how often do you change your bulbs

Do you guys wait for them to burn out or replace them annually or something like that?

 

I change mine every 9 months. If you have t5's you can turn the bulbs around once a month to get longer life. I have read that they send electricity from one side of the bulb and that is why one side is always burned out. But what I read and believe is about as far as I can throw too.

 

What you need to know is the longevity of the color spectrum for the bulbs you are using. I.E. For my PC 50/50's, they lose their color in about 6 months-- The bulbs, however, will last much longer.

Cheers

 

I change my T5 annually.

 

I recently made the mistake of leaving my t5's in for 12 months, they should be changed every 9 months.
I had major algae problem as a result, and lost a few corals.
A Mistake i will only make once!!

 

When you change your bulbs do you change all of them at the same time? Do you acclimate after changing?

 

i change my t5's every 9 months or so.

and when i do swap them out, i replace only 2 at a time. so it takes 3 weeks to change all my bulbs.

 

PC's 6-9 months (uvl the best brand)
T5 9-12 months (ati/giessman/uvl)
Mh 6-12 months (seems german bulbs last longer)

 

I've changed my T5's at 9 months... that's a mistake. 9 months and I start getting algae. These things start going out around 8 month mark in my experience.

I just changed them 3 months ago. I'll be changing them in 5 more.

 

hmm? Can anyone else confirm if this is true or not?