VHO Lighting

[Blunight77]

Does anyone know if I can put a bulb with a higher wattage inplace of what I have now? Im running 2 Actinic White 36" Bulbs that are 30 watts and 2 Super Actinic R bulbs that are also 30 watts... I run all 4 lights on an icecap Ballast that is model A4 it has the numbers 1-030304 on the side of it with a serial number of 2624 it also says Uri electronic ballast on the back.

[younglcy]

Most icecap ballasts are designed to drive VHO bulbs. If your running standard bulbs on that ballast, your probably overdriving them.

[Blunight77]

I had bought the tank from a person who worked at the LFS and they gave me the bulbs to run new last January. To me it doesnt seem like enough light for the tank because it is a deep 64 gallon reef. I dont know if they are standard bulbs or not. THe onlything I do know is they are Uri bulbs that are 30 watts a piece

[racksteris]

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[45commando]

If the bulbs are 36" & only 30watts,then they are not VHO-they are standard bulbs.A VHO in that size will be nearer 90 watts.I'm not sure about your ballast model.You would ideally need a 430 or 660 to run all the bulbs as a VHO setup.Also you can contact Icecap at this site(they have their own forum).They will be able to tell you what bulbs your ballast can run.HTH

[Blunight77]

The Ballast Says Its an A4 by Ice cap...Serial #2624 on the back side of it it says its 120 Volts at 50-60HZ. It says it powers 2 to 4 VHO. Here is a link to one of the bulbs I have.. I think your right its not a real VHO

[jsr]

Does the ballast look like this?. Here is a link...

http://www.dtpetsupplies.com/catalog...oducts_id=3969

If so, then yes, it will power the 4 VHO bulbs. The bulbs you are running now are not VHO.

[Racing1]

The a4 ballast will run up to 4 - 48 inch vho bulbs at 440 watts. You can run 4 36" VHO bulbs and it will put out a total of 380 Watts...

[Blunight77]

Yes that looks like the ballast... Its confusing because the light itself even says VHO on it but when you go online it says another thing.

[jsr]

So the bulbs say VHO? If so, they should be 95W, not 30W. A 30W bulb is a standard T12 fluorescent that people use in their homes.

[jsr]

Also, let me ask this... How big around is the bulb? Does it look like the lighting most folks use in the kitchen and garage, or is it a really skinny bulb? The T5 lights are 39W for a 3 foot bulb.

[Blunight77]

Its fat like a garage bulb

[jsr]

Okay. So it seems to be a T12 bulb. Just so you know (if you don't) when folks talk about the "T" in a bulb, they are referring to the diameter of the bulb. A T12 (12 x 1/8) is 1.5 inches, a T5 5 x 1/8) is 5/8 inches. Each T number is equal to an 1/8 inch.

So to answer your original question, yes, that ballast will run 4 VHO bulbs without any problems.

[Blunight77]

Thanks for all the info. IM going to purchanse the right bulbs as soon as possible.. Does brand matter?

[jsr]

I use the URI bland of VHO's. I like them because they have a 180* reflector that focuses more light into the tank. I have ordered my bulbs from Marine Depot and Drs. Foster & Smith. I cannot buy VHO bulbs locally in Austin.

[Blunight77]

THanks.. I wasnt sure if one brand was better than another..

[Blunight77]

I should get 2 Super Actinic R's and 2 Actinic white all 95 Watts?

[jsr]

Well, what do you have, or plan to have in the tank? I run two actinic's and two 10k AquaSun bulbs. I like the mix of colors, but others may disagree. I also run a FOWLR tank, no corals at this time.

[Blunight77]

I have fish liverock and a bunch of different Corals. I noticed about a month after I bought an anenome it had deflated to a blob but is still living

[jsr]

If you were keeping that anemone under the standard bulbs that would explain the issues. If you run 4 x 95W VHO's, you will have 5.8W per gallon of lighting. Your current setup, with standard lights, is 120W total, or 1.8W per gallon. I am sure an anemone would do much better under the VHO lighting.

[Blunight77]

Im surprised my anenome is still alive

[KD9RG]

I used URI bulbs for years and they work great.

[Blunight77]

Does that also mean I can have corals such as Montipora with this lighting system?