PC's vs T5 bulb life?

[j4mypets]

I had always heard you need to change pc's about every 6 months. The canopy I am looking at is retrofitted for 8- 96w pcs
In the back of the Dr Fosters and Smith catalog it says they should be changed every 14 to 24 months. I have never read anywhere that they last that long


The cost to replace those would be $256. If that every 6 months I am thinking I should just go with the Nova Extreme Pro where you only need to change out every 12-18 months ( please correct me if I am wrong)

I love the Nova Extreme pro- the only reason I was leaning toward the canopy is it gives the tank more of a finished furniture look and also its closed so no jumpers.

BUT $256 every 6 months OUCH

Please help with my decision This is my last piece to get this 180 up

Thanks

[hairyman1]

Daylight bulbs last close to the max life listed on foster and smith. Actinics and 50/50 lose their intensity quicker. So many people use blended bulbs and that may be why you here that PC need replacing quicker. I have had dual daylight PC from current for 14 months and am just now about to replace them. When I used actinics they faded within 8 months. Since you don't actually need actinics unles you are looking for a certain color in your tank you could use 10000k or dual daylight with a few 460NM blue LED night lights and be ok. Reef geek has some nice PC with internal reflectors that I am considering.

[j4mypets]

Thanks for the suggestion, I will look at reefgeek and some other to get prices. It wouldn't be that bad I guess, if they don't need to be replaced as often as I thought.

What a tuff decision between the two:confused:

[JonnyD91]

T5 > PC any day of the week for multiple reasons. T5 IMO run cooler. Have way better par output, and the color is way better too. For @ 350 you can get a Tek light which puts you in the top 3-4 T5 Fixtures way better than th nova extreme