Odyssea T5 Aquarium light

Dburgess1231

Dburgess1231

AC Members
Oct 21, 2011
431
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NORTHERN OHIO
Not too much light...But I just bought one of the 36" Odyssea T5 lights, and well... I'm not very impressed with it.


the Pros:
You can run 1, 2, or all 3 of the t5 tubes, and you can program the times for them to work whenever you want.
so you can control the amount of light and the duration that the lights are on. (you can play with this to get the right amount of light for your tank)
The T5's are wired with 1 on, or 2 on, and you can run all 3. there are timers for 1 bulb, or 2 bulbs, and you can program all 3 to be on at the same time if you want
Has nice Blue Moonlight LEDs which also have thise own timer.
Timer has battery back-up.

The Cons:
The reflector is pretty subpar (IMO) there is one polished reflector under all 3 bulbs, which just isnt very effecient.
the bulbs are just held in place by metal clips, the sockets arent attached to the fixture at all. Not sure if I like this or not..
the clear plastic that covers the bulbs just slides in place, there's nothing to hold it in.

Overall, its not terrible, and you get what you pay for.
I have only had mine for a short time, and can not give any long term review as to its durability, but I am not completely upset with it, since I only paid $80 shipped.
I had planned on purchasing 2, 36" units to put over my 72" tank.

In comparison to my old 96 watt Power compact fluorescent fixture, Its not as bright.
You would think 3x39 T5 would be brighter than the 1x 96Watt PWC.

I am rethinking this decision, and might look for a better fixture...
 
Don't rely on WPG. That doesn't really work when you are talking about T5 bulbs. For example, I have a Hagen Glo T5 HO dual light system and use two life-glo bulbs. This comes to like 108 watts. I use high pressure CO2 and fertilizers to keep up with that much light. Otherwise I would just be growing algae.

I would think if you were running all three bulbs you would just be growing algae.
 
I have two of the 24" fixtures on two seperate 20H's and I'm pleased with the quality of the fixture, the remote ballast, and the plant growth I get. Not dosing CO2, but I am using liquid ferts daily and Excel 2-3x week.

Roy
 
Has anybody ever gotten the T5 and the T5HO versions of the same lamp-- same reflectors, same wattage, same bulbs etc--and done a side by side comparison? Not just of raw lumens but of how they look on a tank? I would love to see such a comparison.

I got a T5 for my 29g deep tank and am, well, not as impressed as I was hoping to be. It's way better than the piece-o-Walmart junk 1 fat bulb fixture that used to be on it mind you, which lit maybe the top 6 inches of the water or so, but not excited. I like a LOT of light in a tank and have (well usually, until this mysterious BBA attack in 1 tank) not had algae issues from it. Next time I will pop for the extra bux and get the HO. :(
 
If the reflector on the Odyssea fixture was any good, three 54 watt lamps would be way too much light on a 55g.
Conveniently the reflector and lamps (bulbs/tubes) shipped with it, aren't high quality. ;-) When you shop for replacement lamps, you may find a vast improvement in the amount of light getting to the bottom.

One good T5HO lamp with a very good reflector is plenty of light for a 55g tank.
 
XanAvaloni said:
Has anybody ever gotten the T5 and the T5HO versions of the same lamp-- same reflectors, same wattage, same bulbs etc--and done a side by side comparison? Not just of raw lumens but of how they look on a tank? I would love to see such a comparison.(
Click to expand...

Partly you can't do the comparison, unless you build the fixture your self. T5NO runs significantly cooler than T5HO. You can get a reasonable (by my standards) comparison by swapping the lamps in a T5HO fixture. T5NO bulbs/tubes/lamps will generally run on a T5HO ballast. They will run a bit brighter and hotter than they would in a T5NO ballast, but not at full T5HO output. I purchase only T5HO lamps and stick them in as needed, not paying attention to the ballast. It's simpler than stocking two different wattages for each length.

And, yes, I am aware that there are some odd ball length of T5NO lamps. Grumble, grumble, grumble.
 
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