PC vs. VHO (1 Viewer)

[Guest]

Do VHO bulbs actually put out more light per watt than a PC bulb does? For example.....if you had a PC bulb and a VHO bulb and they were both say 100 watts each. Would they put out the same light or would the VHO put out more?

 

[jamesw]

According to the mathematical calcs and physical properties of the lamps, yes, VHO puts out more light per watt than PC.

If you want some proof do search through Sanjay Joshi's articles in Advanced Aquarist.

Cheers
James

 

[Guest]

VHO period...

You're very near me, drop by my office one day and look at the difference between my one tank with VHO / MH setup and my tank with PC's.

huge, I'd never buy another PC in my life... and i think all VHO would be a great setup as well.

Im off 1960 between mills and perry

 

[Guest]

plasma.....pm sent

 

[Guest]

T5

 

[Linda]

VHO vs MH...please forgive me for jumping in...I am wanting to move to VHO from PC but keep hearing I should go on to MH....I really worry about the heat and expense....opinions?

 

[Guest]

mikester....Forgive my ineptness but what is a T5?

 

[djreef]

I love the spread that VHO creates. You can literally light the whole tank with it. T-5 is the same in this respect, and you can cram way more bulbs in the same amount of space. I would only use PC on smaller systems, or as reinforcement for the ends of a larger system lit with VHO or T-5.

DJ
= 8-->{I>

 

[Guest]

T5's are fluorescent tubes like VHO, but smaller. They are so narrow, that they can design very efficient reflectors around them, which increases the output ~ 300%. A single T5 bulb with the individual reflector is at least as bright as a single VHO, and uses half the wattage. The bulbs last longer too.

If you are starting from scratch and buying a new setup, T5 is the best way to go, period. The prices have come down, and you can get a 4 bulb T5 setup for only about $80 more than a 4 bulb VHO. You'll get that $80 back in about 9 months just on electricity savings alone, not to mention longer bulb life.

 

[Guest]

VHO vs MH...please forgive me for jumping in...I am wanting to move to VHO from PC but keep hearing I should go on to MH....I really worry about the heat and expense....opinions?

From PC, either VHO or T5 would be an improvement, and T5 would be the better choice (see my previous post for the reasons). But neither will give you a drastic increase in light - if you are looking for substantial increases in light, you will eventually want MH.

Here's my suggestion - if you have room over your tank, maybe just buy 2 VHO or T5 bulbs to use along with your PC's for now. Then when money permits, ditch the PC's, buy metal halides and keep the T5's for actinic supplementation.

 

[Guest]

thanks for the help everyone. now comes the hard part.....deciding what exactly I want to get. Do any of yall have maybe a rough estimate on how much it might cost to make a hood for my 25 gal tank? (building it myself of course) I havent decided yet on if im going to get a retrofit kit or not. Are there any advantages/disadvantages to a retro kit? Also....does anyone have any experience with buying a ballast, endcaps, and whatnot and wiring everything themselves?

 

[Guest]

For a tank that size, I would think you could build a hood for under $50 easy. I spent about $100 on materials for the hood for my 145g, but that's a lot bigger and I added some stuff that made it more complicated.

Wiring up a retrofit kit is easy. Many people here have done it, and can help you out if you run into problems.

 

[Guest]

Ok, I just thought of another question, lol....Would 2 28W T5 bulbs be good for a 25 gal tank to grow corals? I assume it prob wouldnt but hey, thats why im askin. I would guess 4 tubes would be bare minimum to have? btw, all i have on my tank now is just some crap tube that came with the tank but no corals or even PC bulbs or anything just one green chromis and some live rock. I guess what im asking is what would be a good setup for my 25 gal without MH?

 

[Guest]

You do have to be care not to buy the normal output t5's. you want the High output, in which case you can fit 4 24w T5 bulbs. You will be very pleased with the results and you'll be able to keep a good assortment of corals. I upgraded from PC's to T5's and the difference was night and day. the T5 actinics are much better than the PC actinics. I'm not sure but I swear I could hear my corals cheering.

 

[Guest]

Ok I gota ask, are two 24w t5 really that much better than a single 40w NO. IF so, then watt doesn't really have much meaning. There must be another unit of measure that says this is better than that :-(

 

[Guest]

you are correct. PAR is a much better unit of measurement. PAR is a measurement of intensity. T5 amd VHO are much more intense than NO or PCs

 

[Guest]

Is there a web site that talks about PAR, NO VS PC or VHO Vs T5 etc... is there info on how quickly the PAR falls off over time of one VS the other , etc....

 

[ChrisB]

I keep hearing everyone talk about the difference when they went from PCs to VHO or T5s. My tank is 95% softies (Zoos, Frogspawn, Sun Coral, Zenia, Mushrooms, Colt Coral, Ricordia, Flower Pot, Galaxia) so is the difference your talking about beneficial to my tank. Would it allow me to start adding some SPS or LPS to the tank?

 

[incysor]

I keep hearing everyone talk about the difference when they went from PCs to VHO or T5s. My tank is 95% softies (Zoos, Frogspawn, Sun Coral, Zenia, Mushrooms, Colt Coral, Ricordia, Flower Pot, Galaxia) so is the difference your talking about beneficial to my tank. Would it allow me to start adding some SPS or LPS to the tank?

Your frogspawn, sun coral, flower pot, are all LPS. I would bet that galaxia counts as well. You'd probably have more luck with some of the easier SPS with VHO's, and definitely with T-5's. I haven't had the lights to keep SPS, so I'm not sure which varieties that would be. I'm just not getting to the point where I will start researching SPS more.

B

 

[Guest]

Is there a web site that talks about PAR, NO VS PC or VHO Vs T5 etc... is there info on how quickly the PAR falls off over time of one VS the other , etc....

There is a lot of information on RC but ist's not all in one place. Here's my summation-PCs loose most of their intensity after 6mo. VHO and T5 hold their intensity more a solid 12mo and some will argue longer. MH have much more intensity and hold it for 12 mo.

I keep hearing everyone talk about the difference when they went from PCs to VHO or T5s. My tank is 95% softies (Zoos, Frogspawn, Sun Coral, Zenia, Mushrooms, Colt Coral, Ricordia, Flower Pot, Galaxia) so is the difference your talking about beneficial to my tank. Would it allow me to start adding some SPS or LPS to the tank?

Everything you mentioned would benefit, you probably will see better colors and faster growth. As Incysor said, you already have LPS corals