MH Bulb life

[Martyg6]

I have a coralife HQI 150w double ended MH. I have been running my light for 10hrs a day since nov.2005. My tank temp has never above 82 degrees and is usually 79-80. When should i change my bulb??

[cweder]

You should be able to get a year out of it. Unless you see or measure a significant color shift. Some halide bulbs can be good well over a year.

[keithntracy]

mh bulbs last about 1 and a half t two years at 12 hours a day. i,ve been growing hydroponics for five years now......... and they're not at full strength till about 100 hours

[Cutiewitbooty]

from what i heard every 6 months is best, but it's nice knowing they can go for a year or more, good news for me lol

[Martyg6]

6 mnths to a yr ill try eight months

[cweder]

Your $$$

[PatMayo]

pc bulbs are best replaced at 6 to 8 months. MH can usually last a year to a year and a half.

Regards,

Pat

[FishPharm]

I have already exceeded a year with my MH. My corals are still fine and no new algae growth outside the usual diatoms on the glass. I will try to go a bit longer before I replace them.

[PatMayo]

It couldn't hurt.

Regards,

Pat

[OldmillXxX]

Has any testing been done on different brands, color temps, and/or wattage? I have the 250W Hamilton 14K and with only a few (less than six) months on them, I am getting some algae growth on the sand that I do not believe I should be getting.

If there is another thread can you point me in that direction?

Thanks!

[saltfever]

What do you mean how long will it last? A bulb will last till it burns out a few years! What im sure you mean is how long will the specs of the bulb last. Under a year about 6-8 months. That dose not mean that the bulb is junk. Someone else said till you see a color shift work good for some but not all. In my opinion that is not a good way to judge because by the time you see a color shift it may be very low on the kelvin scale. It also depends on what kelvin you start with? If its over 10k you should be ok for about 12months before you start seeing ill effects in the way of alot of green groth. Under 10k you should change it in 8 months or less if you dont like the nasty green stuff! The other side of the coin is that at the lower end of the kelvin scale (Around 6500k) you will most likely see better coral groth. So its not a question easly ansured. The best way is to find the manufacturers recomendation if you want to keep the tank at the kelvin rating of the bulb you picked. There recomendation will let you know when the bulb will loose all chance of putting out the spectrum you want. What it will not do is tell you if the bulb is no good. Because it may be fine to use the bulb for corals for another 20 years (lol) depending how far the kelvin temp falls and how strong your glass scraping arm is. Any information given as to the question will be opinion not fact. So it is up to you if the coral is doing good and you dont mind scraping glass every day a bulb can last a long time its up to you. That is my 2 cents.

[saltfever]

Keithntracy hydroponics are alot different then coral tanks! Plants grow under alot lower kelvin ratings then corals do! Not a good comparison at all. Most plant grow lights are well under 6500k the bare min. recomendation for coral is 6500k and with that most people use supplemental atinics. Plants use mostly colors in the red end of the spectrum corals use light in the blue or ultra vilot end. Two completly different needs.

[keithntracy]

i wasn't talking about the spectrums, i was talking about the life of a bulb. just because there's light coming from it doesn't mean it's good.