lysaer
Active Member
Ok, so I've been searching and searching and searching and googling and I can't find exactly the answer I'm looking for, so here's my question.
I have a 55g (48"w x13"d x24"h) mixed reef tank and I'm using an "Odyssea" brand 4-bulb power compact flourescent light on it. The two white bulbs are 65w 10k bulbs and are, in fact, the ones that came with the light 7 years ago...and have been used almost daily since then. The actinic bulbs are Catalina Aquarium 420 Actinic 65w and are only a couple weeks old.
Everything I am reading says that the PC bulbs (especially the white ones) lose power over time and should be swapped out every 9-12 months for new ones. I can see the point...a little, although it sounds to me more like that's a statistic put out by the bulb makers. The reason I'm questioning this statement is because these bulbs, to me, seem to be just as bright as the day I got them - and they are so bright they overpower the actinics and wash out all the coral colors in the tank. Some of the corals seem to be a little bleached but that could be because of acclimation...for example, my candy canes went from teal to pure white over three days, but when I moved them under a rock overhang in a more shadowy area, they perked back up to teal in less than a day.
I'm aiming to upgrade to a couple of full spectrum LED fixtures when I can afford them, but in the meantime I'm wondering if I truly need to get new 10k bulbs to go in the current light.
Hope this rambly question makes sense.
I have a 55g (48"w x13"d x24"h) mixed reef tank and I'm using an "Odyssea" brand 4-bulb power compact flourescent light on it. The two white bulbs are 65w 10k bulbs and are, in fact, the ones that came with the light 7 years ago...and have been used almost daily since then. The actinic bulbs are Catalina Aquarium 420 Actinic 65w and are only a couple weeks old.
Everything I am reading says that the PC bulbs (especially the white ones) lose power over time and should be swapped out every 9-12 months for new ones. I can see the point...a little, although it sounds to me more like that's a statistic put out by the bulb makers. The reason I'm questioning this statement is because these bulbs, to me, seem to be just as bright as the day I got them - and they are so bright they overpower the actinics and wash out all the coral colors in the tank. Some of the corals seem to be a little bleached but that could be because of acclimation...for example, my candy canes went from teal to pure white over three days, but when I moved them under a rock overhang in a more shadowy area, they perked back up to teal in less than a day.
I'm aiming to upgrade to a couple of full spectrum LED fixtures when I can afford them, but in the meantime I'm wondering if I truly need to get new 10k bulbs to go in the current light.
Hope this rambly question makes sense.
