changing bulbs

[goober02]

I've been running my power compacts for about a year now...how will i know when bulbs need changing? (I have heard that they go bad before they visibly appear to have anything wrong with them). Are there signs to look for?

[Schmev]

Only signs that I can think of is the color won't be exactly how your remember it. Just suck it up and make the purchase in the recommended intervals, or stock up on a few year's worth at a time even. No reason to wait for your corals to stress out before you do anything about it.

[Toledofishguy]

If you want to save on cost, just replace one bulb per pay or something. I dont think there is a rule about exactly how you implement your bulb changes.

[ousnakebyte]

Well, if you start growing cyano, you'll definitely know it's time...!

I think it is recommended that you change pc bulbs once a year. Other than that, you might lose some intensity of the light, but it will be hard to see since it's such a slow process.

HTH,
Mike

[goober02]

Thanks! im actually taking the tank apart to move, so im gonna replace everything that needs replacing anyway, but just wondering for future reference :) I know very little about lighting (so far) but i think i will stick with these for awhile, they seem to get the job done quite awsomely! ...at least, for me