T12 VHO vs T5 HO

gobytron · #1 07-23-2010, 03:48 PM

I just complete building my first canopy and since I had an icecap 4 x vho retrofit I decided to throw them in there with my 2 X 250w hamilton reefstars...

Now for what amounts to a pretty small cost I can upgrade to 4 X 54w t5's but I am wondring if it's worth it.

I dont care too much about efficiency and heat is not an issue thanks to my dual fans so I'm just wondering if there is any real difference in par or phosphoresence....

I'm actually blown away by the "pop" that my vhos give and would be surpised if t5 could surpass them...

Again, with no consideration for efficiency does anyone have any feedback on this?

thank you kindly.

Goby.

parkinsn · #2 07-23-2010, 04:09 PM

Im not sure about the fish tank world, but in the electrical world lighting MFR's stopped production on T12 fixtures (and were banned in north america 2 years ago) The lamps and ballasts went the same way as of July first. That being said you may have issues getting replacement lamps in the future. As for light output couldnt really tell you.

Slick Fork · #3 07-23-2010, 04:14 PM

I don't have first hand experience with VHO. That said, I have heard that the VHO's have a much nicer actinic bulb available to them. That's about the only reason I could see staying with VHO's. T5's now have a MUCH larger range of bulb colours out there which would allow you to add bulbs like the fiji purple, etc.

I'm guessing it's an icecap 660 ballast? I know you can run either VHO or T5HO on those, I wonder if you could do 1 pair of each and get the best of both worlds.

Canuckgod420 · #4 07-23-2010, 04:28 PM

You need to come over and look at what t5s can do.....by the way, you didnt call. Lots of frags to chose from.

gobytron · #5 07-23-2010, 04:38 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Canuckgod420

You need to come over and look at what t5s can do.....by the way, you didnt call. Lots of frags to chose from.

Oh, I have seen t5s in action in other tanks and in all honesty, I don't see tham giving the same "pop" from a purely aesthetic point of view than VHO's.

If I were looking at a main lighting source instead of actinic supplementation, there would not even be a question here and i would go t5's for sure....

But I have to say, I am very impressed with these old school lights, even with only 1 bulb on over my 24" deep tank it's so bright and colors are just jumping off the live rock...

I actually had a couple long days and didnt wind up getting hom from work the last couple until 730 or so...

830 is bed time....lol

Plus, I'm afraid if I go to your house and see your tank in person I'll just be so jealous that I just might quit the hobby...

gobytron · #6 07-23-2010, 04:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Slick Fork

I don't have first hand experience with VHO. That said, I have heard that the VHO's have a much nicer actinic bulb available to them. That's about the only reason I could see staying with VHO's. T5's now have a MUCH larger range of bulb colours out there which would allow you to add bulbs like the fiji purple, etc.

I'm guessing it's an icecap 660 ballast? I know you can run either VHO or T5HO on those, I wonder if you could do 1 pair of each and get the best of both worlds.

Not a bad idea....

gobytron · #7 07-23-2010, 04:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by parkinsn

Im not sure about the fish tank world, but in the electrical world lighting MFR's stopped production on T12 fixtures (and were banned in north america 2 years ago) The lamps and ballasts went the same way as of July first. That being said you may have issues getting replacement lamps in the future. As for light output couldnt really tell you.

Hmmmm...
If that ever actually affects in inflow of aquarium vho bulbs I guess that'll make the decision to switch pretty easy...lol

since they are still readily available at almost any LFS for now though, my querry still stands...

Thanks for that info though....defnitely did not know that.

fencer · #8 07-23-2010, 05:02 PM

I have tried both on the same tank one was a 4 x T12 VHO and the other was a 8 x T5 HO. Both are good. The URI T12 carry an internal reflector also.

gobytron · #9 07-23-2010, 05:51 PM

yeah..lol
I'm all URI...

so how did you find the two compared with similar wattages?

Particularily in regards to the phosphorescence?

fencer · #10 07-23-2010, 07:40 PM

I use 75.25 + actinic in both cases. The T12 looks better in terms of colour. The T12 combination glow pinkish/blue. T5 light up more of the bottom as there are 8 bulbs vs 4. Heat is greater in the T5 HO