How often to change lightbulbs?

[jkhudson]

My powercompact lights are coming up on 6 months old. What is a good time frame for changing them? BTW I do have a reef tank.

 

[oozy]

it really depends on what your keeping. usualy about 1 year.
if you see your hard corals start to die back a bit, then its time to replace.
if you watch your tank, it will tell you when you need to do some thing

i had some encrusting hard coral it started to die back just a bit, then i replaced my lights, it bounced back in about 2 weeks.
most people dont like to wait like this, but i was strapped for $,
hope this helps.
-oozy-

 

[thegrog]

I would say 6 months for lower quality lights, 9-12 months for higher quality lights. Personally, I go conservative and change every 6 months regardless. Corals are doing fine!