Power Compact Bulb life!!!

[Anonymous]

I have 8 96 watt PC's and would like to here from everyone what the consensus is about their lifespan. I have had my operational for 18 months. They run about 8hrs. per day. What are your thoughts?

Thanks

J.Reid

 

[Anonymous]

I use a 4x96 set up for my 58 gallon tank. I had to replace them after 7 months. Started getting red algae growth. Once I replaced them, the growth went away.


Ken

 

[Anonymous]

Time to replace them. Might only want to replace say four at a time as they will be quite dim compared to new ones. I normally reccomend a yearly replacement for them.

Tom


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[Anonymous]

I had the same as Ken but waited 9 months to change.

Mark

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[Anonymous]

I run VHO's but just like Ken, I noticed an increase in red algae not attributable to phosphate. I suspected spectrum shift as bulbs still bright. When I replaced the bulbs, red algae went away. My bulbs were approximately 9 months old when I changed. Regular tar ballasts by the way.

 

[Anonymous]

Would filters extend the useful life of the bulbs? I believe it was on Aquarium Frontiers that use of filters on Metal Halides was discussed. I too noticed that the bulbs burn just fine after 18 months, but the specturm seems to shift much faster... does anyone have any feelings either way on that idea? Would save some $$ if you could use them 2 or 3 times longer and still maintain proper spectrum.

 

[Anonymous]

I have found that all of my corals seem to be fine with the bulbs after 18 months. I do have an unusual algae growth. I guess that it could be the spectrum shift. It does seem like one could use a filter of some sort to only allow the correct spectrum to pass into the tank. Thanks for your input!

J.REID

 

[Anonymous]

If you switched to all daylights you could conceivably run a blue filter like the article in Aquarium Frontiers. I would discontinue use of the 7100k blue bulbs and replace them with daylights. Otherwise the overall PAR of the light system would probably be so low that it would be difficult to sustain much life.

Tom


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Visit Tom's Reef
http://www.bit-net.com/~tjotoole/

proud to be an associate of

Inland Reef Aquaria, Nashua, NH
http://www.inlandreef.com/

 

[Anonymous]

Isn't the idea to filter out the red light, since the bulbs red-shift as they get older (i.e, they have a lower K rating)? Anyway, if you filter out the red light, you still have the problem of having less of the desired light, since the bulb isn't putting out any additional energy. As the bulbs grow older, they will become dimmer at the blue end of the spectrum if they are becoming brighter at the red end.