lighting question?
- Thread starter tsdpurdue
- Start date
I wouldn't ever recommend PC lighting for a reef tank that's of a size T5 HO lighting will fit over. The bang for the buck is so much higher with T5s than PCs. I'd pass without a second thought and look into at least a decent T5 HO set-up, if not MHs.
:iagree:
PC's are just supplemental =\ and yah expensive to replace. Rule of thumb but not accurate is change out every 6months is when that powder inside starts to crap out on yah.
VS MH which you change yearly... as for T5's I dunno..i never use it. But hear nothing but good things about T5.
Back to the fixture- It does look like an Odyssea and I had bought one off of ebay some years ago.
The fans did crap out within months and the heat inside cooked the insulation on the wires. I also had both ballasts die within a year of purchase. I searched around and bought two replacement ballasts (forget what they were but they were better than what was in there to begin with).
It was when I replaced the ballasts that I noticed the wire insulation was cracking all over so I had to reinsulate.
I could not afford to buy one of better quality so I had to settle for fixing this one.
It's been ok now for two years but I would not buy this brand again or recommend to anyone.
Also, it's too hot to set directly on the glass or plexi cover and the legs have it so high off the surface that it blinds you as you try to look at the tank. I had to get some rectangular pieces of mirror to direct the light back into the tank where it's supposed to be.
The heat is so much that a bare arm on the metal part of the fixture can leave a burn that takes hours to feel better.
The fans did crap out within months and the heat inside cooked the insulation on the wires. I also had both ballasts die within a year of purchase. I searched around and bought two replacement ballasts (forget what they were but they were better than what was in there to begin with).
It was when I replaced the ballasts that I noticed the wire insulation was cracking all over so I had to reinsulate.
I could not afford to buy one of better quality so I had to settle for fixing this one.
It's been ok now for two years but I would not buy this brand again or recommend to anyone.
Also, it's too hot to set directly on the glass or plexi cover and the legs have it so high off the surface that it blinds you as you try to look at the tank. I had to get some rectangular pieces of mirror to direct the light back into the tank where it's supposed to be.
The heat is so much that a bare arm on the metal part of the fixture can leave a burn that takes hours to feel better.
I have an Odyssea fixture that looks exactly like the one you are looking at. Personally I think you should not buy it. I've had mine for about a year now and haven't had any problems with it, only a bad switch in the beginning. I bought it because of a couple reasons, 1- I was a newbie and didn't know what I was doing, the fixture looked nice so I bought it, and 2- It was cheap. I think you should save and buy T5's or better. Right now I'm looking for lighting, I should've done this to begin with. You actually save money by going a bit more expensive in the beginning. The bulbs on the T5's don't have to be replaced as often as the PC's. And if in the future you want to do corals, your chances are a lot better with a different type of lighting than this one.
Like I said, I haven't had a problem with mine but if I would've spent a bit more in the beginning I think I would've seen better results and saved in the long run. I have a canopy on my tank and my temperature only fluctuates less than one degree. I have not seen any heats issues with mine.
Like I said, I haven't had a problem with mine but if I would've spent a bit more in the beginning I think I would've seen better results and saved in the long run. I have a canopy on my tank and my temperature only fluctuates less than one degree. I have not seen any heats issues with mine.
