T5 bulb replacement

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deasley51

In my experience I understand how mythotically reefers replace bulbs on VHO setups but I have much less expericence with T5's. I have asked a couple of LFS specialist and am unhappy with the differences in opinons.

Also am concerned with the changes in light spectrum and wavelength after replacement. My tank has been in its current position for 1year 9 months. When I first moved it I was running VHO setup and had a small cyano out break but got control quickly. Switched to the T5's a little less than a year ago and had a major cyano outbreak. Refusing to use meds, I went the patient route and lots of water changes later I currently have control of it. So the question is when I do replace the bulbs (knowing I have to) do you guys think I will have another outbreak of cyano. Thanks so much for the help. And Hope to meet some of you at the DWA meeting next month.
 
they need light, low flow and nutrients

I doubt changing the lights will be enough to get an outbreak. Hopefully others will chime in that have changed T5s with their experiance one way or the other. If it has you concerned you could cut back on feeding when you change the bulbs and bring it back up over a period of time.
 
I have been using T5's in my grow out "SPS" tanks for a little over 5 years and before I can give you an answer based on my opinion I need a few pieces of information first:

1. What brand of bulbs are you currently using? (Wattage would be good, but not necessary)
1.5 Are they NO, HO, or VHO T5's (yes all three exist, even w/ T5)?
2. What fixture (and reflector if possible)?
3. What ballast powers the bulbs?
4. How long are the bulbs run each day?
5. How far from the water are they currently?
6. Have they been at this height for the course of their life?
7. Is there any glass shield between the bulbs and the water? If yes, has it been cleaned of saltsplash? If no, has the bulbs been cleaned of saltsplash?

Thanks,
Michael
 
@Michael_Wamsley wrote:
1. What brand of bulbs are you currently using? (Wattage would be good said:
1. current 4x54w i believe
1.5. HO i believe ( i need to look at the box its in the atic will get back with you later on this topic)
2. current 48x4x54w T5 HO built in reflector w/moonlight
3. factory ballast
4. currently 10 hours
5. est 6 inches
6. yes
7. yes/ and yes is cleaned regularly
Click to expand...
 
I change mine out 1/2 of the bulbs at a time. I have 6 T5's and I just changed out 3 and saw no ill effects on the corals in my tank.
 
Michael, I am waiting to hear your opinion.

We have noticed our T5's causing some red slime issues.
 
Nicki,

I am so sorry it has taken so long to reply. My job and family keep me busy enough. To top it off I have a baby boy (1st child) on the way and I just added a 300 gallon tank to my very large system of tanks and sumps.

I agree with your original deduction. It is my belief that when you put on the bulbs the first time, they produced more energy than the VHO's that were on there. Anytime more non-kinetic (meaning water movement in this case) energy such as food, fish mass/waste, light-actual equipment or more efficient use of equipment is directed in your tank there will be a time of unbalance. I think that there will be little to no outbreak this time around, as you will not be altering the homeostasis of the habitat to any large degree. I would do the following to ensure the least amount of change possible, as I am neurotic, but you could probably change all the bulbs at once and notice few to no consequences.

I agree with Scott817 in changing out bulbs over the course of time. With any T-5 setup I change 2 bulbs at a time (the ones that are wired to the same ballast or same parallel circuit within the ballast), but changing 1/2 is not really much different (especially in your case :p !!! )

Based on your setup and photo-period I would recommend changing out 2 bulbs after 1 year and then the other bulbs 2 months later (if possible the higher Kelvin last... if not NO big deal what-so-ever). I run mine for 1 year 6 months, but I am not 100% sure on the ballast that current uses. This is the only reason I would say the 1 year and 2 month mark. IceCap is the only one where you really should change every 8-12 months (based on photoperiod). If you have extremely sensitive corals, larva fish, or keep your temperature at critical point (this is around 84 degrees F for most corals), then I would try to elevate lights 2" above to 8" then lower back down 1" for two months every time you replace any bulbs. I really doubt you would need to do this in your case. If you have any question about the reasons in this paragraph it is a long explanation, but I will share if interested.

Take a sharpie and mark the bulbs with the date you replaced them and follow the same regime every X number of months (14 months in my opinion).

None of this is Law. You know your tank better than anyone else and can tell what your animals need. Trust your instincts, as they have appeared to serve you very well (I applaud your correct decision to wait out the 1st outbreak)!!! Please let me know if you have any question and I hope I can find time to answer them quicker!

Thanks again,
Michael Wamsley
 
Is that a picture of a female crosshatch for your Avatar?
Is she your?

She is absolutely beautiful. Male and female crosshatch are my all time favorite triggers!!!!!

I forgot to mention one thing...

"We have noticed our T5's causing some red slime issues."

Although the red shift in bulbs over time (resulting from the change in the ratio of mercury and phosphorous in fluorescents) is one of the 4 main reasons for cyanobacteria outbreak, I do not think it is the "main" reason here. The NO T5's on regular ballasts and normal photoperiod do not make a significant RED shift as far as percentage goes for about 14-18 months (large shift in PAR + Kelvin over the first few months as the phosphorous "burns" in). I believe that you will see this continue even after the bulbs are replaced. At the stage you are at there will be nothing too noticeable and changing out the lights will inhibit it for a brief time. This time period will become shorter and shorter every time you change out your lights, if nothing is done in the interum period as the conditions for the protists ripen.

Inappropriate "fuel" + inappropriate "light" + low flow = slime algae. It is my opinion that the fuel side of the equation needs to be tweaked. Unless it is a rare form of blue-green protista, this can be done through the traditional methods. Increased water changes (frequency/ amount)...best choice IMHO, increased MicroAlgea harvestings (also best choice if possible), decrease food (probably not recommended in your case unless large amount of uneaten food exists), use of PHO4 filters, application of deep sand bed (remote ones are excellent when you have large fish), more skimming (not my recommendation even if possible) ect.

Sorry I know that was off your original question, but I wanted to give my 2 cents since it was brought up. Anyway, like I said earlier, you know what your animals need better than anyone!!! Keep those fish fat, happy, and healthy!!!
 
I have been using T's for a number of years and must agree with the other posts - do not change all the bulbs at once. I made this misake once and discovered the world of hair algae. Not sure that changing the bulbs will trigger cyano bacteria.
The link below is a pretty good reference on cyano.
I had it once and resolved it by removing dead spots.
http://reefshow.com/html/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=109#Causes Of Cyano
 
Michael_Wamsley wrote:
Is that a picture of a female crosshatch for your Avatar?
Is she your?

The picture is of a male crosshatch and the female is in the back ground. We lost the male a while back but still have the female. They are my husbands all time favorite fish.

Thanks for the information. Our bulbs are a year old so we probably need to change them. We thought they would last longer then that.
 
sorry to chime back in late but i am in the the retail business and the end of the year takes just about all the time i have. mike i greatly appreciate all your help it is definately time for a bulb change. would you make a suggestion on brand. i have my own opinions ofcourse but i enjoy listening to other peoples experiences, it only betters my own.

Also to reflect on the cyano topic i also feel some of the issue is that i still run old maxi jets circulation pumps they have been good to me and still run great being atleast five years old. knowing i need to make a transition to a propeller style pump iam sure that will definatly help with any circulation problems i am having. I dont have a large tank (72g) so makeing it to turbulant is very easy so iam about to begin that process to find a happy medium. dont mean to get of a tangent into another topic but is worth bringing up. my plans consist of replaceing my return pump from a mag5 to a mag7. but i am going to run the plumbing over the overflow down into the main tank within the rock and have two maybe three outlets. then replace my circulation pumps with small prop pump. any input would be helpful thanks in advance
 
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