Advantage between PC - VHO - MH

[pearsont74]

Can somone please explain that big difference between the 3
I have noticed thru pricing and research that MH are the most expensive and the best.
PC seems to be 2nd in price and quality.
For some reason VHO I can not seem to get a good reason why they are not as good as PC or MH...yet the price is cheaper.

I am also assuming that wattage is not the only factor needed to base on when choosing lights??

I have determined that I need about 360watts for my tank to allow me to keep just about anything I want. Right?

 

[Shannono]

pearsont74, I am so glad you asked this question! I too would like to know the answer. I have also heard that one of the sponsors in the Sponsor forum has the best prices online for lighting. Can someone point out who that sponsor is for me please?

 

[pearsont74]

Shannono...look at hellolights.com....they have cool retro fits for good prices

 

[gooyferret]

Ok well heres what i have found from research on lighting. First off you have to know what exactly you want in the tank. If you want a reef then what size tank you have. IMO never go by watts per gallon to determine how much light you need.
MH produce light at a single point(like a light bulb) and are very intense. Best lighting if you want SPS or any kind of coral that need high lighting. Clams also are good example.

PC are good depending on what kinds of coral you would want....best usually to be used with soft corals....(mushrooms etc...) Not as intense of lighting since wattage passes through a tube dispersing the light, which makes it harder for the light to penetrate and less intese in anyone area compared to MH

VHO are generally consider about the same as PC. I have used VHO and had great sucess keeping soft corals leathers, some LPS. And they give you a really nice look to the tank.

I am currently using 3 25watt MH on my 125gal tank and would never go back or buy anything but MH just because i like the look and knowing that i can have any coral i would want to put into my reef. If your using a tank that is less deep then you can get by with lower lighting like VHO, PC, and T5HO. I have seen a couple tanks with T5HO's on their tank and look awesome and are a better choice IMO that VHO or PC's.

There are also different kelvins of bulbs that you can purchase. The lower the K the more yellowish the light will look. 10k for example will be more of a brilliant white (daylight look). 14k and 20k will have more of a blue hue in the spectrum. If running MH i would recommend going with either 10k or 14k and supplement the attinic or use 20K and not necessarily have to supplement attinic. (thats what im using.)

HTH
Garrett

 

[pearsont74]

ok....Im thinkin of a retro kit and gettin 2 MH and not sure if I should go with 2 PC or VHO....or 2 T5 or NO??
I'd like to have the ablitity to get whatever I want....of course once my tank is mature.
I honestly think I was told wrong on the size too.....my measurement are 18t x 48l x 28w
Using the calulator on this site It says I have about 105 gals? LOL

 

[malkore]

It seems like VHO is usually more expensive to start with compared to PC, but the VHO bulbs are cheaper in the long run.

 

[pearsont74]

price wise on hellolights they are maybe 20 different on them....
should i go with 175 MH? or more?

 

[Shannono]

...they have cool retro fits for good prices...

OK, I have to ask. What exactly are retrofit kits?

 

[RLG2182]

Retrofit kits are the ballast/bulb and reflector. They might have the mounting hardware too. It's basically the blood & guts of the lighting w/o the plastic canopy thing.

This is used for people who have a nice canopy who want to attach the lights directly to the underside. I have retrofits

 

[pearsont74]

for people that have customer hoods....retrofit kits are just the guts of the lights...reflector, connectors and ballasts.
It allows u to custom add lights to your already custom hood

 

[Shannono]

I have a Sedona 90 gallon aquarium stand and canopy:

http://www.petsolutions.com/Sedona+Aquarium+Stand-I-47464170-I-C-1045-C-.aspx

Should I be purchasing a retrofit kit for this canopy? The top of the canopy has glass tops, so I'm not sure how I would attach the kit to the canopy...

 

[Shannono]

One more question (no really, I promise! ) I was thinking of purchasing the 48" Dual Satellite Compact Fluorescent Fixture, model CD-16927, along with the docking mount, at this link:

http://www.drsfostersmith.com/produ...ll&Ntx=mode+matchallpartial&Np=1&N=2004&Nty=1

I'd like to perhaps get some soft corals in the future. However, it doesn't sound like this type of lighting will support stoney corals, correct?

 

[Shannono]

Does anyone have any comments on my last 2 posts? See above for details. I could really use some guidance here...

 

[clowninround]

Well, with MH's heat is a big issue. I am running 4 160w VHO bulbs under an 8" hood, no heat issues what so ever. So it really depends on the type of lighting you are using. If I were to switch to MH's I would ditch the hood and mount pedants from our ceiling, this way there would be less heat build-up.

 

[pearsont74]

so truely and honestly....do i have to go MH....or will VHO or PC satisfy my lighing needs
I agree....I've heard the heat was an issue and I already have fans to lower the heat and Im running NO

 

[pearsont74]

OK....to bump this and to get more feedback on this....I am thinkin of goin with a VHO retro fit....maybe starting out with 2 and allowing me to add up to 2 more tubes...will this be good for almost anything I want??

 

[clowninround]

Yeah, I use atnic white and the regular atinics...color is great. I got my first set and then bought another, once I did that I was able to separate the atnics and the white atnics and put them on separate timers so I can get the dawn and dusk effect also. Thats what I would suggust b/c the retro kits to my knowledge do not come with seperate plugs, just one. I had pc before and I prefer VHO over pc. I think my corals do too. How deep is your tank? Mine is 18" (I have an oceanic, so it's a bit of an odd shape) and I have soft and LPS corals in my tank...they are doing great.