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melev

Let there be light!

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Recently, I needed some actinic VHO bulbs for my tank. A found a couple of people in my local club ( www.dfwmas.org ) that needed the same kind, and we did a quick group buy from Marine Depot. Ordering 6 bulbs at once guaranteed free shipping, which is a plus. The order was placed on Wednesday and shipped out the same day. They arrived in a huge triangular box today in perfect condition.

I was very happy to install them tonight, and the blue really popped in my tank. My older bulbs were almost 12 months old, and only once I swapped them out could I see the difference.

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While the VHOs were out of the way, I finally installed the IceCap retro LED bulbs that I got over a month ago. I'll be posting pictures and a review of those lights next week, so you can look forward to that. For now, here's a teaser:

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Updated 04-06-2010 at 01:46 AM by melev

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Lighting

Comments

  1. agsansoo's Avatar
    Looks great. I enjoy looking at my tank with only the VHO lights on, the most. Are you running the super actinic VHO's ?
  2. Tumbleweed's Avatar
    It's about time Marc. I have been waiting to see what you think of the IceCap LED lights.
  3. melev's Avatar
    Yes, they are URI Super Actinics. $32 each at www.MarineDepot.com for the 6' bulbs.
  4. Blennymower's Avatar
    WOW, the actinics look amazing! Hey Marc, I'm going to put in an order for a VHO retrokit. I'm going to order from hello lights since I can get it for a really good price. I'm planning on using the ARO ballast since they're inexpensive. I shouldn't see much of a difference should I?
  5. melev's Avatar
    I'd say you'll see the same results. ARO has been their house ballast for years, and I've even got an old one that still works. For my reef, I'm using the IceCap 660.
  6. Aquarius Marinus's Avatar
    I'm thinking of switch to VHOs as well, all the tanks that I see with colors that pop like crazy are VHO. I have tried a few different bulb combinations with my T5 but I haven't been able to get anything close yet...