Fluorecent light life

[Grey Moss]

Does anyone know how long T8 fluorecent lights would last before I would have to swap them out to maintain light intensity and quality? They are on for about 15 hours a day. I know that i will have to replace them a while before they die to be useful to my plants, but how soon?

 

[Frilleon]

I have been told the every 6 months is best. I do it about every year as I buy the higher end grow bulbs. With my reptiles I have to replace my bulbs every 6-12 months.

 

[theyellowdart]

I think a good rule of thumb is once a year. They start losing a lot of intensity if left in for very long.

 

[Joseph Clemens]

I'm cheap, I don't replace mine until they fail to light at all.

 

[Halt]

I'm cheap, I don't replace mine until they fail to light at all.

yes yes! another cheapo x)

 

[blokeman]

only been in this for 7 months, haven't changed em yet, yay, another expense (note the sarcasm..heu heu )

 

[Tamlin Dawnstar]

Joseph has to be cheap because he burns like 8 tubes over each flat, LOL, same as I used to, so he can get away with it. I pretty much would let mine fail, but it isn't so critical if you have a lot of them as when you have few or one since all are maturing at a different rate. I believe and may be wrong that studies said 8 months for optimal spectrum.

Always best to incorporate some real sunlight too, even if only partial, whenever possible.

Cheers!