[Delphinus]

Well .... my opinion means absolutely nothing, but here it is anyways.

The only thing I can think of to say is, even though I am certain that Icecap products are very nice and I'm sure anybody who uses them is very satisfied ... but when I can pick up a MH ballast for $50 (or less ... I picked up my 3 175W ballasts and my 1 250W ballast for $30 apiece when Home Depot decided to unload their stock) when the cheapest I can do for an Icecap up here in Canuckland is $260 .... 'nuff said.

Ok, so there will be some operational cost benefit, maybe I won't replace my bulbs as often, maybe my electricity bill is slightly less each month .... but frankly, I'm not unhappy paying that little extra to get that "shallow water shimmer" in my tank.

I'm sure Icecap is a nice product. And one day, when I have $300 to burn, maybe I'll go that way just to see what all the fuss is about with these guys.

I was talking with a friend who runs a MO outfit here in Canuckland and he is so totally sold on Icecap. When I mentioned that I once read on the web an opinion that "Icecap fans were not a recommended product" my friend scoffed at me like I was making this up or something. How dare I question Icecap? What a fruitcake I must be.

Again, talking about $30-50 for "conventional" MH ballast versus $300 for Icecap MH ballast, that thing better be hacking into my utility companies billing database giving me a rebate before I see any cost benefit to going that way.

Ok, so there may be benefits to going eballast, and they are probably quite legitimate. My question is, is it worth the 600% premium to pay on the setup costs? It probably IS worth it for some. But for me, the setup costs speak volumes to me.

Like I said, maybe one day ("when my ship comes in") I'll be able to understand what all the fuss is about. Until then ... I remain broke.