eBay Bulb Experiment..

[JDM_SOHC]

Im going to experiment with a set of eBay bulbs just to see what $30 for 4x54w bulbs gets you... I already have an ATI Blue+ and Fiji Purple that I'm gonna keep in my Tek Light but I wanna get 4 new bulbs and this seller on eBay has an outrageously good feedback score..!! Besides "do you trust eBay" or "they suck cuz they're $30" does anyone have any feedback on why these lights for $30 wouldn't be sufficient enough to run a reef tank..?? I've read other threads where people vouch for this TopDogSeller and say their bulbs are fine.. Anyhow, I want a blue'r look to my tank but would like some growth as well so If I were to go with a specific combo of any 4 from that seller, what would be recommended..?? 4x460nm bulbs to run along my Blue + and Purple maybe..?? Thanks in advance and please keep any negative thoughts or comments out of here, this isn't the place for all that nonsense..

http://www.ebay.com/itm/300916300649?var=600123818125&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1438.l2649

 

[JDM_SOHC]

Nobody, dang I thought for sure someone here would have bought these bulbs and been able to provide some honest feedback...! The number of buyers is through the roof for an eBay seller, and he has a 99.5% feedback rating so my guess is that they're pretty decent bulbs...

 

[sirreal63]

Odyssea bulbs.

 

[JDM_SOHC]

Well I remember I bought an Odyssea fixture a long time ago (4+ years) and it worked fine for a while, than I eventually moved on to Wave Point bulbs from my LFS and they worked perfect in my tank for over 3 years until I sold it... I did read that the Odyssea fixtures were cheap, but mine had dual ballasts build in moonlights etc and worked fine until I sold it and even now it's still working fine says my friend who bought it..

And from what I heard it was the crappy construction of the Odyssea fixtures that kept them from being a competitive brand such as ATI or Tek Light.. But now I have a tank double the size and have LPS and SPS corals that I have to keep happy so I bought a 48" Tek Light 6x54w.. For some reason the previous owner used 4 bright whites, a blue+, and fiji purple and its jut wayyyy to white for me so I saw that listing for 4x460nm 48" 54w bulbs for $30 and with all the positive feedback I figured at least somebody here would know something about them..?

I'm on a budget for a few months and spending $150 for bulbs isn't in my spectrum of allowability, so by getting these bulbs what am I risking? I'm only running the Blue+ and Fiji Purple bulbs for now because otherwise its just way to white so I'm looking to do something asap...

 

[rtparty]

Well I remember I bought an Odyssea fixture a long time ago (4+ years) and it worked fine for a while, than I eventually moved on to Wave Point bulbs from my LFS and they worked perfect in my tank for over 3 years until I sold it... I did read that the Odyssea fixtures were cheap, but mine had dual ballasts build in moonlights etc and worked fine until I sold it and even now it's still working fine says my friend who bought it..

And from what I heard it was the crappy construction of the Odyssea fixtures that kept them from being a competitive brand such as ATI or Tek Light.. But now I have a tank double the size and have LPS and SPS corals that I have to keep happy so I bought a 48" Tek Light 6x54w.. For some reason the previous owner used 4 bright whites, a blue+, and fiji purple and its jut wayyyy to white for me so I saw that listing for 4x460nm 48" 54w bulbs for $30 and with all the positive feedback I figured at least somebody here would know something about them..?

I'm on a budget for a few months and spending $150 for bulbs isn't in my spectrum of allowability, so by getting these bulbs what am I risking? I'm only running the Blue+ and Fiji Purple bulbs for now because otherwise its just way to white so I'm looking to do something asap...

They are just cheap bulbs with poor color and poor quality. They have really low PAR and don't hold up as long as good bulbs. If you're on a budget, reefgeek has good bulbs on clearance all the time.

 

[JDM_SOHC]

They are just cheap bulbs with poor color and poor quality. They have really low PAR and don't hold up as long as good bulbs. If you're on a budget, reefgeek has good bulbs on clearance all the time.

I figured they probably weren't of the best quality, but I couldn't find any actual test results done comparing them to other bulbs or just test results in general.. I'm not saying I don't believe anything I've read because I'm definitely not a nay say'r, I guess I'm just more of a "see it to believe it" type of individual and it would be awesome to see factual data instead of opinionated feedback ya kno..?? I'm gonna go over and check out reef geek and see what they have to offer, I've heard a few people got good deals from them..!

 

[FlyPenFly]

The reason I buy ATI is consistency of quality. Sure you might get a good bulb often but I'd rather pay the bit extra to be extra sure that my bulbs come from a high quality source with consistency.

It's kind of like Michelin ratings, you only get them if you're consistently excellent. I have enough headaches that I don't want to worry about another thing that I got on the cheap.

 

[firebirdude]

I have a friend who bought a generic 6 bulb T5 fixture off eBay. Didn't seem all that bright to me. 6 months later she was saying the same thing and decided to replace the bulbs with brand name quality ones. Large improvement. But I still didn't think it was up to brand name fixture standards..... like it was underpowering the bulbs or something.

Like you said, it's only 35 bucks. Give it a whirl. It's not like you're buying a whole fixture!

 

[JDM_SOHC]

I have a friend who bought a generic 6 bulb T5 fixture off eBay. Didn't seem all that bright to me. 6 months later she was saying the same thing and decided to replace the bulbs with brand name quality ones. Large improvement. But I still didn't think it was up to brand name fixture standards..... like it was underpowering the bulbs or something.

Like you said, it's only 35 bucks. Give it a whirl. It's not like you're buying a whole fixture!

I found a set of CE Actinics from an even more reputable dealer on ebay for $35 from a wholesaler who had them marked at 52% off the original $73 price..! I could have chose 10k, 6300k, or actinic and I chose the four actinics.. All the feedback had fellow reef enthusiasts posting very positive comments on the light output and such, hopefully I just got a great deal..!! Will definitely post results, they should be here by Friday, along with my Tek Light OEM Mounting Leg's that I found on eBay brand new in box for $10 with all hardware included..!!

This is what I got..
http://www.ebay.com/itm/400551487653

 

[YoungREEFA]

Those are most likely the same bulbs the other guy was selling, these bulbs are Not 75 new
One ati bulb properly driven would beat 2 or 3 ebay bulbs for me

 

[JDM_SOHC]

Those are most likely the same bulbs the other guy was selling, these bulbs are Not 75 new
One ati bulb properly driven would beat 2 or 3 ebay bulbs for me

I understand that ATI hails supreme in the bulb category, but I'm just trying to see how these sellers have over 100k items sold and retain a near 100% feedback if they were crappy bulbs, given that just about every single comment compliments the light spectrum..? Maybe if I can get my hands on a PAR meter when the bulbs arrive I'll do a little test to get some more exact numbers..

 

[rtparty]

I understand that ATI hails supreme in the bulb category, but I'm just trying to see how these sellers have over 100k items sold and retain a near 100% feedback if they were crappy bulbs, given that just about every single comment compliments the light spectrum..? Maybe if I can get my hands on a PAR meter when the bulbs arrive I'll do a little test to get some more exact numbers..

Because 95% of tank keepers aren't on here and don't know what quality is. It scares me talking to some people who keep tanks and don't know the simplest things when I talk to them.

 

[YoungREEFA]

I really dont mean this in a mean way, those people most likely have a very low quality system. They aren unfortunate to not utilize forums. If you follow the advice on here, within 6 months your reef will be better than that 95% of people, or has potential to be

 

[JDM_SOHC]

Because 95% of tank keepers aren't on here and don't know what quality is. It scares me talking to some people who keep tanks and don't know the simplest things when I talk to them.

Yeah I notice that a lot, especially with beginners who "heard from a friend" something that is completely ridiculous..!

I really dont mean this in a mean way, those people most likely have a very low quality system. They aren unfortunate to not utilize forums. If you follow the advice on here, within 6 months your reef will be better than that 95% of people, or has potential to be

I agree with this to an extent as well.. Before I came on the forum here I was living in Miami and my LFS owner was also the head of the Oceanography program at UM, so he had my 29 gallon spotless and running fairly well on a relatively low budget... Maybe som pH buffer here, alkalinity buffer there, but just regular water changes and my tank ran good enough to where I didn't need outside sources for assistance.. It honestly, wasn't until I upgraded to my 55 that I started getting into specific bulbs, skimmers, reactors, etc and that's when I started havin the most issues.. But I guess as the old saying goes, the more you stuff you add to anything, the higher chance of failure you're adding as well..