Is my VHO ballast working?

[linuxguru]

Hello everyone,
On one of my 55 gal tanks, a year ago when I purchased it . it came as a unit with a stand and a dual bulb 48" Normal Output flouerscent light hood. Recently I purchased a VHO ballast rated for up to 220 watts and did a little DIY job on my light hood. I took out the NO ballast and replaced and rewired it with the VHO that I purchased along with 2 110 watt white actinic bulbs.
My concern is that my tank does not look any brighter than when I was using the NO bulbs, and when I was doing the DIY job, I wanted to see if the NO ballast would light up the VHO bulbs and it did, so now I am confused. How do I know I am truly getting 220 watts out of my bulbs, or if the VHO ballast I purchased(which was inexpensive from HelloLights) even though it is rated for a total of 220 watts is really putting out this much power?
Any explanations appreciated.

 

[farmboy]

A 60 watt incandesent will burn in a 40 watt appliance socket--for a while.
I once bought a 48" flourecent shop light to run my new 40 watt bulbs. It worked great for a couple of days then the fixture failed. I read the fine print to discover the fixture was only rated for 2 34 watt bulbs. OOOPS!
A 100 watt bulb is going to draw 100 watts. The fixture capacity should meet or excede the bulb rating.
I'm not sure why it doesn't look brighter to you. You'll probably tell the big difference in your electric bill!!

 

[reefnut]

Our eyes are a poor judgment of lighting intensity... even if it doesn't "Look" any brighter it IS.