Maybe it's just me, but I have a 130W (2x65W) coralife lighting fixture that I equip with two 50-50 bulbs. The bulbs seem to last only 4-6 months. Is this common? After 4-6 months, my corals start to look unhappy (slow or no growth, some wither) but I put fresh bulbs in and the situation dramatically improves.
I've always wondered if 50-50s wear out quicker than a straight actinic or 10000k, and my experience is starting to make me more convinced of this. Any comments or similar experiences?
I'm switching to a fixture with 3 or 4 75W VHO lamps, both for the increased power but also becuase I like the URI lamps (actinic and 10000K), in another tank I have less problems with lighting as far as I can tell.
I also wonder about the 50-50s because on all of my tanks I have more problems with excessive algae (red slime and green hair) in tanks with 50-50's but less or no problems in tanks with single phos lamps (namely the URI VHO or MH).
Again, comments are appreciated.
I've always wondered if 50-50s wear out quicker than a straight actinic or 10000k, and my experience is starting to make me more convinced of this. Any comments or similar experiences?
I'm switching to a fixture with 3 or 4 75W VHO lamps, both for the increased power but also becuase I like the URI lamps (actinic and 10000K), in another tank I have less problems with lighting as far as I can tell.
I also wonder about the 50-50s because on all of my tanks I have more problems with excessive algae (red slime and green hair) in tanks with 50-50's but less or no problems in tanks with single phos lamps (namely the URI VHO or MH).
Again, comments are appreciated.
