VHO uvl 14k? whos used it and how did it look?

[tigerarmy40]

Im thinking about switching my t5's out for vho but before I take such drastic measures I want to know a little more about this lamp. Does it look like a 420nm lamp or a blue+ type blue? I have seen the 50/50 and to me its too pink. I want to run four vho lamps two being actinic and two 14k if they are are blue, if not then I will more than likely stick to all actinic...

let me know what you experience is with this lamp and show me a pic is you have it!?!?

http://cgi.ebay.com/VHO-36-95-Watt-1...3286.m20.l1116

[ricde]

The 14k's are more inline with the 50-50's .

I agree with you on the 50-50's pink color. The 75-25 has an almost pure white with just a touch of blue color.

I do like the newer 454 bulb for actinic supplementation. Never cared for the super act's "glow in the dark" purple

[tigerarmy40]

thanks for the feedback, Im not familiar with the 454 bulb...what is it like? and where can I find some info on them?


anyone else use that 14k vho?

[tigerarmy40]

ttt for the late nighters!

[jimsplace]

The 454's are new I have not been able to find any information on them, but have purchased one from the LFS and am going to install this weekend. The bulb you show from ebay is also new I think, but is 75/25, probably will give you some more blue but I think mostly white.

I am currently running 3 atinic white and 1 03 super atinic 110w bulbs and there is not enough blue to suit me. The LFS says the 454 is a true blue bulb not like the 03. Guess I will find out.

[gh0st]

On an Icecap ballast, the 14k (75/25) is deffinetly a bit less pink and more blue than the 50/50 (or 12k) bulb.

The 454 is ALOT more blue than the Super Actinics. It also seems to give off a little more visible spectrum light, so things look a bit brighter with just the Actinics/Blues running. The Super Actinics do seem to flouresce the corals a bit more, however.

If you can run a mix and Super Actinic and 454, it gives a pretty nice mix of the two.

[DarG]

Originally posted by tigerarmy40
Im thinking about switching my t5's out for vho but before I take such drastic measures I want to know a little more about this lamp. Does it look like a 420nm lamp or a blue+ type blue? I have seen the 50/50 and to me its too pink. I want to run four vho lamps two being actinic and two 14k if they are are blue, if not then I will more than likely stick to all actinic...

let me know what you experience is with this lamp and show me a pic is you have it!?!?

http://cgi.ebay.com/VHO-36-95-Watt-1...3286.m20.l1116

Why would you switch from T5 to VHO? T5 with individual reflectors direct signifigantly more light into the tank at less wattage. The concensus only remaining advantage of T12 VHO is the 420nm super actinic lamp. This lamps spectrum and effect on coral color "pop" and/or flouresence hasnt been duplicated in the T5 lamps, atleast not so far. There are reefers who supplement halide specifically with the T12 VHO super actinic and also those who add a couple of these lamps in along with their array of T5's. But to make a wholesale change from T5 to VHO will mean a drop in par IN THE TANK and an increase in energy use and heat when comparing the two lamp types, foot for foot of lamp lenght.
Again, this assumes that you are using individual reflectors with your T5's. For the record, I used T12 VHO in the past for over a dozen years, probably closer to 15. I ignored PC lighting when they came out but it is impossible to ignore the overall advantages of T5 over the T12 VHO with the exception of the that one lamp, the T12 VHO Actinic 03 / 420nm Super actinic.

It's your tank and you can certianly do what you wish. Just adding my 2 cents related to comparisons of both lamp types in terms of par and energy used.

And again, am curious as to why you would want to switch.

[tigerarmy40]

I know it sounds crazy but I have had no luck with my t5 bulbs. I have them overdriven by ic660 and the bulbs just burn out way to fast. I am losing a bulb about every two months and that is with fans running across them. I also run 2x250 10k halides so Im just looking for something to give the tank a little actinic supplimentation to balance out the look of the 10k. I was running two gman pure actinics and to ati blue+ which gave the tank a beautiful look but I cant afford to replace a bulb every two months and have my tank look ugly until it ships out. when one is out they are all out

Originally posted by DarG
Why would you switch from T5 to VHO? T5 with individual reflectors direct signifigantly more light into the tank at less wattage. The concensus only remaining advantage of T12 VHO is the 420nm super actinic lamp. This lamps spectrum and effect on coral color "pop" and/or flouresence hasnt been duplicated in the T5 lamps, atleast not so far. There are reefers who supplement halide specifically with the T12 VHO super actinic and also those who add a couple of these lamps in along with their array of T5's. But to make a wholesale change from T5 to VHO will mean a drop in par IN THE TANK and an increase in energy use and heat when comparing the two lamp types, foot for foot of lamp lenght.
Again, this assumes that you are using individual reflectors with your T5's. For the record, I used T12 VHO in the past for over a dozen years, probably closer to 15. I ignored PC lighting when they came out but it is impossible to ignore the overall advantages of T5 over the T12 VHO with the exception of the that one lamp, the T12 VHO Actinic 03 / 420nm Super actinic.

It's your tank and you can certianly do what you wish. Just adding my 2 cents related to comparisons of both lamp types in terms of par and energy used.

And again, am curious as to why you would want to switch.

[nikon187]

You could have a balast problem. All of our T5 that are overdrivin at the store I work always get 9-11 mths easily and thats without a fan directly blowing across them. There is something not right with your setup if you are going through that many bulbs. What kind of endcaps?

[tigerarmy40]

Ice cap endcaps. I do have the ballast running a my acjr, I dont know if that may have something to do with it?

on a side note I feel like I have always liked the look of vho. It is a deeper spectrum and better at saturating the tank with light...my t5's were bright but very pale or pastel looking! anyone else feel this way?

[DarG]

Originally posted by tigerarmy40
Ice cap endcaps. I do have the ballast running a my acjr, I dont know if that may have something to do with it?

on a side note I feel like I have always liked the look of vho. It is a deeper spectrum and better at saturating the tank with light...my t5's were bright but very pale or pastel looking! anyone else feel this way?

Just the super actinics. The T12 VHO super actinics are superior in color to the T5 super actinics. You can run a combo of T5 and T12 VHO with that Icecap ballast. But I agree with the other poster. Something is wrong with your setup. I get a year or more from my T5's on the Icecap 660 ballast. The lamps are fan cooled well but to only get a couple months, something is not right.

[tigerarmy40]

heres a vid of a guy running the 454 on his tank! i like...Im thinking a combo of this bulb and the actinic 03 would look pretty good with my hami 10k's.

click on related videos to see coral close ups that he put up

[DarG]

That tank looks like *** from a color perspective, atleast on two of my monitors. Extremely blue and every color, including that of the fish is washed out. But To each his own where color is concerned.

As far as the blue T12 VHO's, I think all they will amount to is less light output in the tank without the external reflector that can be used with T5's all to use a T12 VHO supplement that peaks right around 450nm just like the blue T5's on the market and uses twice the energy. But again, one makes their own decisions for their own reasons. Hope it works well for you.

[jimsplace]

Thought I'd give you an update on the new 454 bulbs I put in this weekend. I love them, the 3 atinic white and the 03 super atinic I had on the tank gave the tank a washed out apperance. The addition of the new 454 bulb added the blue the tank needed and have had others ask what I did to the tank. The 454 bulb is a true blue bulb, not an 03.

[DarG]

Originally posted by jimsplace
Thought I'd give you an update on the new 454 bulbs I put in this weekend. I love them, the 3 atinic white and the 03 super atinic I had on the tank gave the tank a washed out apperance. The addition of the new 454 bulb added the blue the tank needed and have had others ask what I did to the tank. The 454 bulb is a true blue bulb, not an 03.

There shouldnt have been any real confusion as to the color of the new lamp. It's called a 454 for a reason ... 450 nm (or in this case, 454) is a blue lamp. The 03's or Super actinics that have been around seemingly forever peak at 420 nm.

I ran T12 VHO's for over a dozen years ... I never felt that the actinic days or 50/50's as they are called and the 03's in a 1:1 combination ever created a "washed out" appearance in the least. But I wouldnt expect that adding one blue to the mix would either. That picture/video a few posts up would be a pretty good definition of washed out appearance in my book

But again, to each his/her own.

[OneReef]

I have a friend running the 454 and the 75.25(14K). The 454 looks really good. The 75.25 looked too pink for my tastes.

[tigerarmy40]

Im thinking with some 03 and 10k halides I might get a nice look overall. I may give it a shot...I have all the necassary equipment with the exception of the bulbs. I would need to buy new bulbs to get my t5's back up so why not try it. Ill post as to the outcome later...