VHO lighting

[MyDogIsJealousOfMyFish]

My 38 gal tank is 36 " long. It came with an All-glass hood and 24" florescent light. I wanted to get up to the 2 watt per gallon so that I can keep real plants in the aquarium. I went out and bought a Cora-Life VHO fluorescent light rated at 75 watts (24 "). I out it in and it seems to work.I see now that there are actual VHO ballasts available. Do I need to change my ballast to a VHO ballast for the light to work properly? The package the light came in made no mention of that and that it would fit a regular fluorescent fixture.

 

[konrad05]

Yes you do need a VHO ballast, and they're really really expensive, so think twice before you buy a VHO bulb. My recommendation is to just pack as many fluorescent bulbs as you can.

 

[daza]

have you considered compact fluorescent (also called 'power compact')?

or is that what you meant by VHO anyway?

 

[MyDogIsJealousOfMyFish]

I returned the VHO lights and bought a new 110W compact fluorescent hood for the aquarium. There was no price comparison as it was almost $500 to get a VHO ballast and only $150 for the compact fluorescent hood. I guess now I will need to consider CO2 for the aquarium to keep the plants growing.

Thanks for all your help.

 

[Salt Freak]

yes they are like 150 dollar ballast. very expensive probaly an cheaper way is power compacts.