DE HQI halide bulb users-How often do you change your bulbs.

J

joelk835

New member
I was talking to somebody the other day that said he doesn't change his HQI DE halide bulbs until after 2 years which I thought to be way past their life. I was wondering how often you change the bulbs in your lighting systems especially related to the DE HQI bulbs.
 
I only have single ended moguls, but I'm not replacing them until they either burn out, or if somehow their spectrum shifts to some point where the zooxanthellae within the coral tissue is negatively affected (doubtful). They were purchased in March of 05 and my corals still look good and grow just fine for me.

IMO, the point at which a person changes their bulbs really comes down to what their corals to look like under them and not what the manufacturer suggests.
 
good point john. i always seem to have more algae growth with my coralvues after 6 months. change when you want not when someone tells you. be it maker or friends.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9693837#post9693837 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by John Kelly
IMO, the point at which a person changes their bulbs really comes down to what their corals to look like under them and not what the manufacturer suggests.
Click to expand...
??? :confused:
It's amazing how a person can type something, proof read it, and still miss the obvlious gloofs.

It should say "comes down to what their corals look like"
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Anyway, from what I have read, the vho/pc type of bulbs shift spectrum more than the mh over time. I had vho for several years, but never had a problem with any type of algae except valonia (bubble algae). That stuff can drive a person insane.
 
A Little off subject. I am thinking about losing my canopy, and going open top? Don't know much about lighting. What should I consider when looking at options?
 
im with you kelly, change em when they cease to work any longer or when stuff looks weird. also, does anyone local have a PAR meter? id be interested in seeing readings on my cheapo bulbs as compared to some coralvues or something of that caliber. if i can see hard evidence that there is more light coming off of the higher dollar bulb, maybe ill try one of them next time around. id like to think theres a little more logic involved rather than the buy the most expensive because it must be the best idea of thinking
 
good question. How is your coral growth in your tank? Do you have algae problems?

If both of those are ok then I would say you are doing ok. Where did you get your cheapo mh bulbs. I need to replace mine sometime. Mine are way way to blue.
 
I just replaced 2 250watt 20K coralvue's with 2 250watt 12K Reeflux bulbs, and the difference is amazing. The 12K reeflux look 110% better. I think my SPS will color up a little better finally.
 
I just replaced mine and they had a little under a year on them so when I heard that comment my first thought was that I might have replaced them to soon. That is why asked this question. I did have an algae breakout but my corals were doing great. My new bulbs are phoenix 14000K and they have more of a blue tint to them which I really like and some of my corals colors are brighter.
 
I have always replaced mine when I start to see changes occur that are not related to my lack of husbandry. I usually start to see the coralline algae start to back off in it's growth, combined with a slight outbreak of red slime.

The time between my changes are around 12 months for MH and about every 6 or so for PC. Don't really have any input in regards to T5.
 
Do you really think bulbs getting old can cause red slime? I change my bulbs every year when daylight savings kicks in, just so I always remember how old they are. That makes my current m/h's 7 months old. I have been fighting the worst outbreak of red slime for 2 months. I even tore the tank down, replaced the substrate, and put it all back together. In two weeks, signs of the slime are back. You think I should get new bulbs shaun?
 
Do you really think bulbs getting old can cause red slime? I change my bulbs every year when daylight savings kicks in, just so I always remember how old they are. That makes my current m/h's 7 months old. I have been fighting the worst outbreak of red slime for 2 months. I even tore the tank down, replaced the substrate, and put it all back together. In two weeks, signs of the slime are back. Admittedly, the bulbs are the cheapest I could find from Ocean Encounter. I have used them for 3 years now though. You think I should get new bulbs shaun?
 
I'm excessive and go every 4mts, but have changed spectrum probably more than anyone. I like to tinker and blow money, lol.
 
Depending on the type of bulb and where the spectral shift occurs, can allow out breaks of nuisance algae.

Cyanobacteria (red slime) do well in the 665 to 680 nanometer (nm) wavelength ranges, but they are also quite active between the 560 and 620 nm. If the bulbs shift toward (unlikely), or the other white/yellow spectrum decreases (likely) causing a proportional increase in the blue/actinic spectrums intensity, then you may get an out break of red slime.

If your Nitrates (NO3) is zero, and you’re sure of your bulbs, then it may be your phosphates (PO4). To check the PO4, the test is expensive (about $70). So just changing out the components of your RO/DI system is more cost effective. If you using RO/DI you may need to replace your Phosban media or what ever you’re using. You may want to try using an anti-phos media to reduce it, which is not practical for larger tanks. After you get the RO/DI fixed then you’ll have to do the ole water changes to get it under control.

Hey Tim…when is that tank coming in? I have my 225 about plumed and will be trying to get water/salt in it this weekend. Nothing is more fun then setting up a new tank
 
Originally posted by John Kelly

A Little off subject. I am thinking about losing my canopy, and going open top? Don't know much about lighting. What should I consider when looking at options?

__________________
Steve

I built my canopy open top and open back to let the heat escape and allow me do some things over the top like feed my fish and in the rear. It seems to have worked fine for me.


Randy...
 
I have all new filters in my ro/di, replaced when I tore the tank down. I have done 4 water changes since then. No nitrates are detected, phos remover has been in my fluval. I'll get it under control somehow.

The 300 gal tank will be here in about 3 weeks. I definitely planned on asking for some input and ideas on putting it all together.
 
Seriously check out twopartsolution.com for the phos remover. I think it actually works better than rowaphos, and it's $64 for 4.4lbs, which makes it pratical for bigger tanks like my 180, and you don't reallly need to test it, just replace it more often since it's not as expensive. It's not as granular and seems to absorb better than phosban or rowaphos.

Also, if you are going to run 250 HQI's I have several bulbs your are more than welcome to try out or to test to see what you like. I have 14K aquaconnects, 20k giesemanns, 14K giesemanns, 14k coralvues, 14k phoenix (all are 5mts or less as far as use), and am running 12k reflux which are my favorite out of the bunch so far and you are more than welcome to come over and see the tank.
 
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