How does this sound for lighting?

davidcanupp

davidcanupp

Member
I have a 55 gallon that I am converting to a reef. I am thinking about using a 48'' Hamilton VHO retro-system that supports two 110 watt bulbs ($199.00 minus bulbs) ; I will also use a Power Compact system that supports two 55 watt bulbs that I already have. I am planning on building a hood to hold these. The total wattage is 330. Works out to 6 watts per gallon. Does this sound good--Is there a better way? Thanks for the advice!
-David
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
That sounds more than enough.But may I suggest that you use the VHO's for your blue.They have a FAR better blue than the PC's....
 
davidcanupp

davidcanupp

Member
I thought about that too because it would save me from buying two blue PC bulbs. But my PC is only 36'', do you think that the lighting in the tank will look well balanced or heavy on the blue?
 
mr . salty

mr . salty

Active Member
You don't have too put a blue in both the VHO's.How about one blue,and a 50/50.Or a 50/50 and a 10k daylight.Or even two 50/50's.If it were me,I would try the 10k and one blue..Then use the PC's for all daylight.But the choice is entirly yours.Just depends on how much blue you like...
 
clownman

clownman

Member
go for 1 Superactinic VHO and
1 50/50
I added two VHO
URI 50/50 and Super Actinic (looks good)
2 x 75 Watt - 4 WPG . My future plan is to add a 175 MH which I will turn on in the midday 5=6 hours to get the afternoon affect.
just my 2 cents :rolleyes:
 
davidcanupp

davidcanupp

Member
I think that I will go with one VHO actinic and one 10,000K. My only problem now is building a hood that will fit both the VHO 48'' and the PC 36". The problem is that the fixtures are pretty wide, and you guys know how narrow 55 gallon standard's are (circa 12 inches). Have any of you ever had to design a hood for tight spaces? Any suggestions?
Thanks for all the help!
 
jond

jond

Member
Your largest expense with the VHO is the ballast. I would scrap the PC and go with 4 VHO bulbs on one ballast. You will have no problem fitting those in a 12" wide hood. Just a thought.
 
davidcanupp

davidcanupp

Member
Big problem everybody! I just got the dimensions of the 48" VHO setup that I was ordering and realized that it will not fit with my PC because the tank is too narrow from front to back. I have about 9 inches that I can use for lighting and the VHO 2 bulb kit is 6 3/4 inches, the PC is 5 1/2 inches. I already had the PC, but I did not order the VHO. What should I do??? I there a chance that a could buy a 3 bulb VHO retro kit or could I use a standard 40 watt fixture to complement the 220 watt VHO? Thanks a bunch -David
 
wastedincome420

wastedincome420

Member
Hi David,
Well heres by 2 cents.....I like IceCap VHO
ballasts, and with the 600 modle You can use 2-4 bulbs and w/4 48" you get 440 watts :D (I have two 660's). IceCap's run cool and are suppose to fire the bulbs brighter then most other VHO. I would also suggest using URI VHO bulbs, there atinics are really nice and blue.
The advntage to using IceCap is that you can mountthe ballast under the stand and the kit come with end caps and bulb clips. You can mount the bulbs right next to each other so that they don't take up much space ;) you can fit 4 bulbs in 6-8". An IceCap 660 w/ harness,endcaps & clips NO BULBS for bout $175.00 Bu I havefound some sites that will sell the kit AND URI bulbs as a package (if you want e-mail I send the sites ;) )
 
davidcanupp

davidcanupp

Member
Wasted Income, I really appreciate the advise and the quick reply. Yeah I was hoping to get the kit. My email is canup001@bama.ua.edu or you can post yours and I will email you. Thanks a lot that sounds great! -David
 
royce

royce

Member
WastedIncome,
I have been trying to decide between the Lampsnow and the IceCap retro kits - would you please email me your IceCap site so that I can do some comparisons? Thanks!
leslie_r_pustilnik@groton.pfizer.com
 
davidcanupp

davidcanupp

Member
jond: i was thinking that the 4 bulb kit wouldn't fit-but i started looking into the lampsnow systems and they are four bulb and only 9.5'' from front to back, which should fit. These lampsnow kits are REALLY cheap and carry a 3 year warranty--so far i can find no reason not to go with a 440 watt lampsnow retro kit --I found it for $165.00 minus bulbs! Anyone had any bad experiences with this? Speak now or forever hold your piece! -David
 
royce

royce

Member
David,
Do a search on lampsnow posts on this site - we have had a few strings going about them in the last few weeks - a few folks here have gotten them and seem to be very happy with them, especially with the price and also the customer service.
 
jond

jond

Member
I am not familiar with that system. Is the ballast electronic or tar? If it is not elctronic, you will likely have heat problems. Just something to think about.
 
davidcanupp

davidcanupp

Member
OK--I've made my final decisioon. After measuring, the 4 bulb won't fit either. So. I ordered the Lampsnow 3 Bulb 440 watt Ballast Kit (comes with everything except bulbs and a reflector) for $135.00. If I ever want to upgrade to four bulbs I can just buy a 4 bulb wiring harness. After the bulbs and reflector, it comes out to $234.35. (Can't complain about that price!) I think that this is the best setup for me. I loved the customer service and the warranty matches Icecap's (3 years). One last question though: with 330 watts over the tank, do you think that I will need to install a fan? Thanks for all the help!!! -David
 
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