250 Pheonix 14k DE replacement interval

[Pat02026]

I am running about 9 months @ 10 hours a day on my Pheonix 14k DE driven off a Icecap electronic ballast.

I am noticing color shift in several corals, as well as a bit of cyano and an amount of hair algae that I am less than comfortable with. My question is anybody familiar with the pheonix 14k, is 9 months pushing the limit?

I do not fully blame the bulb for my issues, but I am probably fairly safe to assume that if its nearing the end of its "useable life" that it will contribute to all of the negative effects I'm currently having in my display. Time for a new bulb? How often do you replace yours?

 

[JohnK]

They will fire for a lot longer than that, but IMO/IME 9 months is a good time to replace them.

 

[stingythingy45]

They will fire for a lot longer than that, but IMO/IME 9 months is a good time to replace them.

+1
I have run those bulbs for that long.Difference is on a Blue wave 7 magnetic ballast.
And from what I understand that overdrives them some(HQI).

 

[mnavick]

I run the same bulb on a Lumatek ballast and replace every 12 months with no side effects, but every tank/setup is not the same. One difference is mine is run only 6hrs a day.

 

[Pat02026]

Thanks John, I ordered one tonight simply for the fact that it going to need replacement soon regardless but I guess its going to be sooner than later...

Bob, as far as proving that theory I cannot say for sure myself. What I do know is that the higher the K rating, then the bluer the bulb should appear to the human eye. Well my 14k pheonix electronically fired is bluer than a 20k radium magnetically fired. Which leads me to believe that yes, magnetic ballast's really push the bulbs hard. This also confirms most of what I've ever heard regarding electronic vs. magnetic ballasts. I am assuming this will have an effect on extending or reducing the amount of useful life of well, really any halide bulb for that matter; but how long of a lifespan the bulb has due to the difference between elec/mag ballast is probably another one of those "milage may vary" situations

 

[Pat02026]

I run the same bulb on a Lumatek ballast and replace every 12 months with no side effects, but every tank/setup is not the same. One difference is mine is run only 6hrs a day.

If my math is correct
your bulbs are running
365x6=2190
my bulb would be running
273x10=2730

I should clarify that this is the total "burn time" on the bulb.

Mike, is that Lumatek electronic or magnetic? (sorry, Im not familiar with the lumatek)

 

[mnavick]

Electronic
What is the 273?

 

[Pat02026]

273 days = 9 months@30.41day (365/12) <roughly>

Sorry if I made that confusing, or even wrong for that matter :: I'm not the greatest, even at simple math lol!

 

[mnavick]

Ok, much better. Interesting to see the difference on ballasts.

 

[JohnK]

Thanks John, I ordered one tonight simply for the fact that it going to need replacement soon regardless but I guess its going to be sooner than later...

Bob, as far as proving that theory I cannot say for sure myself. What I do know is that the higher the K rating, then the bluer the bulb should appear to the human eye. Well my 14k pheonix electronically fired is bluer than a 20k radium magnetically fired. Which leads me to believe that yes, magnetic ballast's really push the bulbs hard. This also confirms most of what I've ever heard regarding electronic vs. magnetic ballasts. I am assuming this will have an effect on extending or reducing the amount of useful life of well, really any halide bulb for that matter; but how long of a lifespan the bulb has due to the difference between elec/mag ballast is probably another one of those "milage may vary" situations

Also keep in mind that K ratings are used loosely and don't always make for a consistent comparison. Particularly with 20k lamps there tends to be a ton of difference between brands. In other words, Phoenix 14ks may look more blue than some 20k lamps regardless of age.

 

[this is me]

6 hours a day on icecap ballast.
12months.

 

[Pat02026]

Thanks for the clarification John, I must admit that my above statement has been based off of the limited amount halide lit systems my own eyes have seen and perceived based on the information I had on the equipment being used. What the human eye "sees" can be very deceiving in comparison to an accurate measurement of the actual output (power or spectrum) of a light over a tank. My tank looks far brighter at 9pm with little to no ambient light surrounding it, as opposed to at 2pm in the afternoon, when even the "color" of the tank looks less blue.

 

[Pat02026]

ehhh, is 10 hours too much light over my tank? Its a 54 corner tank, mixed reef more sps than anything; There is no other lighting or supplementation other than the 250mh lighting the display. Aside from the few nuisances mentioned in the original post, all the corals appear happy.

Those that are running 6 hours a day, are you running supplemental lighting? (sorry for somewhat derailing my own thread..... oops)

 

[JohnK]

It's confusing. K temp is basically a subjective measure based on how we precieve how closely a lamp replicates the sun's natural spectrum. If you look at the spectrual graphs for just about any lamp we use in the hobby and you see a bunch of spikes, not a well rounded curve. Then try to take all those different graphs and measure them by K temp and you get a very inconsistent rating system.

As for hours per day, there are lots of takes on that, some reefers run their lights much longer than others. Also some run supplemental lighting and some don't. 10 hours a day isn't necessarily bad, but it will use up your bulbs a lot faster than if you ran them 6 hours a day.

 

[mnavick]

I run CF Actinics 1pm to 9pm and MH from 2pm to 8pm. My sump has a 65w CF that runs 8pm to 2am ( for cheato).

 

[KSC]

Here's a good article about the Phoenix bulb:Light Output of the Phoenix 14,000K DE MH Bulb Over Time by Allen Chantelois - Reefkeeping.

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-04/ac/index.php

 

[this is me]

ehhh, is 10 hours too much light over my tank? Its a 54 corner tank, mixed reef more sps than anything; There is no other lighting or supplementation other than the 250mh lighting the display. Aside from the few nuisances mentioned in the original post, all the corals appear happy.

Those that are running 6 hours a day, are you running supplemental lighting? (sorry for somewhat derailing my own thread..... oops)

My 6 hours a day include 250W DE and 4x24W overdriven T5(2xUVL actinic 2xATI Blue Plus). That's almost 350W of light for that 6 hours period. This is on a 30"x22"x20" with SPS dominated and LPS on the bottom.
I also run 3 hours worth of dawn/dusk effect using the T5. I change the T5 a lot sooner than the MH. 8months vs. 12months because they log in more hours. My controller log the hours on my bulbs so I usually change them when they exceed 2000hrs.
12:00pm- 2x24W Actinic
12:30pm- 2x24W actinic 2x24W blue plus
1:30pm- 2x24W actinic 2x24W blue plus 250W Phoenix
7:30pm- 2x24W actinic 2x24W blue plus
8:30pm- 2x24W actinic
9:00pm- All off

 

[stingythingy45]

I should also mention that my 2-250 watt halides are on 6 hrs per day as well.
Halides 3 pm-9 pm
Actinics 2:30 pm-10;30 pm
Refugium light 11 pm-9am

 

[Pat02026]

Ill be swapping in the new bulb hopefully this week. I am also going to cut 1 hour, possibly 1.5 hours out of the lighting schedule. As long as the corals don't respond negatively, I will be happier with the extended bulb life, and lower watt per day consumption (minimal cost savings, but every little bit helps!) thanks for all the input everyone. I'm turning the corner on 2750 hours on this bulb and it looks like its about close to the end of its life expectancy.