n8dogggg February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 Ok, so like everything else in this hobby, one view differs from the next. So I'm looking for various opinions on VHO vs T5 when it comes to adding actinics. I am currently running 2 x 250 MH in my tank and feel I am missing out on a lot of the different ranges of colors you can get from Actinics. Tax returns are coming in soon and so far I've been shown some very convincing Par meter readings from John at BRK that definitely have me heavily tilted on the T5 side. I mean you can't even compare the par readings because there is that much of a difference, not to mention amount of electricity used (after using MHs, saving electricity would be a plus). But recently I read in another forum that you receive much better color from VHO actinics than T5. Is this the experience from most or just a select few? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
madmax7774 February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 I also run MH 250's over my tank (10,000K), and for actinic, I have been extremely happy with my very simple, very cheap setup. I bought a single 48" Normal output coralife actinic bulb, and then took a regular old junker power supply from an old shop light I had laying around, and just swapped a few wires around, and ended up with an overdriven light. It works great, costs a grand total of $30 for the bulb, and $11 for the shop light ballast. For the results, I am extremely pleased. it puts out plenty of actinic light, makes my corals "pop", and just works great. As far as par, I wouldn't worry too much about the par coming from the actinic light, as you get plenty of par from the MH lights. The actinic light is just to make the colors in the tank stand out more. (at least that's what i think) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 I am debating the same thing nate and am leaning more towards VHO's over T5's for a couple reasons. T5 users have problems keeping coraline and have to shade some corals. Yes the par is prob higher but the MH are enough IMO. Also depends on if you already have a ballast or not. For me i have a 220w ballast so i can run 2 vho or 4 t5. T5 bulbs and vho cost about the same but i need twice as many t5 bulbs than vho. Another thing to consider is reflectors and standoffs. The vho's have built in reflectors in the bulbs so you need to take that into consideration. Thats just my thoughts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8dogggg February 13, 2007 Author Share February 13, 2007 I am debating the same thing nate and am leaning more towards VHO's over T5's for a couple reasons. T5 users have problems keeping coraline and have to shade some corals. Yes the par is prob higher but the MH are enough IMO. Also depends on if you already have a ballast or not. For me i have a 220w ballast so i can run 2 vho or 4 t5. T5 bulbs and vho cost about the same but i need twice as many t5 bulbs than vho. Another thing to consider is reflectors and standoffs. The vho's have built in reflectors in the bulbs so you need to take that into consideration. Thats just my thoughts. As far as having a ballast, I was looking at buying the T5 Retro kit they have at BRK. And then with the PAR, I would probably only overlap the Actinics a total of 4 hrs with the MHs. 2hrs in the morning and 2hrs before the MHs shut off for the night. Figure I'm gone during the day so it doesn't need to stay pretty. HELP!! More thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phisigs79 February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 I thought the same but if your going to spend the money get 10k MH bulbs and do the actinics on all day plus a hour before and after mh goes on/off. 10k is higher in PAR and is better for coral crowth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8dogggg February 13, 2007 Author Share February 13, 2007 I thought the same but if your going to spend the money get 10k MH bulbs and do the actinics on all day plus a hour before and after mh goes on/off. 10k is higher in PAR and is better for coral crowth. Ok, well I am running 10K MH right now, so a big Check for that. As far as the VHOs, I did a quick search and it looks like retro kits for them are more expensive for them than T5s, not to mention use more wattage. Will this be a factor in the long run? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 Here is my advice, and Ice CAPs advice, and UVL (eg URI) advice: Use VHO actinics. THe blue is more pleasing to the eye. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8dogggg February 13, 2007 Author Share February 13, 2007 Here is my advice, and Ice CAPs advice, and UVL (eg URI) advice: Use VHO actinics. THe blue is more pleasing to the eye. Dave So basically everyone is for VHO and no one really feels strong enough to back T5s. AIGHT! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rascal February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 I just finished making the same decision. I currently run 10K MHs supplemented with T-5 actinics in front and PC actinics in the back. My plan was to eventually replace the PC fixtures with another set of T-5s, but after seeing the comparison b/n 10K MHs supplemented by T-5 actinics (my tank) and the 10K MHs supplemented by VHO actinics (Tri-Bui's tank), I changed my mind in about a half second. Seeing the difference first hand made it a no brainer as far as I was concerned. The T-5s look purplish by comparison. Whatever the reason, the corals just flouresce more -- I mean much, much more -- under the VHOs. Since I already have the T-5s and they do throw off a lot of light, I will still use them, but if I had it to do over again I would have gone with just VHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dhoch February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 So basically everyone is for VHO and no one really feels strong enough to back T5s. AIGHT! For actinic supplements yes VHO are superior as has been stated... as for main lights T5s are superior in terms of light put out to VHO, and are comparable to MH systems. Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
YBeNormal February 13, 2007 Share February 13, 2007 You will find lots of discussion on reef forums about T5 vs MH, some of them rather heated and most of them loaded with personal opinion. Almost everyone will agree that VHO actinics are superior to T5 actinics though. I am running a full T5 setup right now, actinincs included. My advice: If you have a fixture, prefer to use T5s over MH and are limited in space, throw in some T5 actinincs. If you are going T5 retro or going MH and want to supplement with actinics, go with VHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n8dogggg February 13, 2007 Author Share February 13, 2007 You will find lots of discussion on reef forums about T5 vs MH, some of them rather heated and most of them loaded with personal opinion. Almost everyone will agree that VHO actinics are superior to T5 actinics though. I am running a full T5 setup right now, actinincs included. My advice: If you have a fixture, prefer to use T5s over MH and are limited in space, throw in some T5 actinincs. If you are going T5 retro or going MH and want to supplement with actinics, go with VHO. Thanks for all the responses, yall really helped make my decision. Now all I have to do is find a good retro VHO kit. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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