- Joined
- Jun 29, 2014
- Messages
- 560
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People keep saying you have to change MH bulbs every year. Now to be honest, I have run cheap bulbs that did shift in spectrum and intensity in a short period of time, but I've had much better luck with better bulbs.
I was running two 400w radiums in large luminarc reflectors over my 4' 200 gallon. They were the only lights on the tank, and they ran 12 hours a day. After more than two years, I figured I should change bulbs. All my corals still had great color and large white growth tips. I ordered two new bulbs. One came in broken, so I changed the good one. I was excited to see the new radium color because surely my old bulbs had shifted in color to some degree. With a brand new bulb on one side, and the old bulb on the other, I asked my friends if they could tell a difference in the two sides. With a room full of people, no one could tell a difference.
If the human eye can't tell the difference, and my corals can't seem to tell a difference, then why change bulbs every year? I know people say the light can change and not be detectable by the human eye, but my corals seemed unaffected too.
. A friend of mine purchased a 400w radium at the same time that I purchased my original two bulbs. About 4 years later, he asked for one of my used bulbs that ran 2+ years. His bulb had lost intensity, but it was on a FO tank, so not a big deal. He swapped bulbs and said his tank looks great again.
I now change bulbs when I have a reason to. Not because people that sell bulbs want me to replace it every year. The radiums I'm running now are probably 2 years old and still going strong.
I was running two 400w radiums in large luminarc reflectors over my 4' 200 gallon. They were the only lights on the tank, and they ran 12 hours a day. After more than two years, I figured I should change bulbs. All my corals still had great color and large white growth tips. I ordered two new bulbs. One came in broken, so I changed the good one. I was excited to see the new radium color because surely my old bulbs had shifted in color to some degree. With a brand new bulb on one side, and the old bulb on the other, I asked my friends if they could tell a difference in the two sides. With a room full of people, no one could tell a difference.
If the human eye can't tell the difference, and my corals can't seem to tell a difference, then why change bulbs every year? I know people say the light can change and not be detectable by the human eye, but my corals seemed unaffected too.
. A friend of mine purchased a 400w radium at the same time that I purchased my original two bulbs. About 4 years later, he asked for one of my used bulbs that ran 2+ years. His bulb had lost intensity, but it was on a FO tank, so not a big deal. He swapped bulbs and said his tank looks great again.
I now change bulbs when I have a reason to. Not because people that sell bulbs want me to replace it every year. The radiums I'm running now are probably 2 years old and still going strong.