URI and VHO

[Skunk Clown]

Ok, heres the deal.
I got a 2 bulb ballast. One of the big heavy ones. I have it wired to 2 4' Uri vho bulbs. They come on no problem, very bright, no flicker and dont hesitate at all to fire.
Do you think i am getting full power out of them?
I have only the 2 bulbs on right now. But plan on adding a second pair..
The ballast is the same vated 120 volts at 60 hrtz just like the ice cap ballast.
Why woulsd this happen? I heard that if you didnt have the right ballast at full power vho's wouldnt fire. Should I asssume that I am getting the full 110 watts of light from each bulb?
And if that is the case or even close. Then if i have 4 of them over a 55, then i shouldnt be limited to my coral species, should i?

[kevinpo]

I use both the IceCap ballast and the tar type. The only difference is that the IceCap 660 model will run 4 bulbs while the tar type run 2 so you would need 2 of them to run 4 bulbs. I have 4 of the tar ballasts that have been running since 1996 without problems.

Many of the high light SPS will lose their color under VHO's but soft corals and LPS corals will be fine. There are some SPS that keep their color under VHO's. You just need to be selective. The best bet is to buy corals from someone who is using VHO's then you can be assured they will keep their color.

Regards,
Kevin

[Skunk Clown]

is a tar ballast a regular ballast or what?
im confused on that. but in essence, im gettin the 110 watts out of each bulb?

[tendar]

Tar ballast are the big old one like what your using and yes your getting 110 out of them.

[kevinpo]

Tar ballast are the magnetic core and coil ballast rather than the electronic type. Is it a 1500mv? Yes you are getting the listed wattage for that bulb. The VHO bulbs last about 9 months after that they make great refugium lights and will burn for about 2-3 more years.

HTH,
Kevin

[Skunk Clown]

im not sure if it is 1500mv, it is 120 volts at 60hrz......... does that count?