klagos Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 First off, I know I was wrong. Secondly, I urge beginners to start this early. I knew I should change my MH bulb every 6 months or so, but they were expensiove and I never got to it. Well, things started dying recently and I couldn't figure out why. I decided to change all the bulbs. It looked like a new tank. The old bulbs were at least a year and a half old. I hope I am not to late to revive some of the stuff. We'll see. Oh yeah, do the same 6 months rules apply to all bulbs, or just MH? Link to comment
danskim Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 Even fluorescents have a short lifespan before they lose the desired spectrum and lumen output. Link to comment
brent-konieczny Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 From what I know about metal halide having a lifespan of 10000-20000hrs (2-4.5years) I would change them once a year to keep correct spectrum if I were you. Link to comment
neanderthalman Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 once a year seems to be the standard across all lighting Except LEDs Link to comment
tinyreef Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 klagos, you cheeeep bastage! ime: MH's - every 8~10 months PC's - every 12~14 months VHO's - 8~10 months for actinics (i used to run actinics 12-hrs/day for dusk/dawn effect - see comment below) and 10~12 months for daylight/similar NO's - 12+ months (didn't really stick with them long after that to gauge) Overdriven NO's - 5~7 months photoperiods will obviously affect usage rates, e.g. 12-hour daily photoperiods vs. 8-hour daily photoperiods. Link to comment
Sea_Of_Treachery Posted March 22, 2006 Share Posted March 22, 2006 IMO PC's should be changed every 6 months. They loose their intensity very quickly. Ive let my pc's go over 8 or so months, my corals all looked like CRAP, all was due to lighting. Link to comment
klagos Posted March 25, 2006 Author Share Posted March 25, 2006 Thanks all. "Tinyreef" seems to have a lot of good info here. Rock on. By the way, after the change, within two days everything has come back strong. Link to comment
Sebea Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I'm going to agree with Clarkii, PCs should be changed every six months or so. They lose intensity faster than halides do. For halides, I would switch them every 8 months. Link to comment
geekreef_05 Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 I stick to every 14 months for my halides and PC's. I cant say this is the best way to go....but its what I can more readily afford. Im amazed everyone has such different opinions. Maybe we need to consolodate the life of bulbs by stating our daylight periods. ex. My halides are on for 8 hrs a day and I replace them every 14 months. Link to comment
danskim Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 T5 bulbs last 18 months? I thought I remember reading somewhere that they should be replaced annually? Link to comment
RayWhisperer Posted March 25, 2006 Share Posted March 25, 2006 T5 bulbs last 18 months? I thought I remember reading somewhere that they should be replaced annually?What the manufacturer states can differ widely from personal experiance. I replace my bulbs annually, no matter what type of bulb it is. JMO. Link to comment
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