When to replace T5HO

[Treefer32]

Hello, I've had my 350 gallon 6 ft by 3ft wide by 31" tall system for 2 years As of October 2020. Most of my corals are doing well. I've got a 61" aquatic life -4 bulb T5HO 80 watt per bulb fixture with 3 Hydra 52 LEDS mounted front to back between the braces. The LEDs have been awesome. I'm running Coral Special bulbs (4 of them). I was thinking of replacing at the two year mark. I run them around 7 hours a day from 12 pm to 7 PM and the Leds including a 2 hour ramp up and a 2 hour ramp down are on from 12 pm to 7:30 pm.

So, a couple questions I guess. How many hours a day with a 2 hour ramp up and down should the LEDs be on?

With my T5's going on 2 years old here soon, what is 2 years too long to run T5 bulbs?

And what are some good replacement 80 watt bulbs to go with to bring out good coral coloration and growth. I would love to see my Acans and Elegance grow faster. So anything to further LPS growth would be great. My Acros are growing awesome and seem to have sufficient light where they are.

 

[oreo54]

 

[andrewey]

BRS did some testing on bulbs if you want to check that out. Most reefers tend to replace their bulbs every 12-18 months, although there are outliers in both directions. At two years, you should probably look to replacing your bulbs. I wouldn't worry too much about T5 bulb selection for growth- I would focus on the aesthetics- towards that end there are some great videos out there that demonstrate how different corals look under different bulbs. For example, check this one out: