ebay lights?
- Thread starter aznnutty
- Start date
RyanMcLaughlin
In Memoriam
I have talked to the guy that spells cord as chord. His lights are from Catalina aquatics I believe and they are ul listed and come w/ a 5 year warranty. I see no reason to distrust him. If you are buying from Hombby or one of the ones like that beware cuz they arent ul listed and may crap out on you and you would be screwed.
Reefenthusiast
In Memoriam
Link removed. Ebay links not allowed~dc
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TheOtherReefer
Pre-Internet Club
you can buy the fixtures on ebay and save some $. but like calli said : you get what you pay for.
the ebay fixtures are different than the ATI, TEK5, etc fixtures in that:
1. different ballast. ballasts such as icecap overdrive the bulbs to produce more light while burning the same or less electricity.
2. reflectors. one of the reasons why t5's work so efficiently is because of the individual parabolic reflectors sending 99% of the light back to the tank that name brand units have.
3. the bulbs that come with the ebay units are not as nice/efficient/colorful as those bulbs offered with ATI, TEK5, geismann, etc.. units.
in the end you will probably want to modify the units to have a more efficient ballast, individual reflrctors, and nicer bulbs.
for all that just save the headache and shell out the extra couple hundred and know you have what you need.
cheers!!
the ebay fixtures are different than the ATI, TEK5, etc fixtures in that:
1. different ballast. ballasts such as icecap overdrive the bulbs to produce more light while burning the same or less electricity.
2. reflectors. one of the reasons why t5's work so efficiently is because of the individual parabolic reflectors sending 99% of the light back to the tank that name brand units have.
3. the bulbs that come with the ebay units are not as nice/efficient/colorful as those bulbs offered with ATI, TEK5, geismann, etc.. units.
in the end you will probably want to modify the units to have a more efficient ballast, individual reflrctors, and nicer bulbs.
for all that just save the headache and shell out the extra couple hundred and know you have what you need.
cheers!!
sassafrass
New member
Like calli said and you will learn, you get what you pay for ,buy cheap and you get cheap
abulgin
Premium Member
"Like calli said and you will learn, you get what you pay for ,buy cheap and you get cheap."
Just not true. I get so tired of people repeating this mantra without ever trying a piece of equipment.
Same light, better price: http://www.aquatraders.com/index.asp?PageAction=VIEWPROD&ProdID=337
It's made by Odyssea.
There is a billion-post threat on these lights. They used to have problems with the ballasts, but they've upgraded to electronic ballasts. This is a cheap light, but that doesn't mean it's not a good light for the money. I have the 48" 2x250W HQI version and I love it--although I upgraded to IceCap ballasts, replaced the stock bulbs with $21 eBay bulbs, and recently replaced the 4x 65W "blue" power compacts with true actinics that I also bought on eBay for $31. My total cost of this unit was $710, which is $300 plus cheaper than the equivalent Coralife (and it's the same exact body as the Coralife). The stock ballasts are rated at 250W but they actually pull about 165W, so they will work fine but they should be upgraded at some point.
No, it's not UL listed. Neither are 100% of the lightings that people gerry-rig in their canopies. No, it's not the best fixture on the market. Yes, some people have problems with them, but most of the people that have tried the new versions have been very happy with them. You can have problems with anything you buy--true, when you buy from a "known" vendor, there is a warranty and someone to stand behind it. That is definitely a consideration. Ironically, one of my IceCap ballasts died 2 weeks after I got it, and I used the Odyssea ballast as a backup until IceCap replaced my ballast. My unit has performed flawlessly since December and my Acros are growing like mad.
If you don't have a lot of money to spend and want a MH fixture, I honestly do not believe you can go wrong with this fixture. If money is no object, then buy an expensive unit, but don't sit here and give misinformation about equipment unless you have some personal experience with it.
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Reefenthusiast
In Memoriam
abulgin:
Thanks for the advice.
do you have any pics of your light that you were discribing above?
of the light in "action" lol
Thanks for the advice.
do you have any pics of your light that you were discribing above?
of the light in "action" lol
abulgin
Premium Member
Why yes, in fact . . .
Actinics only:
I thought I had a current picture with all lights on but I must have deleted it from photobucket. Here is a picture of when one of my IceCaps went out--the left side shows the IceCap driven bulb, and the right side shows the Odyssea driven bulb.
Actinics only:
I thought I had a current picture with all lights on but I must have deleted it from photobucket. Here is a picture of when one of my IceCaps went out--the left side shows the IceCap driven bulb, and the right side shows the Odyssea driven bulb.
Reefenthusiast
In Memoriam
looks good.
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13052502#post13052502 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by abulgin
Why yes, in fact . . .
Actinics only:
I thought I had a current picture with all lights on but I must have deleted it from photobucket. Here is a picture of when one of my IceCaps went out--the left side shows the IceCap driven bulb, and the right side shows the Odyssea driven bulb.
with the actinics on it looks fantastic, looks really good with normal lighting as well, but its suprising how the actinics make the shot look beautiful, i will have to try that shot on my tank, great pics
