Whats the bulb life for a 250W HQI/MH???

[drewdog82]

I'm going to be purchasing a fixture with 3 250W MH bulbs. I was wondering how many hrs. a day they should be on? and what's the bulb life?

 

[salt210]

most people say 10-12 hr photo period, think that is the whole light schedule. as for the life span, on a 8hr per day schedule should be somewhere around 6-8 months

 

[drewdog82]

Ok, so I should run the MH's for about 8hr's a day? and if I did this they would last apx. 6-8 months...is their any sign with MH bulbs that they need replacing?

 

[05xrunner]

start to lose its color and if you notice all of a sudden alot more algae is growing.

 

[salt210]

truely if you want to run them longer you can its up to you, but I wouldnt run them less if you have photosynthetic animals