T5 HO vs VHO

[crendon2003]

i am getting rid of my horrible pc's on my coralife fixture and adding either a T5 kit or a VHO kit i have a good price for both. My question is which will give me the better pop and/or growth?? The T5 fixture i saw is from reefgeek its there 48" 2x54W Miro-4 T5 High-Output Retrofit Kit w/ Bulbs,

and the vho i saw is a ARO AS220 2 lamp VHO ballast kit http://www.hellolights.com/images/products/display/AS220Ballastkit.jpg. can someone help give me the pro and cons for either or both. thanks for the help and info.

 

[skinz78]

Hands down the T5's will be the best bet for you.

 

[crendon2003]

Sorry if i didn't give u the info on my current setup its a 90 gallon mixed reef zoas, sps, and lps. I have 2 x 150 watt metal Halides Phoniex 14 k. Been up and running for about a year. Bulbs are a little under 2 months old. So i like the color of the 14k's. The T5 HO or VHO will be replacing 2 x 96 watt pc's

 

[Troylee]

I would take the vhos any day of the week... But if Your doing a retro into a factory light t5s would prolly be the way to go...

 

[crendon2003]

So skinz why the t5? And troylee why the vho. I know I can for either one. I mean the t5 would be easy but about which is the best for my set up.

 

[Reef UP]

In my experiences if your just looking for a little more pop go t5 but they easily get washed out from the halides unless you were to go with 4 or so of them!
Vhos will give you that great pop and add a little to the over all appearance oh if you do the vhos do one super actinic and one 454 it makes for a hot combo

 

[skinz78]

I love my T5's I think there is quite a bit more out there for bulb selection, plus they take up a heck of a lot less room.

Granted the VHO setups that I have seen were sub par but IMHO the T5's are way brighter.

 

[Troylee]

vho will blow t5s out of the water any day...... only down fall isthe colors are limited.... get a 454 and uvl actinic and you will experience pop like you have never seen before.....;) i have always ran vho since the start lol....

 

[Steven Pro]

T12-VHO actinics do seem to provide more blue coloration (pop) than T5-HO actinics, but T5-HO lamps are going to be around for a while and have a much greater variety of colors and manufacturers. T12-VHO lamps are pretty much just being made by URI/UVL and while they are a fantastic company and make a quality product, I would not be surprised if it was announced that T12-VHO lamps would go out of production. They are just not that popular anymore and could become hard to find at any point.

 

[Troylee]

Actually you would be surprised I know more people with vhos then t5s... I mean granted they Don't sell as much bulbs as the t5 because there only used for supplementation any more but plenty are being bought up....