VHO length of bulb 72" long tank

[crimsoncoral]

I was planning on getting 72" VHO actinic bulbs for my 72" long tank, however, I'm wondering if there might be some drawbacks to getting the longer bulbs. Would anyone recommend going with shorter bulbs over longer ones for this size tank (i.e. 4- 36" ). I'm also worried about the shipping of 72" bulbs...

[Reefland]

It depends on the bulb setup. If your hood can accomodate the 72" bulbs it's the way to go. Don't worry about shipping, the boxes typically fair well during transit. If your not sure about your hood fitting the 72" bulbs, go with 60" and stagger them to get complete coverage.

Happy reefin',
Scott Z.

[billzie]

Really depends on what you're after. If you're looking for the most light in the space than 72" are the way to go. If you want more options for different spectrums and differing intensities in the tank then use shorter tubes, stagger them so you have more light where you want it. IMO, the best bang for buck is the IceCap 660 with 4 48" bulbs, offers the most versatility as well. The price difference is only about $7 b/t 4' and 6' bulbs, BUT, the difference in shipping cost is about $10 just b/c of the added length. BTW, I had 3 60" VHOs on my 125 and did well with lower light softies and leathers. HTH, Bill.

[crimsoncoral]

Does anyone know how long the 72" icecap 660s are with endcaps and all. I'm assuming they must be at least a couple inches longer than the bulbs themselves. Thanks for all the help.

[Iron Crab]

I don't have the 72" tubes. I went with 5 60" tubes that I have staggered ( what Scott said ).
But from endcap to endcap it is between 60 3/8 to 60 1/2 inches.
Don't think the 72" will be much different with added length due to the endcaps.
I went with the 140w because using two 660 you can get a total of 840w while the 72" will give you 640w.

[Ninong]

crimsoncoral,

I don't have a 160w VHO tube handy to measure for you but I'm pretty sure they are only 70.5" long before end caps. Most people have no trouble fitting them in their canopies.

Ninong

[Reefland]

The 72" bulbs are slightly less than that but fitting them inside your canopy (if this is your application) will depend on the build of it. To be safe, if you have 72.5" inside dimension of canopy, you'll have enough roomfor standoff's on the endcaps, and room to screw them in.

Scott Z.

[crimsoncoral]

Scott Z. and Ninong, that is exactly the information I was looking for. I am building the canopy and needed that length. Thanks!

[Reef Engineer]

I use 4-160w VHO actinics on my tank so I went ahead and measured them in place (with the endcaps) and they were just over 70.5"

BTW, I get the bulbs at marine depot and they offer free shipping if you get at least six of them. Since I use 4 at a time anyway, getting six isn't a problem at all.

Randy