UVL Actinics: Comparing T5 to VHO....

[Todd March]

When I got out of the hobby a few years ago, one of the last things I did was to write URI (former name of UVL) a letter and just plain beg them to start making their wonderous Super Actinic R 03 (VHO) bulbs in T5 form, as at that point the only T5 actinic game in town was ATI, and man I thought they sucked. The VHO's from URI/UVL were so much prettier and did so much more for reef aquarium colors (fish to corals)...

Okay, so now UVL does indeed make actinic 03 T5's, and I haven't seen them...:mad:

I would love to know how UVL's T5 03 offering measures up, looks, and what they do for coral colors, when compared to the company's classic VHO 03 offering...

What's the low-down, reefers...? Is anyone else making a actinic that comes closer to the classic Super R VHO...?

[BlueStag]

Geisman PowerChrome Actinic+ are very close. Everything just POPS. The difference is the T5 is brighter. I ran VHO's for years as supplemention, then went over to a buddies, saw the T5's and switched over the next week. It's the only T5 Actinic I've used, and would love to hear feedback on other actinic T5's also.

[madadi]

They are very different in my experience. one is purplish with VHO 420nm wave, the other is bluish with a T5 460nm wave. To me, it looks like the 420nm brings out florescence better and also makes greens pop better. the 460nm T5 actinic i like also but they dont make greens stand out. they make blues stand out better and florescence is not as good. they are not the same at all, and I dont think there is a T5 as good as the VHO URI 03 yet. im patiently waiting for that T5 as well. :D

[BlueStag]

I agree on the more purple for the VHO URI and more blue on the T5 Geisman. What bulb are you talking about exactly, there is a couple of actinics now available in T5, where as before there was not as many. And the first bulbs available in T5 were not good for actinics. I'm not sure how to measure POP on the neon corals, but the T5 Geisman still does a good job, better than the first batch of bulbs. The URI was the standard for so long and did a great job making corals stand out, but didn't last very long, and are fairly dim. I love the T5. I wouldn't go back, just for the brightness of the bulb. I remember having to squint at the tank sometimes with VHO's actinics on, cause the corals that didn't have neon color in them, couldn't be seen clearly till my eyes refocused. But with the T5s actinics on only, I can see the whole tank clearly.

[madadi]

i used to run 8 T5s and swapped out two T5s for two VHO bulbs. i was amazed at the difference in florescence. one things i noticed was that with VHOs pinks corals glowed. something i didn't notice with T5s. my GSP coral was like a light bulb. i do think it depends on the bulb choice and species of corals.
just for reference i had 1 UV pure actinic, 2 ati blue+ and 2 giesemann actinic+ for actinic bulbs. the other bulbs were an aquasun and two actinic whites.

my next light combination will be 400w 20k MH bulbs with VHO 03 and T5 procolor bulbs supplement :D

[bluetang_2000]

what is the life expectancy for these two bulb (T5 or VHO)?

[Todd March]

BUMP....