VHO lighting OverKill???

[Gravety]

Would 10 Watts per gallon VHO lighting be an overkill lets say 1000W 4 blues and 6 whites on a hundred gallon tank?

[davejnz]

It would take a minimum of 20" width to install 10-T12/VHO's in your canopy.Is your tank 24" W?I do think its overkill but even more so a waste of electricity/efficiency.I'm assuming you have a 4' long 100gal tank.A 4x54w T5/IceCap660 retro is $360,it uses roughly 332watts(54w T5's are overdriven to 83w on the IC660)and produces a PAR rating of 183 on the sand bed(testing done at 18"depth).FYI,the same test was done with a 2x250MH setup useing 14kDE and 10k bulbs,they averaged 120.(tests were done by GrimReefer)

[Gravety]

So what you are saying is T5's are more efficent then VHO lighting and MH lighting? The thing is VHO lighting is very inexpensive to get into. 5 VHO bulbs run about $110 and a DIY ballast system runs about $40. So 550 Watts of lighting for $150. Is the electrical cost of running VHO that much higher then MH or T5 bulbs?

[davejnz]

Well,with the cheaper ballasts,expect at the most 9months bulb life for VHO's.It would take at least 6,probably 8 to get that kind of PAR rating that a 4 bulb IC660/T5 retro can provide.The thing with VHO's,and all T12's is that their light just can't punch/penetrate the water column very well.The individual parabolic reflectors for T5's give them that ability.This is one of the reasons i recommend them for you because most 100gal tanks are deep(20"+).Another thing with t5's is their 18month useable bulb life(tests say 2yrs).Indeed,the initital price of the IceCap retro is high but with IceCap,you'll have that ballast the rest of your life.Not only will the IC660 fire T5's,it will also fire VHO's,NO's,PC's so you can mix and match different bulbs if you prefer.

[davejnz]

One more thing,if the price of the IC660retro is more than your willing to spend,there are some cheap DIY T5 retro's out there.4-4' IC T5reflectors are like$90,4 pairs of waterproof endcaps w/standoffs are $52,2-G.E.6500k T5 bulbs are $22,1-Giesemann/D&D aquablue is $20,1-Giesemann/D&D blue+ is $25.That puts you at $209.For ballasts,you can use Workhorse 7's or Triad ballasts.Both of them are inexpensive.I think the WH7 retails for about $45,not sure on the Triad.

[dakar]

Would 10 Watts per gallon VHO lighting be an overkill lets say 1000W 4 blues and 6 whites on a hundred gallon tank?

To the original Q.... Too much lighting? Not sure there is such a thing! So long as it is all usable lighting for your animals and any excess heat is managed properly I say LIGHT'EM UP!

Flourescents in general lack the punch to get their most effective usable (see PAR) output deeper into your reef. Even with *most* 250w halides, almost 50% is lost at just 19" of depth.

[Gravety]

Very interesting I thought VHO was better then T5 bulbs. Thanks for the info on those bulbs.

[Gravety]

Dave one more question. Is a 28W t5 bulb overdriven to aproxamatly 48W better in "punch/depth" then a VHO 110W? I am looking at Hellolights for the T5's and VHO bulbs. Ballasts are not a problem I have that covered.

[davejnz]

I'm not familiar with the 28w T5's.I've only used the 39w(3') and the 54w(4').I can tell you this,you can put a 4' 110w VHO daylight next to a 4'-54w G.E.6500k
T5 installed in its reflector and there's no comparison as to which one's brighter.If you decide T5's are what you want,make sure to get a good SLR(single lamp reflector).IceCap,aqualux,and Tek/sunlight supply are the best reflectors.I listed them first to last in the tests done comparing the 3.Bulb/PAR tests for T5 bulbs had the G.E 6500k first,followed by the aquablue,the "sun" bulb was next but it only had slightly more output than the blue+,the act03/true actinic was last.The sun and the act03 are the 2 bulbs i would stay away from.