when to change bulbs?

[addicted2]

How do you know when to change MH bulbs? I have an aqualight pro that has 2 150 MH. I bought it second hand and am wondering how you know when the lights need changed. I have never changed bulbs before till they blew out and I don't think that holds true for MHs right? ***)

 

[earlybird]

Most change once a year. Bad/old bulbs can cause algae blooms I think I read somewhere and lose their optimal spectrum.

 

[kjord97]

Yes change your metal haide once a year, towards the end of there time you will notice more algae growing on the glass, and the color will have shifted to more yellow. When you change your bulbs, only change 1 and then turn them on and you will see the color difference.

 

[bigred]

I change mine every 7 months. I have noticed that they loose there intensity and you also get a algee bloom like said about. When you replace them make sure to raise them up higher off the tank or cut your your time down so that they are one to 3-4 hours the first week, 4-5 hours the second week, and the back to normal. If you don't do this you can burn the corals and kill them.

 

[acrylic51]

Yearly, but honestly the only true way of knowing would be to take a reading of the bulb with a PAR meter after install and burn in time, and then periodically checking against your intial reading.......I'd love to have a meter, but alot of cash to use occassionally.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by acrylic51
Yearly, but honestly the only true way of knowing would be to take a reading of the bulb with a PAR meter after install and burn in time, and then periodically checking against your intial reading.......I'd love to have a meter, but alot of cash to use occassionally.
You can do the same thing with a lux meter.

 

[kjord97]

Originally Posted by Bang Guy
You can do the same thing with a lux meter.

forgot to mention For half the price

 

[tomtoro]

By algae bloom, do you mean the hard to scrape off kind on the glass or hair algae? I'm not sure how old my bulbs are (I'll mark them next time), but I'm noticing a lot of hard to scrape green dots on my glass, but no other nuisance algae. Is this a sign of old bulbs?

 

[reefforbrains]

this is a good topic and should be shared with others in the hobby, another cheap alternative is a defraction grating spectrometer. they are cheap and tell you what spectrum your lights are burning at.

 

[bang guy]

Originally Posted by ReefForBrains
this is a good topic and should be shared with others in the hobby, another cheap alternative is a defraction grating spectrometer. they are cheap and tell you what spectrum your lights are burning at.
That won't work for flourescent bulbs will it?

 

[reefforbrains]

bang- email me reefnut@clearwire.net