PC vs VHO Lighting

[RealReef]

I am in the process of setting up a 55 gal and I am at the point where I am ready to purchase the lighting. I was all ready to purchase the A&H 4 x 55 watt retro PCs and I read somewhere in this forum about concerning using PC's. Question: What if any safety concerns are there and if given the choice should I go with a PC setup or VHO setup. I plan on having a FOWLR and a few soft corals. Thanks in advance for your comments.

[Guy]

Both are tried and true lighting technologies. They both have their advantages.

May I suggest an IceCap 660 ballast. That way you can switch from PC to VHO in the future if you so desire, or even Mix & Match PC and VHO or NO.

[Ray Pollett]

I know of no safety concerns for PC that are not also for VHO. I'd go with PC. MOre light for same electrical use.

Ray

[Reefer33]

I have tried both and would definitely go with the VHO just due to the aesthetics alone.

[BiGBOi]

I used to have VHO's but now I have Powercompacts. No real reason for the switch except for I got the PC cheaper at the time. I really like the URI Actinic 03 VHO though. I don't think they make an actinic like that in powercompacts. It is much more like a true actinic than the powercompacts. If you decide to go with powercompacts, I would get Custom sealife bulbs. They seem to be the brightest and more true to the labeled spectrum. IME. If you decide to do VHO I would go like mentioned before, Ice cap 660. It is worth the extra 20 buck to upgrade to the 660.

[JEMichael IV]

I would use the IceCap Ballast and 2 VHO Actinic Bulbs and 2 PC 10k Bulbs.

[dattack]

Check out hellolights for a cheaper alternative. AHsupply is good but they use the blue bulb instead of true actinic for their power compacts. Hellolights also have VHO retro which are cheaper than icecap.

http://www.hellolights.com/48retrokits1.html

That's going to give up a max of 440 Watts.

If you like power compacts, www.hellolights.com do make a true actinic bulb which is much better than the blue bulb. They also have a $10 discount on purchase over $50.

http://www.hellolights.com/4x55wretrokit.html

[Ray Pollett]

I have both PC and VHO. I use Hamilton Technologies for my lighting equipment. Thier German Actinic blues are as good as any VHO i've used.

Mostly it is what looks right to you. Except for light and Electricity. A 55 watt PC puts out about 10% more light than a 110 watt VHO while using about 50% of the electricity. This is according to the test results I've seen.

Ray

[EJ]

Greens, blues, pinks, and purples tend to glow more under vho. The so-called pc actinic really isn't all that actinic. I used to have 220 watts of pc lighting over a 20 gallon and while the corals grew rapidly, they looked rather washed out in comparison to vho.

[RealReef]

Thanks for the responses and dattack thanks for the reference to the Hellolights site. Decent pricing. Looks like there are varied opinions on this topic and there doesn't seem like any real negatives either way.

Two follow-up questions. Is there any significant difference in the amount of heat generated by either the VHO or PC? Also, I get the impression that VHO give a more "natural light" appearance which is more "eye pleasing". Is this true. Thanks again for eveyones comments. You folks are extremely helpful.

[cloak]

IMO, a 55 gallon tank is just screaming for the VHO's....