Lighting longevity

[soekopup]

Can antone please offer me some suggestions as to how long the life of a halide is. I ran them about twelve hrs for the first few months, but they are now only on about nine hrs each per day. They are aproximatelyu 10 months old. They definitely are not as white bright as they used to be. I am still having a problem with hair algae and am concerned that mabe there is a spetral shift in the light. I have read that it may be a factor. Thank you for your time.
Rick

[Chuck S]

It all varies on the light bulb. A halide will usually last one year with some lasting 18 months or more. They will lose intensity over that time some but will not usually shift spectrums too soon. If you are getting hair algae problems and your lights seem dim then you may switch them out. However do not discount the fact that you may you have high nitrates or phosphates. I find the first thing that we find where something goes wrong is not usually the right one. You could still have a few months left on the bulbs. Ain't gonna hurt to switch them though so if ya have the cash switch em but do not forget to run some tests do find out why your getting hair algae /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/smile.gif Algae can not grow without nutrients. This in itself tells one your levels are too high. I know before I had a working DSB and I use to feed my fish nicely I once tested my water and got a 40ppm reading. I almost crapped my pants. This has been quite a few years but I learned not to feed so much and do water changes religiously.

[kevinpo]

What brand are the lights? AB brand last 12-14 months. Iwasaki last 18-20 months. Ushio last 12- 14 months. These are estimates from my personal experience. With a lighting period of 8-10 hours.

HTH,
Kevin