Should i replace my T5 bulbs?

[spiderman097]

I bought an ebay fixture, and before you say it's going to burn my house down. I took it apart and inspected every wire in it. But that's not to say that I didn't sleep next to it for a week just to make sure it wasn't going to kill everyone.

But I've been noticing that a lot of my corals are starting to "brown" out. Not bleach but get dull in color. I'm replacing the Metal Halides that came in it with some nice radium 20k's. But should I replace my T5HO's? There's 4 of them and they're only 4-5 months old.

 

[dawgface]

Did you buy the unit new or was it used and the buyer told you the bulbs were only 4-5 months old? Either way I suppose it doesn't matter I would probably replace the bulbs anyways. Especially if they are cheap bulbs from the manufacturer of the unit/

 

[spiderman097]

Yea, I was thinking that. I bought it brand new, but I just want to make sure my corals are getting the light they need. I guess the only way to know is if I get a par reader

 

[smallblock]

so its a mh t5 combo, are the t5s just the acentic?

 

[spiderman097]

I bought the fixture probably 8 months ago, and they've dulled out over time. Even when i get them from other tanks, they don't seem that great.

But I went and got some new T5's from Rit, and now I'm confused. The T5's I got seem to either be light blue to light purple. I don't know if I'm going crazy, if it's the bulb, or even if it's the fixture itself. Can someone help me?

Edit: I went from "CH Lighting F5T5 Blue-Lux Coral" bulbs, to "SlimPaq 54w HO T5 420nm Actinic" bulbs. The box says they're supposed to be a purplish hue, so I guess i'm not going to crazy...

Edit: I've always thought that the bulbs should be so bright it hurts to look directly at them. These seem more enjoyable to look at, is this a bad sign. Or have I always supposed to be able to directly look at them?

 

[spiderman097]

hmm. Maybe i should get some new reflectors...

 

[cjsparky]

spiderman097;656185 wrote: I bought the fixture probably 8 months ago, and they've dulled out over time. Even when i get them from other tanks, they don't seem that great.

But I went and got some new T5's from Rit, and now I'm confused. The T5's I got seem to either be light blue to light purple. I don't know if I'm going crazy, if it's the bulb, or even if it's the fixture itself. Can someone help me?

Edit: I went from "CH Lighting F5T5 Blue-Lux Coral" bulbs, to "SlimPaq 54w HO T5 420nm Actinic" bulbs. The box says they're supposed to be a purplish hue, so I guess i'm not going to crazy...

Edit: I've always thought that the bulbs should be so bright it hurts to look directly at them. These seem more enjoyable to look at, is this a bad sign. Or have I always supposed to be able to directly look at them?

From what I have read, the PAR output from a blue wavelength is supposed to look dimmer to our eyes, while still putting out good PAR for the corals. Still waiting on my lights...argh!