T5 Tube life

My two T5 tubes have been in for 6 months, say roughly 1400 hours use.
At the moment all seems fine in the tank.
When are they considered to be past their best?. i know there is a gradual reduction , and i have been told to replace after 6 months.
What do you think, and how do you decide ?.
Any advice greatly appreciated.

Use them until they physically don't work anymore, the colour temperature may shift over time, but you can replace them if you don't like the colour.

The change them every 6 months thing is more of a way of lining the manufacturers pockets with money in my opinion.

Hi bogwood

Have to agree with Jack on this one .

Chris

I have to agree with the above.

I think I remember Ceg saying change them when the don't work any more. and that's not a case of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it"

They will still throw out a lot of light, even if this gradually deteriorates over time. If you are running on a low-tech, low light set-up then you may have to reconsider this (smaller peramiters to work with)

Generally speaking if you are running 2-2.5WPG or higher the deterioration of the output is negligible and possibly even beneficial as anything more is unnecessary.

I agree with all the other comments.

I would suggest that the only reason for replacing them is if you aren't happy with the look they give your tank.

Andyh