What to do with old T5s?

[karid]

So we change out our T5 bulbs about once a year or so to make sure they're good. But what do you do with the old bulbs?

They still light and work fine, just maybe not for a saltwater fish tank. I don't really want to throw them away, but what do you do with them?

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

I save a few for emergency purposes and the rest I toss. Of course they're supposed to be recycled, due to the what's inside them.

 

[BrokeColoReefer]

i use the old ones for house plants in the winter.

 

[Dave & Monica]

Interesting. Which ones (or K ratings) are good for plants?

 

[Zooid]

I'd use them for plants or a refugium.
Or, I'd use them for my fish breeding tanks.

 

[Linina]

So far they lay in a pile in my basement while I try to figure out what to do with them.

 

[rehnberg]

I know that Ace will recycle old compact flouresent bulbs, they might recycle these also?

 

[karid]

well, our 54w bulbs are too big for the refugium or any plants we have. So I'll check out Ace - thanks for the suggestion! I didn't know they recycled compact fluorescent bulbs either. We just tossed a bunch from our kitchen. Good to know!

 

[spstimie]

Home depot has a box in returns.

 

[Guinapora]

Reenact scenes from Star Wars ... sorry I had to.

 

[stugray]

All fluorescent bulbs have mercury in them and should not be sent to the landfill.

That is one of the "bad" things about the drive to ban incandescent to replace them with fluorescent.

Stu

 

[karid]

I did not know that. I will be sure to recycle them from now on! Ick. Now I feel bad. I think spreading the word is key. Thanks!

 

[waynesworld]

You can also get a fixture for your garage and shops that will run them from lowes for just light.

 

[Zooid]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15555212#post15555212 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by stugray
All fluorescent bulbs have mercury in them and should not be sent to the landfill.

That is one of the "bad" things about the drive to ban incandescent to replace them with fluorescent.

Stu

That's true. Have you ever seen the instructions to clean up a broken bulb? We had the same procedure in the Navy to clean up a hazardous spill. Totally ridiculous.
I wonder if they'll force us to go back to candles when they find out the landfills are contaminated with mercury.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

T5's don't have much mercury in them. I wouldn't get too worked up if you break one I wouldn't run screaming in fear but if you can find a recycling place for them I wouldn't throw them away.

 

[denverhoss]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15556902#post15556902 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Zooid
That's true. Have you ever seen the instructions to clean up a broken bulb? We had the same procedure in the Navy to clean up a hazardous spill. Totally ridiculous.
I wonder if they'll force us to go back to candles when they find out the landfills are contaminated with mercury.

So if you have a 90 gallon tank, 24" deep, how many candles would you need to properly keep SPS? And since it's "œpoint-source" lighting, would you get the same shimmer effect you get from MH? We'd also need to review the Material Data Sheet for candle wax to see if it's reef-safe "“ unless we can design the hood to catch all the drips. I'm also concerned about heat generation. Maybe I could build some kind of microprocessor-based controller to blow out half of the candles if the tank temp goes over 82 degrees. We could use an old Linux-based router! We'll start a build thread. Let's call it GFCI "“ Green Fluorescentless Candle-based Illumination.

 

[The Grim Reefer]

Fireflies in a cage above the tank

 

[darkangler]

Many landfills have a hazardous waste recycling center. Home Depot and Ace will usually only accept a couple at a time. I just recycled 650ft of bulbs. Home Depot wouldn't take them