[_ReApEr]

Hey again, PT community.

I have a SunPaq Dual Daylight 6700°K/10000°K bulb in my fixture from late last November. How often do these need to be replaced? I'm kind of suspecting it's in need of a replacement because my plants have acted a little weird lately and I've had more algae than usual. If it does need to be replaced, is that a good bulb to get? Just the same one? Or is one of the others a better option for plant health?

Thanks, guys!

 

[BottomFeeder]

I'm not sure what the others use, but I've used those before. I've read that they loose much of their strength after the first year. I swapped mine out after maybe 10 months and noticed a difference.

I did change over to Coralife 6700s though.

The fact that you suddenly have algae probably isn't from the bulbs but something else. If the power of the bulbs decreased it would impact the plants, but probably not let algae flourish since there any extra. After I swapped out my bulbs I started see a bit more on the glass after a month. I increased my fert schedule some.

 

[_ReApEr]

Alrighty, ordered a replacement. Thanks!

 

[Hilde]

I read that someone with the same light had the same problem at about 9 months. Since I have the Current USA PC bulb I contacted the company to confirm the life span. A rep from the company told me that they need to replaced about every 9 months. The problem is that the photons change about about 9 months. Thus I hoping to 1 day switch to a T5 light fixture from Big Als for the T5 bulbs are cheaper.

I wonder if different brands may have different life spans. For read an article on bulbs life span and it said a T8 bulb has 20000 hrs life span and on the box of Zoo Med it says the T8 has a 10000 hr life span.