changing light bulbs

[swissgaurd]

Could changing lightbulbs every 12 months be a myth?

ever since ive been in this hobby ,ive been told to change bulbs every 12 to 18 monts, doesnt matter if its normal,ho,vho,metal halide, so for 12 yrs ive done this. wow thats alot of money spent on bulbs.
ive been told that if i dont change my bulbs im gonna get algae blooms due to spectrun changes and guess what i still got algae blooms.

so for the past 5 yrs ive been running 2 x 400 watt iwasakis and 2x110 vho super actinics by URI On an 82 gallon system and guess what no algae blooms except this year for about 2 weeks, just a little slime algae due to some sps that i tried to save for a friend that got frozen during shipping. its skin shed onto the sand.
Growth on my corals are still the same as when the bulbs were new.

so what do i do now.
do i leave it alone or do i change the bulbs.

vic

 

[bc_slc]

The best way to really know is to test the light output with a luxmeter. If you test the lights when they are new and then along the way you can see some of the decreases and shifts you meantion.

I guess the question is up to you. If you are having no problems, corals growing, no algae, bright SPS colors, then I am not sure I would change them, but since the spectrum change is so subtle and difficult to detect on a day-to-day basis, you may be really surprised at how different the tank light and colors of the corals can be.

I try and take pictures of new corals when I get them and once they have settled in. That way, several months later when frags still seem small or whatever, then I can look back at what it really looked like when starting out.

Mat

 

[mfinn]

The same bulbs without being changed, for 5 years? Wow didn't think they would even stay burning that long.
I would have to say that the bulbs are not as effective as they were when they were new.

 

[swissgaurd]

one metal halide is starting to flicker at start up.thisn is probably an indication they need to be changed,
i can say i got my moneys worth out of these bulbs.

\
i have noticed that the iwasakis have lost there yellow look, they seem a bit more crisp white.

metal halides burn for 8 hrs per day vho's 9hrs per day

vic

 

[Rock-N-Ruin]

Wow! Edison would be impressed!!!! You definately got some good use out of those!!

 

[NaH2O]

Here is an older thread we did on a similar topic: Old Bulbs = Algae?

When you do change out your bulbs, make sure to acclimate your livestock to the new lights. You don't want to shock them with the change.