What is the actual longevity of the t5ho?

[MizTanks]

Just read that the life of the t5ho is 20,000hrs. Why then are we changing out our bulbs at 10-12 months? I'm also getting info from other reefers who are changing theirs out at 18 months, and even 1 has had his in for 3 years.
Am I actually throwing away good bulbs? After using them for only 10-12 months.

[Heidi]

Miz, that 3 year bulb guy must have a FOWLR tank... There is no way his coral look good after 3 years under the same T5s.. The par difference would be CRAZY and the color of the light the bulb was intended to produce would be waaaayyyy off. Like Chris said he would have a lovely crop of nuance algae and brown coral. Plus when the dude gets new bulbs he will
Most likely bleach and kill everything (sps at least). I'm not trying to be dramatic but there are only 2 things you can't go cheap with in this hobby, lights and skimmer... Not changing your bulbs is only for people with LEDs..

Heidi

[larryandlaura]

I change my bulbs every 12 months. Laura informed me of a algae problem from the stock bulbs in a aquaticlife fixture after 6 months.

[nate_newton]

Also isn't it 20,000 continuous hours? And the turning on and off of bulbs reduces there life.

[Flynnstone]

what is the exact color spectrum that the bulbs change to that causes algae to grow so much?
would the blue bulbs have the same effect as the white bulbs?
blue bulbs are more for appearance rather than growth, so are those bulbs required to change at the same intervals?

[MizTanks]

I don't know anything about the spectrum (or par) but I've noticed right under a 12 month old ATI Aquablue + I'm getting algae growth on the back wall. So I totally agree with changing them out at the 8-10 month time. Which I did today :)