[reefburnaby]

Hi cvrle1,

VHO ballasts...they are all doing the same thing. They all deliver approximately 1500mA @ 73V to a glass tube. Be it cap+coil or high tech electronic ballast with dimming and soft start, they are doing the same thing. The question is the quality of the ballast. Lights of america tend to have poorer quality...so keep a spare just in case they burn out. All in all, they are all the same.

The Icecap is a little bit different. I think the Icecap is a auto-sensing ballast that can differential between VHO, HO and NO.

As for the doubling the output of the NO, I think it is an Icecap thing. I suspect they are overdriving the NO tubes by 60% to get the extra light. NO tubes are commonly driven at 80% of the rated wattage or 32W. This is a US regulation thing -- which started in early 1990s. Doubling the power applied to the tubes makes the tubes glow almost twice as bright as normal or 64W or 60% above the rated wattage. Soo....I think that is what it is doing and it is also why not everybody is doing it (people like Advance and Magnetek/GE). Driving lamps at 60% above rated wattage significantly reduces the life span of the tube. For aquarium use, a 2 year life span is pretty good....so that's why Icecap is so special. That's my theory.

- Victor.

[ 23 October 2001: Message edited by: reefburnaby ]