The right time in a T5 bulb‘s life to test PAR

[SixtyFeetUnder]

I run a 61” aquatic life hybrid system with four T5 bulbs and three kessil a360 X. I am slowly ramping up the kessil’s over time because frankly I think the T5’s alone are putting out as much par as running the 360s alone previously were. I want to get an idea of what intensity to have my LEDs set to along with the T5 to reach my ideal PAR at the level most of my SPS are placed (shooting for 350).

The question is at what point in the T5 bulbs lifespan would renting a PAR meter be most appropriate? I assume at least 3 months in or the middle point of your bulb change cycle. Testing with new bulbs doesn’t make a lot of sense to me because that is the strongest they will ever be. However, I don’t know how fast the PAR rating on T5’s degrades.

If anyone here has gone through this thought (or testing) experiment let me know what you’ve found. Similarly if anyone knows how fast T5 PAR ratings degrade that would be helpful - is it a gradual decline or so they stay relatively constant and the fall off a cliff near end of life? Any thoughts and suggestions appreciated!

 

[glb]

I run a 61” aquatic life hybrid system with four T5 bulbs and three kessil a360 X. I am slowly ramping up the kessil’s over time because frankly I think the T5’s alone are putting out as much par as running the 360s alone previously were. I want to get an idea of what intensity to have my LEDs set to along with the T5 to reach my ideal PAR at the level most of my SPS are placed (shooting for 350).

The question is at what point in the T5 bulbs lifespan would renting a PAR meter be most appropriate? I assume at least 3 months in or the middle point of your bulb change cycle. Testing with new bulbs doesn’t make a lot of sense to me because that is the strongest they will ever be. However, I don’t know how fast the PAR rating on T5’s degrades.

If anyone here has gone through this thought (or testing) experiment let me know what you’ve found. Similarly if anyone knows how fast T5 PAR ratings degrade that would be helpful - is it a gradual decline or so they stay relatively constant and the fall off a cliff near end of life? Any thoughts and suggestions appreciated!

Following. I’ve wondered the same thing about my T-5’s.

 

[dragon99]

Based on BRS testing I'd say anytime after 3 months.

When do we REALLY need to change out T5 bulbs? | BRStv Investigates

We are finally putting to rest the age old question of when you need to change out your T5 bulbs. Follow along as we share our testing data where we run T5 bulbs for a simulated 2-yrs, taking PAR and spectrum readings the entire way, to finally decide what happens as T5 bulbs age. The results...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

 

[GoVols]

The last BRS video that I caught was up to 15 months before replacing T5's

 

[Semisonyx]

@SixtyFeetUnder Anytime is fine, but typically the initial burn in time is 100hrs.

 

[SixtyFeetUnder]

Based on BRS testing I'd say anytime after 3 months.

When do we REALLY need to change out T5 bulbs? | BRStv Investigates

We are finally putting to rest the age old question of when you need to change out your T5 bulbs. Follow along as we share our testing data where we run T5 bulbs for a simulated 2-yrs, taking PAR and spectrum readings the entire way, to finally decide what happens as T5 bulbs age. The results...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

very helpful graph. It looks like between 3-6 month of bulb life is the ideal timeframe. And the falloff looks to drop off quicker after 8 Months. Thank you very much for sharing.

 

[SixtyFeetUnder]

very helpful graph. It looks like between 3-6 month of bulb life is the ideal timeframe. And the falloff looks to drop off quicker after 8 Months (correction that’s 24 months by their experiment conditions. Holy smokes). Thank actually means like you said - more like 3 months to a year is a fine time to test. Thank you very much for sharing.