Bulb Change..One at a time, or all at once?

[BobNY]

I'm doing a bulb change on my 6 bulb ATI Sun Power.

Trying to decide weather to change all the bulbs at once and raise the fixture and slowly lower it to aclimate the corals to the new bulbs or just change out one bulb a week.

The current bulbs are just about a year old. The new bulb combo will be almost the same.

Combo now: (Front to Back)
Aqua Blue
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Blue+
Aqua Blue

New Combo:
Blue+
Purple+
Blue+
Aqua Blue
Blue+
Blue+

Any thought on which method of change is better?

 

[rambler67]

I would change on at a time.

 

[fjpod]

yeah, I would leave them at the same height and change one every few days....but raising the fixture would work too.

 

[FaviaFreak]

if you do them all at once you will be aging the bulbs all the same so they all burn in at the same rate but either way should work fine

 

[BobNY]

Thanks guy's. I'm gonna change one every few days.
I just changed out one of the Aqua Blue Specials with a Blue+ and rearranged the bulb order. It looks a thousand times better with on less Aqua Blue.
I also moved the Purple+ into the front Dawn/Dusk slot. It definitely gives an interesting look. Not sure if I like better than 2 Blue+'s for Dawn/Dusk though.

 

[MatthewScars]

All at once. It doesnt really matter. Its not like your switching to LED or MH

 

[dacaptain78]

I would change them all at once and just manipulate your light cycle for a week or two if you feel the new bulbs are adversly affecting the corals. Seems easier than removing/adjusting the light fixture every few days.

 

[Imbarrie]

I never thought this mattered until I talked to someone who burned their corals by switching all at once.
If I had T5 lighting still, I would change them individually. Or I would change a percentage every few months. Like a 6 bulb unit I would change 2 every 3 months but chart the bulbs so I could keep track.