[iwan]

Originally posted by hahnmeister
Why do you say that the blue bulbs lose their spectrum quickly? Is there a test or something, a link, etc? The testing I have done on ATI blue+ vs. AB+ shows that B+ bulbs hold their spectrum longer, and are less sensitive to heat than AB+ actually. Of all the T5 bulbs, the blue+ by ATI and actinic+ by Giesemann are the longest living, and least heat sensitive of all. Still, what is your T5 cooling solution? I could see what you are saying if your T5s arent getting enough cooling. Then I can see 6 months w/o fans being the 'deadline'.

6months seems very short. With thermal sensing ballasts (OSRAM/Sylvania Quicktronic for example) and a good deal of air being blown across the bulbs, 18-24 months should be fine for your bulbs. Sure, there is a 10% drop in the first month or two... thats true of everything, but from there it levels out and the bulbs stay strong for many many months.



Do you have any pictures from setting up your tank that show how you arranged the rocks... in particular the ones that hide the tunzes, and how they hide the tunzes?

If you change your bulbs every 6-8 month you will see the difference. It's enormous!!!! Light is life. My target are very colorful SPS. There is no space for compromises. Might be that SPS receive enough light for growing (with the same bulbs after 12-24 month ). But I am sure that for an high level of chromoprotein synthesis much light as possible is necessary.