I fight the brave fight ;)

On the zeo system KZ actually recommends that you replace your bulbs every 6 months :neutral: I really think this is overkill.

A year seems to be ok but they do really lose a great amount of par.. I need to find the post by ihavecrabs, he did some par readings on his old T5's just before he changed them and then the new readings, it was really a big difference.

That is enough proof for me.

I found the thread

http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthr...&highlight=par

a big loss in par over 10 months.

Leah, I went with the Geismann Bulbs when I got my TEK light, at the advice of Wendell, @ Ocean Aquatics. Myka was the one who told me she had the same bulbs as we do, and swapped to the Korallen-Zucht Fiji Purple and AquaScience 17500K. Said she liked them better. So, I figured, what the heck. It's been about 12 months on these bulbs now, so they all need a change. I should maybe change 2 at a time, spread the cost out a bit. But I know I'll screw that up LOL. So, I'll just change all 4 at once, keep it simple

Keep in mind that PAR drop reported by ihavecrabs is with a fixture that isn't actively cooled. Of course you're going to burn the schnikeys out of the lamps without active cooling (in addition to getting lower PAR values). You're better off going with a higher quality fixture than a TEK because in the long run your lamp replacement costs will outweigh the up-front difference in the cost of the fixture. Comparing a TEK fixture to something like an ATI, Sfilligoi, Fauna Marin, etc. is like comparing a Seaclone to BK. I'm sure there is obviously some PAR drop in the better fixtures but I doubt it's as rapid as the uncooled TEK and comparable fixtures. This is one of those cases (similar to skimmers) where you really get what you pay for.

I'm going to have to get a PAR meter so I can monitor the PAR changes in an actively cooled fixture.

Thats a very good point which is why i have been debating swapping out my TEK for a powermodual down the road, also the 8 bulb power modual is close to the same size as the 6 bulb TEK light. But yes active cooling plays a big part when it comes to the life span of the bulbs but for most people the TEK is not that bad of a fixture.

Cool, before I go and spend the extra bucks on a ferrari T5 fixture it would be nice to see the par drop in a XXXX time span as compared to the TEK's. :)

you can get a similar effect by running a fan across the bulbs on a TEK

I think this is a great thread. We need a thread with just pictures of the tank (FTS) with the combos of lights. This would be a big help also.

WHAT!!?? I thought my TEK light was one of the good ones??? Almost $500 with bulbs. active cooling now??? I can't win for trying.