A few VHO T12 Questions

Hey guys thanks ahead of time for anyone who chimes in. I have a few general random questions regarding specifically oldschool VHO T12’s that were made and “phosphor tuned” for aquarium use.

As I kid I couldn’t realy afford much aquarium stuff and my dad only kept freshwater with a single bulb and simple. I became fascinated with saltwater systems and the shop owner who ran it solo allowed me to spend weekends there since it was on my moms way to work as a cafeteria worker so I’d live at the shop and have my fill helping wire plumb and maintain things for just the pure joy or it, probably the happiest time of my life. I was a young teenager and this was 1993-1996ish.

So…before LED they were running NO, HO, and VHO fluorescent tubes. I’m probably preaching to the choir here so don’t mind me. Also they used metal halide as ya’s probly know. This lady being miserly would get magnetic ballasts in all those formats from a hardware store. I recall them all but the NO being special order and I recall every box saying “Advance”. Later I’ve learned she used the real deal and Advance is a great company.

So in theory although 75% sure if I go back to the hobby I’d use LED because of the built in smart stuff the gradual warm up for sunrise etc and low voltage safer DC, built in timers (she’d stagger the tubes to ignite 2, then 2 more and finally two more to simulate this. I remember helping her reset times on daylight savings and power outages etc. mechanical timers I recall the pegs and spin knob. I also knocked a ballast into a tank and blew the braker but the tank was empty for mixing saltwater. I got scolded but she never stopped me said well you learned your lesson (I reached in to grab it and got a nasty shock before breaker blew). These were all open ballasts and wire nuts zero safety full oldschool mode.

So I’ve always wondered what exactly is the physical difference in NO, HO, and VHO tubes, electrodes glass or mercury fill. I do realize the different current inputs up to 1.5 amps on VHO as I was checking out magnetics on eBay. But I wonder if you could run a VHO on an NO ballast and would it last a very long time? I would assume reverse would reduce an NO bulbs life.

Also it seems that Fulham Workhorse are the only electronics left that will run VHO tubes and you need like a WH7 on each 4ft tube. I’m curious if there are any other options like with Keystone or Advance left. There was a company called IceCap that made specific aquarium ballasts and back then was the premier electronic ballast and would drive 4 48” tubes all at once.

Just general curiosities I’ve always had about VHO tubes! Appreciate any input or ramblings!