mh vs vho

midwest reefer

midwest reefer

Member
Still debating my possible light upgrade. I have a few questions. If I hang one MH pendant, probably 250 watts above my tank, would I need a chiller? 10k bulb, and it will probably be about 1 foot or more above the water. Also, I have a cabinet right next to my tank, and it is the same height as my tank. Could I put a fan next to my tank to keep tempuratre down durring the summer if I had the MH?
VHO... Does it cause more heat? If I got a retro kit, would I need to use glass tops to prevent the bulbs from getting splashed? How many bulbs could I fit in a canopy with about 10 inches of width? For vho I was thinkign 3-4 75w tubes.
What brands and bulbs would you all reccomend? any thoughts?
 
tonya-sr

tonya-sr

Member
Hi Midwest Reefer:
I can help you with the little I know about VHO's. When I researched lighting solutions for my reef, I heard all kinds of advice. It is my understanding that MH lighting generates more heat than VHO's, but can be resulved in a canopy setup with fans. I opt for the VHO's and still installed fans in my canopy setup because it does get hot. I have a four lamp system (2-white & 2-attinic). At 140 watts per lamp my total is 560 watts. I found out that Ice Cap ballasts can power 3 lamps each, so I have 2 ballasts running 4 lamps-check manufacturer's recommendations. I am not running a chiller, the water temp averages 76-80 degrees depending if my dog leaves the door open and lets the outside air temp influence the house temp.
I splash water on the lamps every now and then, it does not appear to impact them. I do wipe them sometimes. Like I mentioned I have an Ice Cap system and using URI lamps.
Your choice should consider and you should research the lighting requirements for different corals. I am told by some people that hard corals perfer MH lighting. I have a few hard coral friends in my tank and I am tending to agree with the need for MH. Hamilton makes a retro system including ballasts and is a combination of two MH lamps and Power Compacts (PC). I see alot of discussions here regarding lighting so I'll the experts to respond with more techinical information. Good Luck!
 
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