Adding VHO, MH or PC question.....

[javajoe]

I have a 55 gallon tank, dont have exact dimensions, but it is 48 inches wide, and 12 inches front to back. I currenty have a coralife bllast with NO florescents, 2 40 watt bulbs. I want to add either MH, VHO or PCs so i can raise the lighting and add higher light corals to my tank, and have some questions.
With my powerheads, heater, and the current light hood that holds my NO bulbs, i only have roughly 5-6 inches over the tank in the front that I can use for lighting. (i made a lighting hood out of a vinyl gutter, upside down)
What type of lighting can i do? i do have room for another "DIY gutter hood", but i realize that this will NOT work at all for MH. Would this work for VHO or PCs?
Is so, can someone please steer me in the right direction as to how to do this the best way?
I really would like to go with MH, but i really do not think that i can as there is not enough room for the light to enter the tank-- i am afraid i would be spending all that money, and shining half of it on the floor in front of the tank!
any ideas?
Thanks...
Joe

 

[sonny]

I really think that VHO is the best lighting for smaller tanks. I consider anything under 100 gallons to be small. With a width of only 12 inches, you are wasting the light from metal halides, which are suited for deep and large tanks. While you can get MH lights over the tank, heat will be a problem. If you really want to have a great lighting setup for your 55, get the Icecap 660 ballast, and 4 tubes. Junk your 40 watt tubes, and replace them with VHO. I recommend 2 actinics, and 2 actinic white or aquasuns. The lamps need to be replaced about every year. PC lighting is okay, but I prefer the VHO. The VHO blue actinic is much better than the PC blue. PC is the best thing for really small tanks, like 20 gallons or less.
Sonny

 

[javajoe]

With an icecap ballast, can i have 4 bulbs, and control them separately? i wanted to have the 2 blues turn on and off 1 hr before and after the daylights... is there a way to wire this with one ballast? or would i be better off just keeping the NO with the coralife 40 watt ballast that i am now using, and have them on 2 seperate timers?
If the only way i can do this is to keep my current ballast for the blues, is their a different ballast that i can go with? SHould i use the icecap 430 with 2 96watt VHO white actinic bulbs, and use 2 40 watt blue actinics in my other hood?
thanks for the help...
Joe
[ December 04, 2001: Message edited by: Javajoe ]

 

[jond]

You have it right. You could not control them seperately with the 660. They do make a series of dimmers that will allow for some dawn/dusk control. Otherwise, you would need seperate ballasts. I really think you will be better off in the long run doing away with your current lights all together and upgrade all at once. You could buy a prebuilt or build your own canopy to house the lights with a very nice look. I have VHO's on an icecap 660 and have been very pleased with them.

 

[javajoe]

Jond...
You mentioned dimmers for the dawn/dusk control-- do you recomend and specific brands that i could do some poking around online for? I found one... "Digital Oceans Ice-Cast Dimmer" about $170.00- is that the type of thing you are talkinga bout? looks like it tuns all the lights slowly up for an hour at beggining and end of cycle with a simple appliacne timer hooked up to it? (it is a little confusing on the site i found)
[ December 04, 2001: Message edited by: Javajoe ]

 

[q]

I'm gonna buy the solar 1000L 2. At 350 it isn't cheep but you can fully program your lighing cycle and on this model it has 2 ports so you can dim 2 seperate balasts. It also has the ability to run an X-10 module which will allow you to control the ON/Off of 4 devices.
If you want to you could use the NO to do the dawn/dusk.
You will have to send in the 660 to the factory to have it modified. It only costs shipping.

 

[javajoe]

I think i will get an icecap 430, and use that for 2 96 watt VHO bulbs, and just use the NO with 2 40 watt actinic blue bulbs for the dawn/dusk cycle. that way i can just use cheap appliance timers from Home depot--- does this sound like a good idea, or no?

 

[sonny]

The difference in the amount of light you get out of the 2 extra VHO's would be worth the loss of separate control. I think 4 tubes is about the most you could get over a 55, and later you could upgrade to a dimmer system. If you buy a 660 ballast, the new ones shouldn't need to be upgraded to be dimmable. You would not see any problem with your corals, inverts, or fish by having the lights come on or go off abruptly. The 660 ballast can power from one to four lamps, so if you wanted to, you could use only two VHO lamps, but as I said earlier, it would be a waste. The VHO lamps are about the same cost as NO lamps, so you get almost triple the light for the same money!
Sonny

 

[javajoe]

So it is ok to have the lights go on and off suddenly?

 

[jond]

It is probably not great, but I have a 660 w/ 3 24" over my 37gal. and I don't have a dimmer yet. After about 4 months, I have seen no ill effects of the lights coming on suddenly. I do however plan to get a dimmer in the future. I am just holding out for a higher model w/ module controls.
If your going to spend the money on a ballast, do the whole tank in VHO's, you won't regret it.

 

[jond]

Oh, I also was going to mention that the 660 I purchased 4 months ago was already equiped for the dimmer. So if you buy one now and want to add the dimmer later, there will be no need to send it back in.

 

[mlm]

I have a 55 gallon with 3 48 inch vho tubes and I tries to fit one more but I had a hard time doing it. I have 48 inch long tank. If you have a 36inch 55 gallon that is wider front to back then you should not have any trouble doing it.

 

[davidcanupp]

Hey mlm: I am trying to find a retro kit that comes with 3 VHO's and I have not found one- did you buy your own ballast or did you find a retro kit with 3? (I just realized that my 55 is too narrow to accomodate my original lighting plan)

 

[wastedincome420]

Hey David I just replied to your lighting post. When you buy an Iceca 660 it has the a wiring diagram to show how to hook up 1,2,3 0r 4 bulbs. Inoder to use 3 48" bulbs you end up with a coupleunused wires. If your looking for a kit that comes with 3 48" bulbs let me know

 

[jond]

Do a web search for "Icecap Ballast" and you should get a link to the site that carries that brand and you can get any combination you want.