Odyssea lighting?!?

stratusfearrr

stratusfearrr

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Feb 25, 2009
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So I'm looking to upgrade the lighting on my 46 bowfront from the current 75watts to 156watts

I've been looking Around And found the odysea t5 HO 36" light strip on aquatraders.

That will put me at about 3.3 wpg

Is that enough? And I opted to not use the nova lighting system due to how expensive it is

Any comments or suggestions are welcome
 
Oddysea / Aquatraders have a reputation problem, but I've tried their wares recently.

I got a 48" T5 Quad for my 75 Gallon tank. The brightness is impressive. I changed two of the four lamps for a set I special-ordered at a local hardware store to try and get a better light color for my freshwater tank, which helped. Details in other thread.

The fixture gets worryingly hot at full power -- I'm thinking of upgrading the pair of pathetic fans they include in it. I've been running it at half-power (two bulbs) most of the time anyways. One of the fans wasn't even mounted correctly from the factory due to a misshapen mounting tab, which I was able to repair. The mounting assembly took some fiddling to work with my tank, but nothing too serious.

All in all, they are a cheap but generally effective light. If you shop for them expecting some possible hiccups or quality control issues, then you won't be disappointed. There are some threads that mention fire-hazard level problems, but I believe these are earlier examples of these fixtures that have since been revised.
 
geekboy said:
Oddysea / Aquatraders have a reputation problem, but I've tried their wares recently.

I got a 48" T5 Quad for my 75 Gallon tank. The brightness is impressive. I changed two of the four lamps for a set I special-ordered at a local hardware store to try and get a better light color for my freshwater tank, which helped. Details in other thread.

The fixture gets worryingly hot at full power -- I'm thinking of upgrading the pair of pathetic fans they include in it. I've been running it at half-power (two bulbs) most of the time anyways. One of the fans wasn't even mounted correctly from the factory due to a misshapen mounting tab, which I was able to repair. The mounting assembly took some fiddling to work with my tank, but nothing too serious.

All in all, they are a cheap but generally effective light. If you shop for them expecting some possible hiccups or quality control issues, then you won't be disappointed. There are some threads that mention fire-hazard level problems, but I believe these are earlier examples of these fixtures that have since been revised.
Click to expand...
how much would it cost to upgrade the fans? or could u just put a small fan near it that blows over the whole thing into the rest of the room?
 
geekboy said:
Oddysea / Aquatraders have a reputation problem, but I've tried their wares recently.

I got a 48" T5 Quad for my 75 Gallon tank. The brightness is impressive. I changed two of the four lamps for a set I special-ordered at a local hardware store to try and get a better light color for my freshwater tank, which helped. Details in other thread.

The fixture gets worryingly hot at full power -- I'm thinking of upgrading the pair of pathetic fans they include in it. I've been running it at half-power (two bulbs) most of the time anyways. One of the fans wasn't even mounted correctly from the factory due to a misshapen mounting tab, which I was able to repair. The mounting assembly took some fiddling to work with my tank, but nothing too serious.

All in all, they are a cheap but generally effective light. If you shop for them expecting some possible hiccups or quality control issues, then you won't be disappointed. There are some threads that mention fire-hazard level problems, but I believe these are earlier examples of these fixtures that have since been revised.
Click to expand...


i also have a glass top, due to jumping fish. is there a way it can sit on the glass top? because with those legs, it seems as if the glass top will just reflect the light back into the room
 
The fire-hazard issues were related to the Metal Halide fixtures and ballasts years ago...and yes, they've addressed the issue. You really shouldn't have many problems with the T5 fixture.
 
Thanks. So there should be no worry about any fire hazards?
 
I wouldn't worry. Just look over the fixture well when you get it. T5s do run hot, so don't be alarmed by the fixture getting hot, they all do...but if you want to upgrade the fans, then by all means do.
 
The included mounts are designed to clamp the sides of the tank, which wasn't possible for me with my glass top. I actually removed the inner part of the clamp so that the fixture merely rests on the top and edges. This may seem like a horrible idea, but the fixture is weighted such that it is nearly impossible to tip forward or backward.

There is definitely some light that washes into the room with the fixture up off of the top. This is somewhat a result of the cheap reflector design in these, I suspect. Regardless, I wouldn't recommend letting these rest directly on the glass. I don't think they would manage the heat (and more would be transferred to the tank also).

The fan layout is a bit odd in the unit I received. There are four fan vents - two on each end. It was equipped with two fans at one end and none at the other (possibly with flow-through in mind). The fans are small "muffin" fans, about 2x2", and actually rather thick mounting considering that are installed on the inside of the chassis. They are very low flow and silent, but probably not very effective. I haven't thoroughly tested, but the switching seemed a bit unusual -- I believe the fans are switched on with one of the pairs of lights, and ignores the other pair. Retarded, but not a deal breaker since the fixture seems to handle two bulbs without excessive heat.
 
Both Jebo/Odyssea and Aquatraders have had a poor reputation - you don't hear about exploding fixtures any more, but failing ballasts, bulbs and poor wiring still seems to be fairly common complaints with them. Aquatraders themselves has had a F rating with the BBB for what seems like the longest time.

Not every fixture is going to explode or fail of course, but the chances are higher than a more reputable brand.
 
I have a Nova Extreme Pro 6 bulb fixture and it runs nice and cool to the touch. The fans are a little loud, but do an excellent job at keeping the fixture cool. It's totally worth the money to go for a reputable brand IMO. You get what you pay for.
 
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