Which Is Better V-HO Or T-5's?

[Tank2379]

Alright I've read numerous stories of the good and the Bad between V-HO and T-5 lighting. Some say V-HO work better for coral growth and some say it does not help with Coral growth.... With T-5 I read that they are to powerful for Coral Growth and can also Burn your Corals. Which one do you guys think would be better and does a great job with your Aquarium.

Just want a Show of Hands.

 

[melosu58]

Some say V-HO work better for coral growth and some say it does not help with Coral growth

I dont know who those are that say VHO`s are not good for coral growth but I`ll let ya`ll be the judge.

Torch coral when I bought it

Torch coral couple yrs later

Frogspawn when bought

Frogspawn several yrs later

Pagoda Cup coral before

Pagoda cup after

That`s just a few of my results under VHO`s. That`s why I`m very partial to them. Some of my corals are 6 to 7 times bigger than they were when I first got them. I`m definitely not downing t5`s. They are a great light system. I just wanted to prove the VHO`s are also. Probably not as good as a T5 but I get great results. Where the difference comes in at is that if you plan on having alot of SPS corals then T5`s would be the route to go. Really for your question to be relavent you need to know what type corals are in the tank.

 

[Tank2379]

Wow! I forgot you have VHO lighting on your system Mel...

 

[ccCapt]

It's not really a fair comaprison. A 48" T5HO bulb is 54w, but a 48" VHO is 110w. If reflectors were made for VHO's like they are for T5's, then it might be fair to compare them. The reflector is what makes the T5HO's so nice.

 

[melosu58]

I agree Larry.

 

[Innovator]

I vote T5, no comparison.

 

[Tank2379]

It's not really a fair comaprison. A 48" T5HO bulb is 54w, but a 48" VHO is 110w. If reflectors were made for VHO's like they are for T5's, then it might be fair to compare them. The reflector is what makes the T5HO's so nice.

Now since T5HO bulb come with individual reflector can they still be replaced with VHO T-5's?

I am only asking cause I saw Ultra Violet Lighting Company makes T5's now would it be better if they have there own reflector?

UV Lighting Company

 

[ccCapt]

Well now, I didn't know about those. I think the T5 VHO's would be better than the T5 HO's. You would still need to use a VHO ballast tho. So if you have a fixture, the bulbs will fit but it's the wrong ballast to fire them.

 

[Tank2379]

Yeah i was thinking about switching them once my OE lights burn out on my Nova. Just to give it a try. It should not be hard to change since everything in already intact just switch out the ballast.