T5 life anecdote.

2Sunny · Aug 27, 2023

One anecdote does not a truism make . . . however . . . I thought I'd share this interesting tidbit. Due to various reasons the primary one being utter laziness as regards my reef over the last 2 years I installed new T5s on April 18th 2021 and just yesterday changed all 16 lamps. I'd say my reef and the corals inside did just fine under old T5s bringing into sharp question the need to change lamps every six months. Personally I am going to try and change them out annually now.

1112-425XL · Aug 27, 2023

If it ain't broke...

Miami Reef · Aug 27, 2023

Change them every 2 years!

bobnicaragua · Aug 29, 2023

2Sunny said:
One anecdote does not a truism make . . . however . . . I thought I'd share this interesting tidbit. Due to various reasons the primary one being utter laziness as regards my reef over the last 2 years I installed new T5s on April 18th 2021 and just yesterday changed all 16 lamps. I'd say my reef and the corals inside did just fine under old T5s bringing into sharp question the need to change lamps every six months. Personally I am going to try and change them out annually now.

The corals look big and healthy!

rtparty · Aug 30, 2023

It’s already been proven they last around 18 months not the six months so many companies claimed to sell more bulbs

A. grandis · Aug 30, 2023

2Sunny said:
One anecdote does not a truism make . . . however . . . I thought I'd share this interesting tidbit. Due to various reasons the primary one being utter laziness as regards my reef over the last 2 years I installed new T5s on April 18th 2021 and just yesterday changed all 16 lamps. I'd say my reef and the corals inside did just fine under old T5s bringing into sharp question the need to change lamps every six months. Personally I am going to try and change them out annually now.

Just change them every 12 months. The spectrum and intensity degrade in a year. It will depend on how many hours a day you have your photoperiod set. Changing every year will keep those qualities in check and it will be easier do adapt the system to the new bulbs. I don't care if BRS did video talking about 18 months. My experiences with T5s show that 12 should be the line for the changes to achieve the optimal out of those tubes for a normal photoperiod of like 9 to 12 hours a day.