t5 help

[clone]

whats the difference between these two
http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=184&strVarSel=&strCompare=
http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=1349
i know one's a retrofit and the other is just a ballest,but i thougth vho's were the same as t5's, i always thougth they were t5 vho's,can someone explane all this to me?
what i want to do is have the best out of these two for my tanks blue supplement.

[Mr_Cool]

t-5's are a smaller diameter bulb. They are usually high output (HO) and the bulbs last much longer. Most people go at least a year, but some say you can go a year an a half before replacing. The key to t-5's, though, is in good quality individual reflectors. One of the best features of the t-5's is that they do not produce a lot of heat.

VHO (very high output) is the same diameter as a regular t-12 flourecent bulb. They usually have a built-in reflector inside the bulb itself, so you don't need to buy reflectors for them. They run hotter than t-5's, but not as hot as CP (compact flourecent) or MH (metal halide). I've never used them, but I think the usable bulb life is around 6-8 months.

I have all t-5's in my tank and love them. I'm sure others will chime in and tell you to go w/ the t-5's, too.

[caferacermike]

VHO overdrives bulbs. You can buy VHO bulbs that put out about twice as much PAR as regular bulbs, but this means twice as much wattage use.

If you look on this page, http://www.hellolights.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWCATS&Category=754 , you will notice that some T5's are NO and HO.

[Fish4life]

You couldn't pay me to use those hellolight reflectors. stick with tek II or Icecap SLR's for the reflector.

cheers,

kurt

[alton]

Some ballast like Ice Cap and Work Horse can run different lamps like T5HO, VHO. CFL's. You just match the wattage of lamps to the ballast. Other ballast are made just for the lamps specified on the ballast. What has made the T5HO so popular is not the lamp but the reflector and with the smaller size you can install more lamps in a smaller area.

[GeoB]

The number after the T indicates the diameter of the bulb, a higher number means a larger diameter. T-12 is the typical fluorescent bulb. A T-5 bulb is less than half the diameter of a T-12. Within the different sizes, bulbs are manufactured to handle different levels of wattage to get different levels of output (VHO, HO, and normal output (NO)). In aquarist lingo, “VHO” always means T-12 VHO, “NO” usually means T-12 Normal Output, and “T-5” usually means T-5 HO. I’ve never heard of a T-5 VHO or a T-12 HO.

Now to make things confusing, aquarist often use Icecap and Workhorse ballasts designed for VHO bulbs to run T-5 bulbs. Doing this “overdrives” the T-5 bulb, running it at a higher wattage than it was designed for. A 4 foot 54 watt HO T-5 bulb will run at 80 watts when it is overdriven with a VHO ballast. The same ballast will run a 4 foot VHO bulb at 110 watts. Since it runs at a higher wattage the VHO has more output than the T-5 bulb, however, the small diameter of the T-5 bulb allows it to be fitted with a SLR (single light reflector) that very efficiently directs the bulb output into the aquarium. Thus the T-5 with a reflector can with fewer watts rival (surpass?) the usable output of a T-12 VHO. Most if not all VHO bulbs have internal reflectors, but these are not as efficient at directing light into the aquarium as a T-5 with a SLR.

Two essential parts of getting the most out of the T-5s are 1) to have a properly designed SLR (Icecap and Tek II lead the pack) and 2) having cooling fans directed at the bulbs when overdriving T5s. Without proper cooling, the output and life of an overdriven T5 bulb is reduced significantly.

[clone]

man GEO you hit the nail right on the head thanks for that valuable information

[clone]

ok new question, on 24" t-5's after completely setting them up how long is it from standoff to standoff.(how long is it from were the screws to other screws are) is it exactly 24 inches

[alton]

http://www.fulham.com/wiringdiagrams.php
Work Horse Ballast have been running CFL for years. Fulham gives 29 different wiring configurations to properly operate the right number of and type of lamps. Ice cap has the same. Lamps in the trade today are T5, T5HO, T8, T10, T12, T12HO (High Output), and T12VHO( Very High Output). Electronic ballast are getting smarter every day. We use to have to buy a ballast for 120 volts or 277v. Most ballast today will handle what ever voltage is connected to them. Just like most ballast will run 1, 2, 3, or 4 lamps. If one goes out that doesn't mean that the remaining will be overdriven. If ballast are wired correctly they will not overdrive a lamp or lamps. Just remember when buying a ballast make sure it is made for the application you are requiring.
GE Products Lamp Catalog Page 4-19
T5 - 13 watt lamp is 21" Nominal length
T5 - 28 watt lamp is 45.2" Nominal length
T5HO - 54 watt lamp 45.2 Nominal length