pc's or vho

[bunk97]

which do you think is better for a reef tank POWER COMPACT'S or VHO's I am going to be starting a reef soon I was trying to research lighting. I can only afford vho's or powercompacts. Maybee down the road I will be able to get metal halides. Is it better to empty out all water in sw tank and start over with live rock or just add live rock in to already established tank if it is cured all the way. I apprciate all responses
thank you
humahuma

 

[saltyrich]

I know you can slap 440 watts of vho over a 55. Not sure about pcs. I've got both and love em both. You can still keep sps and certain types of clams under vho or pc regardless of coments. There is huge debate about sps and clams under anything but mh lighting. It can and is being done by many. Some sps and clams however do grow VERY well under mh and that is what a lot of folks are after. It depends on what you want in your tank. I think either vho or pcs would be great for and softies, all lps, most sps and many clams.

 

[deuce biggalow]

I say go with the VHO's

 

[bang guy]

I prefer the look of VHO and I've had better success with VHO.
You can fit more light over a tank with PC.
The cost is very similar unless you break a PC bulb
I recommend you spring for an IceCap 660 ballast. That way you can switch back and forth and even mix & match VHO, NO, and PC.
Guy

 

[ryebread]

I just put 225 watts of VHO over my 29 and I love the look compared to the PCs I used to have.

 

[glinton]

Ryebread-
Why did you switch from PC to VHO? I know there is a VHO-PC "controversy" going on right now, but why? Cant we all just get along? Seriously, is there really proof that the VHO bulbs are all that much better than the PC bulbs? I assume it is just personal preference. Am I right?

 

[richard rendos]

VHO. URI bulbs with an IceCap or HelloLights electronic ballast.

 

[krishj39]

Not to steal the post, but I have a very closely related question.
Richard, I have seen the hellolights for sale cheaper than Icecaps. Do you think they are as good as Icecaps?

 

[bang guy]

Originally posted by glinton
Ryebread-
Why did you switch from PC to VHO?
I had the same experience.
Long long long, long, ... long time ago I used VHO. Then i went to MH (loved it). Then went to a setup that needed a low profile hood. I went with the latest - PC lighting! woo hooo. Wow, those puppies are bright!! VHO were hot, lasted 6 months if you're lucks, bulbs were $$$$ PC was the answer, right?
Nah, The corals I used to keep in the 70's and 80's just didn't do as well under PC. I discovered IceCap... VHO bulbs lasted 1 - 2 YEARS!! Cool! They burned slightly hotter than NO, WAY cooler then the old days. The ballast is actually cool to the touch.
My coral loved me for the switch.
Along comes HelloLights ballast I tried it... it's sitting on the shelf (long story). I currently have 4 IceCap 660's in service.

 

[glinton]

bunk97, I hope you don't mind me asking these questions in your forum, I assume they are the same things you are asking.
Bang guy-
What kind of corals did you have that reacted well to the VHO light as compared to the PC? Could it be that PC lights are okay for low to med light corals? I have heard elsewhere that the PC lights are just fine for a lot of corals, just not the ones that require a intense amount of light, which I am not going to put in my tank anyway. I am not trying to argue, I am just trying to decide whether or not to buy a PC lamp.

 

[bang guy]

You'll get no arguement from me PC lights are at least 50% MORE intense than VHO. From a technical standpoint they are a lot more appropriate for coral. It just didn't work out that way for me. A single unscientific anectodal case. If someone told me PC was working a lot better than VHO for them I would believe them 100%.
Corals that grew faster and purdier for me:
Frogspawn
Montipora Digitata
Montipora Capricornus
Ricordea (Huge Improvement)
Xenia
Pink Birdsnest (another huge improvement)
Button Polyps
Green Star Polyps.
pretty much all the medium-high light loving animals. None of the animals requiring Intense light like Crocea Clams or Acropora. They did best under MH, in fact I would only try them under MH unless I received one grown out under other lighting.

 

[glinton]

Originally posted by Bang Guy
You'll get no arguement from me PC lights are at least 50% MORE intense than VHO. From a technical standpoint they are a lot more appropriate for coral. It just didn't work out that way for me. A single unscientific anectodal case.
Hmmm...I just don't get it. I wonder why so many of you see this same thing? I wonder if in the future when the PC technology improves the stories will change? Who knows.
I may try the PC just because I can get a really good deal on a used one. I will keep you updated on the progress.

 

[bunk97]

no glinton I don't mind you asking questions in this post. Hey what about the vho's wattage. for example the one that I am looking at has 2 110 watt vho bulbs v.s. the other one I am looking at is 2 65 watt PC's now obvisouly the VHO's have more wattage but how much brighter is it than the PC's if any. I am haveing trouble decideing which one to get So far from hearing some of you on this post I may go with VHO's but would love to hear some more debates about them. thank you so much for your alls time.
humahuma aka bunk97 aka andrew

 

[bang guy]

Just to make the water muddier for you. Comparing wattage of PC vs VHO doesn't work. sorry
IMO a 96 watt PC puts out just slightly more light than a 110 watt VHO. On electronic ballasts the PC will also consume slightly more power.
One advantage of VHO is the internal reflector. This could be the significant difference that accounts for some of the testimonials.
Opinion mode:
I think T-5 will soon become very popular.
I think PC's have inherent problems caused by the U configuration that will make them obsolete within 10 years.
I think LED lighting is the long term solution for reef lighting but it won't be developed for another 5 years or so.
Guy