difference in VHO and compact fluoresent

lnarobbins

lnarobbins

Member
I've been looking at some of the options of lighting on the hellolights web page and I have a question what is the difference between VHO and compact fluoresent lights besides the price tag????
thank you
 
reefin_with_jesus

reefin_with_jesus

Member
I can't offer too much info on this subject, but I sure hate it when I get no replies to my questions. Here's what I've been told. PC's are great and pack a big punch for their size and price. VHO's seem to be more about POWER. I'm generally told that PC's are great for smaller applications (i.e. smaller tanks) or to use in combination with more powerful lights (such as metal halides) to complement them. I myself have a 90-gallon tank and I just bought the 46.5", 4-lamp, 440-watt VHO ballast and light kit from HelloLights. My 90-gallon is 24" deep. That's deep for alot of reefs. For now these will be the only lamps I run and should sustain nearly everything I could want in my tank. I may eventually get a 250-watt metal halide to keep a clam or if I want a bunch of SPS corals which need lots of light, but that's a ways off. Hope I've been of some help. Lance.
 
nacl-h2o

nacl-h2o

Active Member
PC's put off more light(measured in lumens per watt than VHO's (a 96w pc puts out more lumens of light than a 96w VHO). You can get more PC's over a tank (smaller bulbs) and therfore more light. And it was my understanding PC bulbs last a little longer, a couple months (12mth as opposed to 9-10mth. With the price of PC bulbs coming down Pc's are probably cheaper in the long run. The primary advantage to VHO is greater bulb type selection and the actinics look a little bluer than PC. The reason PC's are so common is the amout of light you can get over a given size aquarium.
 
old hermit

old hermit

Member
i have had both and i like the vho lights better. pc actinics make the tank look kind of green and the corals like the vho lights more. i have more vho bulbs that i did with the pc bulbs so that made a difference. i do like the color it adds to the tank more with my vho lights on it. from what i have read you can keep sps corals under just vho lights also. i have not done that yet though.
 
goofyreefer

goofyreefer

Member
What size tank are you looking for the lighting for? I have a 40 G breeder and right now I have 220 watts of PC's over it and just got another 96 watt PC to go along with those. I was thinking of VHO but two things made side against it. Number one they would be too long to fit in my canopy and I was not about to build another. Secondly the bulb replacement issue. From what I understand unless you buy the Icecap ballast the bulbs don't last as long so bulb replacement becomes more frequent and I didn't want to spend that much just on the ballast. I was pricing out lighting for my brothers 55G and I was going towards the VHO 440 watt setup from hellolights but the bulb replacement issue keeps me from recommending it just yet.
 
reefin_with_jesus

reefin_with_jesus

Member
It's not the fact that IceCap makes the ballast that allows the VHO bulbs to run longer, it's the fact that it's an electronic ballast instead of a conventional tar ballast. Mpst ballasts sold on the market today for VHO's are electronic.
 
kris walker

kris walker

Active Member
From what I have read, and I've searched many places for this information, there is no lumens/Watt difference between PC and VHO. PC comes from a smaller bulb, and so it looks brighter because the same amount of lumens is coming from a smaller bulb than from a VHO.
But if I am wrong, please point me to numerical information that says what the difference in lumens/Watts is between the two. This info should be for the same temp rating.
cheers,
kris
 
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