Bicyclebill Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 So, looking for opinions. I've got Icecap 660 ballast with (3) 46.5 VHO lights currently. Ready to order pack of (6) bulbs, but wondering if I should take this opportunity to cheaply and easily upgrade to T5. I've not read anything about T5's, but I've noticed VHO's are pretty much old school now. So the question is: 1. Stick with (3) VHO lights 2. Change to (4) T5 48" bulbs and wire up into existing Icecap ballast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pnkrcklives Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 Are the VHO lights the only ones you are running? If they are just suplementing halides, I would stay with them. If they are your only source of light I would upgrade to T5. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bicyclebill Posted March 18, 2011 Author Share Posted March 18, 2011 These are my only lights. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
PeteRock Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I have a work horse ballast running 2 x 46.5" VHO's... I did exactly what pnk reccomended and added a 250W Halide (and again a 175 last night . Now I run both actinic bulbs on the VHO and have a cool blue dawn for a couple hours, then the halide kicks on for 5 hours and I have a dusk with just the VHO's on before bed. My tank is REALLY happy these days! and it seems like the fish enjoy the light cycle I've timed out. At least thats what they tell me... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trautman Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 the t-5's are better. more energy efficient, cheaper to buy, and less heat issues come from them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lowman Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 the t-5's are better. more energy efficient' date=' cheaper to buy, and less heat issues come from them.[/quote'] This is all true, but you still can't match the actinics of VHO's with T5's in my opinion. I would do the Halide/vho retro Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Michael7979 Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 I run VHOs for my actinics and don't plan on changing anytime soon. Go out and add some MH lighting to your system. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OwenReefin Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 +1, VHO actinic just thrashes in color. Often 2 t5 actinic get overwhelmed by the MH and your blue is washed out. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NoobtoSalt Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 How Are t5 s cheaper? They run about the same cost the t-5's are better. more energy efficient' date=' cheaper to buy, and less heat issues come from them.[/quote'] Sent from my SCH-I500 using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefcam Posted March 19, 2011 Share Posted March 19, 2011 I disagree on the heat issue. I used to use T5's 4' and 6' and both put out more heat than VHO bulbs do. They are better than VHO, but had 6' T5 melt some end caps due to heat. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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