MH Lighting Question

[fallinapart]

I have 2 250watt MH lamps (Hamilton Reefstar) both plugged into the same timer. We just had a 5 min power outage and only one light came back on. Is this an indication of a one bulb being weaker than the other or just the luck of the draw?

Also, Question #2 :) I don't know the exact age of either bulb and both probably have different hours on them, is there a way to tell when it's time to change bulbs (no light measuring device) or is it just an educated guess? Right now I intend to change both of them in Jan 08 so both will installed at the same time and change them how often after that?:confused:

Thanks
Norman

[coral_reefer_25]

It may take a few minutes for the other light to come back on. The ballasts have to cool down a bit first.

There's no easy way to tell unless you have a light meter and you've done some testing. The best thing you can do at this point is to stick it out until January....unless your tank starts to look green/yellow....what is the temperature rating on the bulbs you have?

As far as how often you should change them...that depends on who you talk to. I think I heard Gary (gflat65) say that he changes his every 8 or 9 months....some people change them once per year. There's no wrong or right time to change the bulbs really (unless you go over a year)...it's mostly a matter of personal preference and how serious a reef keeper you are.

[fallinapart]

Thanks Ryan, and the bulbs are 14K & guess I'll most likely go one time a year (easy to remember). And I would guess the bulbs I have now are getting close to change time, as I have been running them myself since June or July of this year and they were used, so Jan seems like I'll get the life expectancy out of the bulbs :)

Norman

[NeveSSL]

If you wanted to, you could change one in January and one in June that way you can stagger when you buy them if you wanted... assuming you're buying once a year and not every 6 to 8 months as some do.

Brandon

[fallinapart]

Hmmm, at 40 - 60 dollars a pop, that is not a bad idea. Thanks Brandon.

Norman

[gflat65]

Norman,

I use the following as a guideline to mke sure I don;t push it too long (if nothing else, it builds spares for you).

SE MH-9 months
DE MH-12 months
VHO-6 months
PC's-6 months

I've noticed a huge difference in color and coral response to new bulbs even at these time frames. I need to get a par meter to track each bulb/ballast combination over time...

[fallinapart]

Thanks Gary, but remember I'm still low in the learning curve and don't know what SE or DE mean when talking about MH lights.

Please enlighten me, and give me my tidbit of information for today, I need one every day:)

Norman

[coral_reefer_25]

SE = Single Ended
DE = Double Ended

[fallinapart]

Thanks Ryan, since I use "DE" I guess every 12 months is cool. Thanks Norman

[waynesworld]

Norman remember that one was new so if you remember which one you put in you can get a year off that one and replace the one we are not sure that bulb was new when I lent it to Jason so not sure how long he used it.

[fallinapart]

Hey, thanks for the memory jog, and Yes I know which one that was. So I can change one in Jan and one in July. Thanks Wayne

Norman