HELP can’t find vho replacement bulbs ☹️

[Texasnanoreef345]

Mile hydro has them in a 6500k. They may be able to point you in the right direction. I had to look it up as I never heard of this bulb wattage. Mile hydro came up on my google search.

Maybe I could trade someone who does indoor plants or just start an indoor garden !

 

[Texasnanoreef345]

Thanks very much for the pictures!
It's in a pretty bad shape and would need replacement parts. Specially the reflectors.
Oh man, those fixtures were great!!!
I have no idea why they stopped making them and their other lines of great reef lighting.
It's a shame we can't find any replacements for those!
I'll remember this thread... I'll be back here if I find out something about them.
This makes me appreciate even more companies like ATI and Hamilton!
I just replaced all my reflectors, sockets and fans on my 8 bulb ATI T5 only Powermodule to be used over a new system in the future. They just degrade after a decade. No can help.
Lot's of fun! Love your fixture!

Do you think I could convert them ? I’d so would I HAVE to use this it seems just as expensive as buying a new 4 bulbs fixture

 

[xtian]

If a T5 bulb fits in the endcaps/length might be fine just swapping the ballast(s).

 

[Tamberav]

If the reflectors are in good shape... you don’t need to swap those?

I agree end caps may be the same as well.

 

[Skynyrd Fish]

Possible to just swap ballasts. If it is look into ati ballast. Or look for a good used light locally.

 

[jda]

You can use T5 HO bulbs and run them at VHO wattages. They will need replaced about every 9 months. There are some that do this. It is fine. Most use 2x ATI C+ and 2x ATI B+.

 

[A. grandis]

Unfortunately I've never saw that fixture in person so...
You couldn't change those reflectors because there is no replacements.
You can try to use HO T5s, like jda said, but it's kinda risky just for the fact that we don't have any idea of what ballast are in there. So technically I can't recommend that.
IF you want to try run the T5s anyway, with the VHO ballasts you have there, you would still need to change the sockets, cause those sockets are for those bulbs with the special T5VHO flat pins.
Remember: They have those different VHO flat pins as a safety precaution, so you won't accidentally install HO T5s in the fixture!!!
Yes, you could also remove all sockets and ballasts to replace them for HOT5s. In that case, you might have to modify the fixture because of the size of the new ballasts and find the ones that will be able to fit in the space.
It's basically impossible for me to tell you what reflectors, ballasts and sockets to use in either case cause I don't know the fixture at all.
A wiser option would be to run ballasts externally. That would make more sense, be easier to install, and the fixture won't be as heavy.
VHO T5 technology should be available. This is a shame!!!!!!!!!

 

[Texasnanoreef345]

Unfortunately I've never saw that fixture in person so...
You couldn't change those reflectors because there is no replacements.
You can try to use HO T5s, like jda said, but it's kinda risky just for the fact that we don't have any idea of what ballast are in there. So technically I can't recommend that.
IF you want to try run the T5s anyway, with the VHO ballasts you have there, you would still need to change the sockets, cause those sockets are for those bulbs with the special T5VHO flat pins.
Remember: They have those different VHO flat pins as a safety precaution, so you won't accidentally install HO T5s in the fixture!!!
Yes, you could also remove all sockets and ballasts to replace them for HOT5s. In that case, you might have to modify the fixture because of the size of the new ballasts and find the ones that will be able to fit in the space.
It's basically impossible for me to tell you what reflectors, ballasts and sockets to use in either case cause I don't know the fixture at all.
A wiser option would be to run ballasts externally. That would make more sense, be easier to install, and the fixture won't be as heavy.
VHO T5 technology should be available. This is a shame!!!!!!!!!

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet it is a shame. But I think I’m going to try to sell it before spending the money to re fit it for T5HO. I found I great deal on a 48 inch reef breeders photon v2 on Craigslist but do also have a 3 foot t5 /reef rite combo on the other frag tank . What 4 bulbs would you recommend to make the corals pop with less white and pure color ? Or even growth if you have tested anything . I’m deffenatly going to replace the bulbs in that Cuase I don’t know how old they are or anything and new to the fluorescent side of things ! Thanks for all the help reefers y’all are the best .

 

[A. grandis]

I’m not sure what I’m going to do with it yet it is a shame. But I think I’m going to try to sell it before spending the money to re fit it for T5HO. I found I great deal on a 48 inch reef breeders photon v2 on Craigslist but do also have a 3 foot t5 /reef rite combo on the other frag tank . What 4 bulbs would you recommend to make the corals pop with less white and pure color ? Or even growth if you have tested anything . I’m deffenatly going to replace the bulbs in that Cuase I don’t know how old they are or anything and new to the fluorescent side of things ! Thanks for all the help reefers y’all are the best .

You need to decide what light you prefer. Using T5s you are safe with most bulbs. If you like bluer you can have 2 Blue Plus bulbs, a "white" and a "True Actinic", for example. Everyone will tell you different and the end of the story is what YOU will actually like. The combo above will give you decent growth and the blue ("pop") that you want.