- In fresh water fish-only tanks, changing bulbs is not that large of an issue. As long as the fish have some light to see by they will be fine. This applies to any type of bulb, be it incandescent, fluorescent or high-intensity discharge (HID). In this scenario, just change the bulbs when they stop working.
- In a planted tank, you will more than likely be running some sort of high powered bulb such as very high output (VHO) fluorescent bulbs or HID bulbs. For this type of tank, replace the bulbs once a year or if they fail.
- The same basic rules apply to saltwater fish-only tanks as they do to freshwater fish-only tanks. Replace them as they fail as nothing in the tank requires a specific spectrum of light.
- With a saltwater reef tank, there is more concern over when to change your bulbs.
Most saltwater reef tanks require very high lighting of a specific spectrum. This is due to coral being photosynthetic much in the way that plants are. VHO or compact fluorescent bulbs should be replaced every eight months and HID bulbs should be replaced every year to ensure that the proper spectrum of light is being provided.
As these types of bulbs age, they lose some of their power and the spectrum of light changes. Coral requires a specific spectrum of light for survival, so it is imperative that you remember when you changed your bulbs last. Make a simple tag with the date on it that can be adhered inside the canopy to easily keep track.
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