t5 or not

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Tang,if you got the UVL bulbs and the Ica Cap 660 ballast we discussed you have the right thing.I never saw a little - be such a source of confusion.

 

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I first saw the bulbs on the market about 18 months ago.I talked to the people at UVL several times over the next few weeks.At the time there was some concern about using the term t-5 vho because of the confusion with t-12 vho.I see by the - they have resolved that issue.UVL rates there bulbs at 4500 hours.Other manufacturers have removed there bulb life estimates because people overdrive them and then complain because they didnt last two years.Now there are two questions.Since UVL bulbs will work at both 39 and 60 watts do we need to add the term "underdriven"?And when run at 39 watts will the bulbs last longer than the estimated 4500 hours?

 

[cheeks69]

boy now im really lost. I was under the assumption that t-5 VHO was the correct term. Whats T5V-HO stand for??

That's just a marketing term, the key here is they can handle the higher wattage which is important especially if your using the Icecap 660. Remember the photo I posted earlier and when I mentioned that the bulbs were losing their intensity and had to be replaced every 6 months ? Well with these it doesn't appear to be a concern !

I was under the assumption that t-5 VHO was the correct term

Yes this was the problem as VHO lighting {much larger bulb} is different than T5's and that was the source of the confusion... I would definitely recommend these ULV bulbs over other T5's otherwise like I mentioned earlier they won't last as long as they are not made to run at higher wattage.

 

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Tang t5v-ho means very high output.The t5 part is the tube size or 5/8 of an inch and t12 is 12/8 of an inch.If you build a fuge you might consider using t2 lighting,yep 2/8 of an inch.

 

[TangMang232]

or 1/4 inch lol. I understand the bulb size now lol. Standard flouro's are t-8s right lol. Yeah i get the VHO part and im sure im worring over nothing lol. Ill just wait and see what happens when i get it up and going lol.

Thanks for all the help guys. I appreciate it greatly.

 

[Triggerjay]

Here ya go....:
Reef Central Online Community - PAR Results HQI vs T5

Jason

 

[NATIVEVAMAN]

Look at all that par and they are not even t-5v-ho.

 

[cheeks69]

Well he doesn't specify which ballast he's running the T5's with. If it's the Icecap 660 then we're talking about 680 watts of T5's compared to 492 watts of MH and PC's.

 

[NATIVEVAMAN]

He said its an 8x54 watt t-5.That wont be a 660 ballast.If it was a 660 ballast it would be 8x85 for 680 watts.

 

[cheeks69]

I know what he said and the Ballast wasn't mentioned which is what will dictate how many watts he is in fact running not what the bulbs specify.

 

[NATIVEVAMAN]

So you think that because he said he had 8x54 watts he didnt mean it or doesnt actually know what he has?

 

[cheeks69]

So you think that because he said he had 8x54 watts he didnt mean it or doesnt actually know what he has?

I don't know what he does or doesn't know, what I do know is he doesn't mention which ballast he's running which is an important detail to leave out IMHO.

 

[NATIVEVAMAN]

I would tend to believe that if he had a pair of 660's he would have said 8x85 watts.If he was running t5v-ho those par numbers would be 15 to 30% higher.This whole thing just goes to show that what I said earlier just might be the truth.That the power of t-5v-ho has long been underestimated when single lamp reflectors are used.