Halide Life Expentancy

[Reef Boy]

Greetings Fellow Reefers. (uuuhh don't go there!. :)

Would like some opinions on Halide bulb replacement intervals. Any one for
once a year? Shorter? Longer? Different brands sooner? Better ones
longer?

Thanx!

Reef

[Rugburns]

Depends on how many hours a day it's on. Under normal use about 1 year.

Ruggie

[Rbuehler9]

IME, the life expectancy of bulbs varies from bulb to bulb. Iwasakis (6500K)
can be run for for 1.5 years. Ushio, and ABs usually will make it a year. The
XMs that _I_ tried werent worth putting on the tank. 20kk radiums, will give
you 6-9 months (but make nice actinics for the Iwasakis) . Sunburst will give
6-9 months.. The ballast used to fire the lamps will also make a difference of
the life expectancy of the bulbs. IE: the radiums will last the longest on a
pulse start ballast.. an HQI ballast burns them whiter/brighter and the lamps
are pushed to their limit and therefore the life is slightly shortened..
Running radiums on a normal magnetic ballast (no starter) will also shorten the
life...