T5 Tubes

[donkey]

Hi


How often do T5 Tubes need replacing on a Algae Scrubber


Thanks Guys

[Garf]

Would think 6 to 9 months tops, but only a guess bud.

[donkey]

Thanks Mate

[SantaMonica]

3 months.

[donkey]

Is that even for the HO kind

[Floyd R Turbo]

Yes, T5HO lamps generally need to be replaced every 3 months. Maybe every 4. You really start to notice the difference in growth if you replace them at the 4 month point. Meaning at the end of 4 months, then replacing the lamps, you get a boost in growth which is not quite as noticeable when you replace the lamps at 3 months.

I would recommend replacing them on a rotating basis if it is simple enough. So if you have 4 lamps do one a month.

[Garf]

I better pass that info to the uk users that only replace every 12 months :)

[donkey]

Out of interest,whats the life expectancy of LED bulbs

[Floyd R Turbo]

LEDs have what is called an L70 date. This is the hours to which the average LED emits 70% of it's initial intensity. So when you see a number like 50,000 hours, 100,000 hours, that is actually the time to 70% of initial output.

Theoretically, an LED will work until it's output just ramps down to a useless level. The driver and other components will likely fail before the LED does. Then, you will have to replace the whole array because 5 years from now, these LEDs will be totally obsolete.

But some fun math:

LED operating 12 hours/day * 365 day/yr = 4380 hours/yr. 50,000 / 4380 = 11.4 years.
at 9 hours/day it's 15 years.
at 18 hours/day it's 7.6 years.

50,000 is a pretty reliable number to use nowadays. You might see 100,000 hours but really, those are padded by using the top of the crop when they do the testing. In a year, I will accept 100,000 hours for L70.

[donkey]

Thanks,that was very helpful