[UniQuaria] lighting questions
Marcelo wrote:
1. how often do i need to change the bulbs? when i had lizards the rule of thumb was every 6 months even thought the light had not burned out.
A good rule of thumb is to change the bulbs every 2500 to 3000 hours of burn time. Much longer than that and you run the risk of spectral shift and an intensity loss. If you are just using the lights to view the fish, this might not be of concern. but if you are growing plants, the loss of intensity (which may not be evident to your eye as the loss is gradual) and spectral shift may cause problems. See the attached .gif image for an example. The green line is a brand new actinic 03 fluorescent lamp. The red line is the same bulb after 3650 hours. Note the big difference in intensity. The same drop-off is seen in the higher nanometer range.
2. do i just get regular florecent bulbs at the hardware store or do i need those fancy bulbs they sell at the LFS? i get the imression that those are just for salt water tanks.
You can most likely find a full spectrum type tube at your local Home Depot or similar store.
Frank
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Category: Philippines Internet Koi Society
