85 watts out of the 54 watt bulbs. Add individual reflectors and i think this spell end of days for both vho and pc maybe even mh.

[NATIVEVAMAN]

There is at least one company making bulbs specificaly for t-5 vho,with thicker glass and longer filiments.So you wont be overdriving the bulbs and get your 2 year bulb life.

[bananablack]

i currently have a pfo ballast 2-2 running 1 46.5 inch actenic blue and one actenic white on a 55 gallon.

[Rainman69]

I used this same setup but with icecap ballast. Imo the down side is a truly good white light. However I cant see pc being a upgrade to current system.