Are Vho's better than PC's?

[alison]

Hi, I decided to go Vho's and was all set to buy, then read that Vho's put out less light watt per watt than a power compact, by almost half! So what's better? I have 220 watts of pc's right now, but half went out yesterday, so I was going to up my lighting, not be the same with vho's. Since I could only fit 4- 48 inchers in there at 460 watts total. Wanted to mh's but was told I couldn't without an air conditioned house or hanging a mh fixture, and not putting it in my hood even if I modified it so it had fans and was more than 12 inches from the water. So I decided Vho's but now I'm more confused than ever. Maybe I'll just go with 2 96 watt pc's I dono. Thanks in advance, ali:help:

 

[paulcoates]

what type of marine life are you looking to accomodate?

 

[kimkissyfish]

Alison,.
Hmm?> I have Pc's under my 75G canopy. I was gonna switch my florescent hood lights with a hood of VHO's. Then have VHO's and Pc's..
I cannot go MH either because of my canopy.
I'd like to hear the answer to this too.. >>>>??
Kim

 

[alison]

Hi, man all this lighting stuff is like a different language isn't it. lol. Oh, by the way, I wanna keep brains, softies, plates, frogspawn, but no need for the sps stuff, you know the super hard stuff. I always get lps, and sps mixed up. Thanks in advance, Ali

 

[pyro]

I got a corallife 2 X 96 watt PC retrofit kit for my 30. In general, It's ok, but not great. The quality of the reflector is shaky, and the reflector itself is too small to hold both lights width wise. If I was to go PC retro again, I would not buy off of corallife.
I do like the light output though... a lot.
Next tank I do, will probably be a 125 (heard its the perfect size). I'll run metal halide with probably VHO actinic suppliments. The power compacts just feel too flimsy and are hard to clean. I really wish they would be mounted at both ends - it would make me feel more secure for some reason.

 

[alison]

Hi, it's not just corallife, thier all like that. It's the clip system thier in. I'm sure in another 5 years they'll have something better to hold them in. ~Ali

 

[thomas712]

Just my opinion.
PC are hot, expensive to buy and run, wiring is thick and difficult to manipulate.
More often people will change from PC to VHO instead of visa versa.
Many who have run both will choose VHO over PC for looks, price, and results.
VHO actinics are miles better than PC actinics (most PC actinics aren't even true actinics). You will get better color rendition and a lower power bill, too.
Also bulbs last longer and are cheaper with the right ballast.
What advertising are you listening to that PC put out almost twice what VHO does?
Thomas

 

[verde_ad]

I have pc's right now and if I were going to change my flourecents I would change to VHO's. I like my pc's, but I have seen better light out out of VHO's. It is just my opinion. Most of the tanks I see that I realy like have them, so I figure they must do something right. I just upgraded to halides, so it will be a while before I have the cash to add the VHO's, but I am sure I will eventually.

 

[alison]

Hi, ***violation*** talked about the differences in light, and it talked about how pc's put out nearly twice the brightness of a vho, so that got me all confused. Ya the vho's I've always thought were better, and still do, but if I'm only going to be at like 240 watts, because thier saying a 55 watt pc is brighter than a 96 watt vho, I might as well just up my pc's instead. But now I'm thinkin mh's again, so who the heck knows. I gotta make a decision by tomarrow though. ~Thanks, Ali

 

[verde_ad]

I just got a PFO mini pendant, ice cap electronic ballast, and a 20k aqualine bulb for just over $300 shipped. I thougt that was a pretty good deal. 250 watts of much brighter light then anything you can get from VHO's or PC's.

 

[iwantacans]

well i personally would go the mh route... you can keep a much wider variety... but if you decide against that pcs havea higher intensity than vho

 

[alison]

That's funny they blurped out the name I used. Because that site doesn't sell anything but advice, and has a link to this site. Anyways, I'm leanin mh's now, but a little concerned magnetic balast is gonna be makin my electric bill go way up. Do you think it will? Because I can't afford electric balast. Also have you guys hear of PFO brand? I found a fairly good deal for 360 WITH the bulbs and a 12" reef reflector. It's a Dual 175 retro kit. I just gotta make sure that PFO brand is good and stuff. Thanks in advance, Ali

 

[iwantacans]

pfo is one of the better ones alison

 

[alison]

Oh goodie. I was hopin it was a good brand, or atleast recognizable. Thanks again for all your help. I'm leanin mh's pretty much now. I'm gonna check out some deals then off to sleep. Thank you sooo much for all your help. I dono what I would do without all the great people here on this site. ~Ali

 

[promisetbg]

Save your money until you can afford electronic ballasts..more efficient and savings in the longrun..IMO.

 

[verde_ad]

I don't know how many lights you are trying to run, but you can buy ice cap electronic ballasts for a 250 watt system for $115. PFO ballast's are a little less in price.

 

[starfishjackedme]

I have never read in any arguement on this board or in any literature that PCs put out 2x the lumen of VHO watt for watt.
That aside, i have one blueline e-ballast for my 400 watt MHs and also two PFO tar and coil ballasts - you can't tell the difference. The only difference was the cost. My electric bill is going to be high anyway, so it doesn't save much in electical costs to have the e-ballast for MH.

 

[alison]

Hi, I think I'm going to go with the vho's. I think in a few months then i would do the dual 175 or dual 250's on a electronic balasst to save a little in heat and on the bill.
So one new question: Trying to decide if whether or not to get 2 balasts or not for the vho's, Because if in the future I want to do mh's then I can just do 2 vho's and then add in the mh's. Because I don't think vho's run without all 4 bulbs in them, do they? Or would I just disconnect the wires to those bulbs in the back? Thanks in advance, Ali

 

[starfishjackedme]

I have an icecap 660 ballast for both sets of VHO's. On my 200 i have it running 4 four foot lamps along with my 400watt halides. On the 55, i have the 660 ballast running 3 four foot bulbs. You can look on icecaps website and they have wiring diagrams for both PC and VHO to run in muliple lamp configurations and different sizes together. With the 660, you could have four bulbs now and cut back to two later. The 440 ballast only runs two four foot lamps though.

 

[cbshark]

Hey alison. About 2 months ago I switched from pc to vho and I will tell you, vho blows pc away no doubt. Granted I have about 50% more wattage now, but the colors and the way my corals have reacted to the light is amazing. I had pc fitures sitting on top of my tank and glass canopies and replaced it with a custom hood with 480 watts of vho. Not only is the light and that better but now the tank looks very clean. I thought about mh's but was very concerned about heat and the need of a $600 chiller. Not to mention the fact htat our home's thermostat is in the same room as the tank and the temperaturte gradient throughout the house would be all messed up. I know people will tle yu that if you can afford it, go with the mh, but there are domino effects that mh can have that can cost you more in the long run. The biggest drawbacks of vho are shorter bulb life (but cheaper bulbs) and you may be limited to what corals and anemones you can keep. Other than that and possibly a personal preference for the shimmer effect that mh provide vho's are still the best option to me. VHO's are kind of old school, but the people whose advice I trust the most recommend vho's and they have been doing this thing for dozens of years with astonishing success. Yeah, go with mh's if money is no object, but for what it sounds like you are into, vho's are the way to go.