# T5 HO bulb longevity



## Marauder (Apr 17, 2006)

Thread title pretty much sums it up. 

What can expect for bulb life in T5 HO bulbs when compared to standard CF's? In the past I have run my 55 watt CF bulbs until they died. My plants didn't seem to care how old my CF's were.

Thanks!


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## Yoshi (Apr 7, 2007)

I don't know if this helps, but on my reef tank I use a TEK 6x39w T5-HO fixture. From what I've gathered from reading online, I change out my bulbs approximately every 12 months. They should be good from anywhere between 10mo. to as long as 14-16mo. before color spectrum starts to shift slightly. I honestly don't know if the shift affects the plants as much as they do corals, so this may just be useless information. Maybe someone else can shed some additional info on this


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## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

Everything I've read says 2 years for replacement. I've only had mine for 6 months so I couldn't say for sure, but so far they're still going strong.


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## Yoshi (Apr 7, 2007)

^^^ Well there ya go. I figured planted aquaria wasn't as picky as reef aquaria in regards to lighting. With that said, I bet you'll be fine running your bulbs for 1-2 years before replacing them.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

I've read that the T5 HO bulbs were designed to run warm, so these hold up better than most other bulbs in an aquarium canopy. Two years was what I read, but some bulbs ended up being defective, so they didn't last as long.


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## Marauder (Apr 17, 2006)

Thanks for the replies! 

I'll be getting my new 4x54 T5 HO Tek light this week. I plan on running the bulbs 'til they die. I'll be sure to keep everyone up to date with my results.

Maybe in two years someone will have 9325k bulbs for them. Until then I'll be using the 6500k's.


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