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MARINE: Lighting for mini-reef - VHO?

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Paul A. Prior

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Feb 24, 1991, 5:30:27 PM2/24/91
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I have been considering setting up a mini-reef for some time now
but haven't been able to swing the cash for what I want. I have
found someone who will sell me a VHO ballast and 4 VHO bulbs for
$50. Is this a good price? Do VHO bulbs need replaced every 6
months like regular bulbs? I guess that these bulbs [6 footers] put
out 160 watts each. What kind of heat do these monsters generate?
Would two 160 watt VHO bulbs be enough for a 150 gal reef tank [150 gal
tanks are 24" deep]?

Thanks for the information. I may hold my own in freshwater, but
this reef stuff is confusing...

Tim Rhodes

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Feb 24, 1991, 8:55:34 PM2/24/91
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In article <1991Feb24.2...@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu>, ppr...@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Paul A. Prior) writes:
>
> I have been considering setting up a mini-reef for some time now
> but haven't been able to swing the cash for what I want. I have
> found someone who will sell me a VHO ballast and 4 VHO bulbs for
> $50. Is this a good price? Do VHO bulbs need replaced every 6

Yes, this is an excellent deal, IF the bulbs are of the correct type.
I recommend at least two of them be Actinic 03's, for the Corals etc.
The other two can be of your discretion. They definately do need replacing`
at least every 6 months, but replace one bulb every 2-3 days to keep
the changover easy on the inhabitants. A friend of mine has a 300 gal reef
and he replaces both his 03's and the whites at the same time. Got a little
spike in the growth of hair algae for a short time.

These bulbs don't throw off a lot of heat, but definately
more than regular bulbs.

Tim RHodes

Paul A. Prior

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Feb 25, 1991, 12:57:00 PM2/25/91
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The bulbs for the used VHO setup are all actinic day bulbs. Would
I need to run all four for a 150 gal, or would 2 be enough?

Richard Sexton

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Feb 26, 1991, 10:54:41 AM2/26/91
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In article <1991Feb24.2...@magnus.ircc.ohio-state.edu> ppr...@hpuxa.ircc.ohio-state.edu (Paul A. Prior) writes:
>
> I have been considering setting up a mini-reef for some time now
>but haven't been able to swing the cash for what I want. I have
>found someone who will sell me a VHO ballast and 4 VHO bulbs for
>$50. Is this a good price? Do VHO bulbs need replaced every 6
>months like regular bulbs? I guess that these bulbs [6 footers] put
>out 160 watts each. What kind of heat do these monsters generate?
>Would two 160 watt VHO bulbs be enough for a 150 gal reef tank [150 gal
>tanks are 24" deep]?

The conventional wisdom about VHO is it's not worth it. Too hot, uses
too much power, burns out too fast, tubes are expensive. HO is apparantly
worth the money, but VHO is not.

Maybe this is why this person is selling the VHO setup so cheap.

Don't you hate it when somebody bursts your bubble this way ? Sorry.

--
"Stupid compiler. Thats not an error, that's just bad programming."
Richard Sexton ric...@panchax.gryphon.com richard...@waterloo.ncr.com

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