The good:
The price is right. At $80 shipped, this was the lowest cost t5HO option that you could buy ready-made and is competitive with the retro kits.
They let you select white, blue, and pink bulbs (I have one white 6500K and one pink)
The legs are hinged so once they're clamped to the sides of the tank, the light can be tilted back out of the way for servicing the tank (turn it off first if you value your eyes though)
The light looks good, silver with vent holes in a fish pattern
The ballast isn't too big
The packing was good and there were no broken bulbs.
The concerns:
The clamps on the legs are too narrow to latch onto my aquarium sides. They're built for a frameless aquarium, and I don't own any acrylic right now. This means I can't take advantage of the tilting feature, but I use glass lids anyhow so I'd still have to move stuff to really service the entire aquarium.
There was the little snafu with the clamp for the cord not being fully screwed in (see picture above), but that was pretty easy to solve, but something that I shouldn't have had to worry about
The bulbs look like they'll be a challenge to replace, the clear plate over the bulbs doesn't move so you have to pull them out from the sides which requires opening both ends to free them from the plugs
The legs slip into a groove on the light and can move a bit if not clamped down (see the first concern)
The light probably needs better ventilation, the fixture tends to make expansion and contraction sounds (little pops) once it turns on or off due to heat
After one week one of the lights flickered. It turns out that one of the connections inside wasn't screwed on right. The connector was screwed into the insulation and not the wire. It wasn't visible initially, and functioned for at least a week until something moved it loose, which is why I'm guessing it passed quality control. Again, it was a 30 second fix, but it did arc a bit inside the connector (that's how I found the one that wasn't screwed in right), and was something that shouldn't have happened.
No instructions or manual
The verdict:
I'll probably buy another one, but I'll know what to expect and be ready to check it a bit more. Nothing took more than a screwdriver to fix, so if you're moderately handy, then I wouldn't worry about any of the problems with my particular unit. On the other hand, if you either don't believe you should have to check out a product that closely, or are afraid to touch anything electrical, then I suggest either paying the extra money for peace of mind, or be prepared to return and wait at the first sign of trouble.
