PC OR T-5 Whats better?

He is clarifying what you were saying.

What is the PAR drop off around 1 year? I'm sure someone has tested this. I am probably wasting bulbs too because I usually replace at 9 months.

 

I don't remember the exact numbers at all. I can tell you that you are NOT saving money by using Hagen(unless it's the GLO bulbs), Coralife, Aquatic Life, Marineland/Aqueon and other bulbs that are a few bucks cheaper. Their PAR drops off substantially when compared to ATI, Giesemann, etc. I don't recall who tested this and I couldn't find the tests using Google.

To help me keep track, I use the free Google Docs spreadsheet. Because this spreadsheet is in the "cloud", I can pull it up from anywhere. When I'm at the store, I can pull up brand, color spectrum, price, length, etc and see if I'm due on any bulbs.

 

Not to hijack the thread, but would you mind sharing that spreadsheet with us? This could really help me out with how much I have to leave for extended periods of time.
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that's a good idea. i use ATI and just replaced my bulbs at 9 months. i have no idea on the PAR levels but as i gradually replaced the bulbs, there was a significant difference between the old and new using the eye ball test. i know it's not very scientific but the difference was obvious.

 

It's in a big spreadsheet with a bunch of tabs. Some of the tabs have private info but I'll describe it.

I use this as a budgeting tool as well. If a bulb costs $25 and I found it at a certain place for only $20 a year prior, I know where to get it cheaper. I have separate sections for each aquarium. This spreadsheet helps me remember when to change carbon, phosphate media, etc. too.

The columns are titled as follows;

DATE | DESCRIPTION OF ITEM | BOUGHT FROM | DATE LAST MAINTAINED | EXPECTED REPLACEMENT DATE | NOTES

Basically, this helps me with budgeting. However, if I want to give special attention to one particular aquarium, I know what needs to be done at a glance.

 

Ok, ty. That gives me a good idea of what is going on with it now.

 

BTW....when typing that out, I forgot the most important column. That column was titled, "COST PAID".