bbrook
Member
OK, I have waivered back and fourth for 3 months now. I have eliminated MH for several reasons primarily heat and depth of the tank (only 18 inches before ls). Therefore, I (or more importantly my corals don't need MH.
So here are my thoughts/concerns.
I could go with VHO. Icecap 660 and 3 or 4 110's. Mixture of white and blue bulbs. I would buy a retro for around $330 plus shiping and extras (fan, bulb rack, etc.) I bet close to $425 before it is all said an done. I would have to build a hood and I'm not much of a carpenter or electriction.
I also painted my stand 10 years ago with a granite looking paint. They don't make it anymore so I don't know how I would match the stand and hood. Could I repaint the stand with the tank up and running on top of it or would the fumes reek havoc on the tank?
I like this choice b/c if I buy a bigger tank down the road (at least 5 years) I could use the icecap to run a few supplimental lights with mh's.
My other choice is to buy a 4x55 PC strip made by JBJ. I can get one for around $250-$300 complete. They make a couple of models but the only difference I can find is astectic. One model is the Formosa and the other is the Verisille (probably misspelled). The pc's come with two blue and two daylight bulbs. The cases are very well done and would look good on top of my tank.
I consider the wattage to be fairly similar here because everything I have read have said 55w PC's equal about 95w's of VHO.
The most important thing is the corals. I know I can't ask them but what do they prefer? I would start with easy, lowlight options (mushrooms, leathers, etc.) and work my way up. I do not forsee in the near future any SPS or clams unless they were way up on the rock. I like them better down low for all to see so I would probably wait until the bigger tank and another lighting upgrade (remember 5 years). Who know's maybe by then MH will be a thing of the past.
My main reason for this post is to see what people and corals perfer between PC's and VHO's. I would like to hear your opinions on color, brightness, bulb life, replacement cost, electricty usage, etc.
In addition, anyone using VHO or PC's ONLY I would love to hear what you think of your setups and why you chose what you did.
Sorry for the long post.
So here are my thoughts/concerns.
I could go with VHO. Icecap 660 and 3 or 4 110's. Mixture of white and blue bulbs. I would buy a retro for around $330 plus shiping and extras (fan, bulb rack, etc.) I bet close to $425 before it is all said an done. I would have to build a hood and I'm not much of a carpenter or electriction.
I also painted my stand 10 years ago with a granite looking paint. They don't make it anymore so I don't know how I would match the stand and hood. Could I repaint the stand with the tank up and running on top of it or would the fumes reek havoc on the tank?
I like this choice b/c if I buy a bigger tank down the road (at least 5 years) I could use the icecap to run a few supplimental lights with mh's.
My other choice is to buy a 4x55 PC strip made by JBJ. I can get one for around $250-$300 complete. They make a couple of models but the only difference I can find is astectic. One model is the Formosa and the other is the Verisille (probably misspelled). The pc's come with two blue and two daylight bulbs. The cases are very well done and would look good on top of my tank.
I consider the wattage to be fairly similar here because everything I have read have said 55w PC's equal about 95w's of VHO.
The most important thing is the corals. I know I can't ask them but what do they prefer? I would start with easy, lowlight options (mushrooms, leathers, etc.) and work my way up. I do not forsee in the near future any SPS or clams unless they were way up on the rock. I like them better down low for all to see so I would probably wait until the bigger tank and another lighting upgrade (remember 5 years). Who know's maybe by then MH will be a thing of the past.
My main reason for this post is to see what people and corals perfer between PC's and VHO's. I would like to hear your opinions on color, brightness, bulb life, replacement cost, electricty usage, etc.
In addition, anyone using VHO or PC's ONLY I would love to hear what you think of your setups and why you chose what you did.
Sorry for the long post.