Bulb changes

[JTrigger]

How often is it recommended to change MH / VHO bulbs?

[robbyville]

Not sure on VHO's but most people say roughly once per year on MH's. This does fluctuate, some say 8 months, some say 18 months. What most agree on is that youneed to change them before you start to visually see a change in the quality or colour of lighting.

We change ours at the 12 month period.

Hey, how's the anemone doing?

Best,

Rob

[JTrigger]

Hey Rob,

The anemone's great... very well behaved.. found it's own spot very quickly and looks great

JT

[robbyville]

Good to hear, he was getting kind of feisty in our tank

[Dez]

I've been running my 400 watt radiums for about 2 years straight and still seeing good colouration of corals and good coral growth..

des

[Pegasus]

I have URI VHO's with an Icecap 660 ballast and get three to four years out of my bulbs. However, the standard is to change VHO's every 12- 14 months.

Larry

[Rick_B]

I have found that my VHO's gave noticable changes after 8 mo. Most reliable literature that I have read says change your VHO's every 6-8 mo. which coinsides with my experience. As for MH, I just upgraded mine so while I don't speek from experience, the reliable books say approx. 12 mo.

It really depends on whether you are going for the best conditions for the corals (change your lights often), or are trying to stretch every last penny out of your bulbs at the expense of the livestock. You can sustain your corals if you push your bulbs but your growth rates will drop off.

Rick[/i]

[Doug]

Originally Posted by Dez

I've been running my 400 watt radiums for about 2 years straight and still seeing good colouration of corals and good coral growth..

des

Thats amazing. Which ballasts are you using.

[Skimmerking]

Well there you go there Doug, time to sink your hard working money into say a euro 12-3 now instead of new bulbs.\

mike

[Pegasus]

I stand corrected. What I stated as the standard is for MH and PC's not VHO's.

Larry