da1jewfish
New member
how are these brands? garbage or good? chepaer than the popular brands, do you get what you pay for?
any knock offs that are good quality?
any knock offs that are good quality?
odyssea or catfish lighting?
- Thread starter da1jewfish
- Start date
reefinmike
New member
yes... you do get what you pay for. i have had pretty good luck with pc lights from odyssea, however i owned a mh from them and one day the ballast started smoking and the capacitor melted out... from what ive heard this isnt too uncommon. they use cheap ballasts, and poor quality bulbs. if youre looking for a cheap solution, make your own canopy and get a retrofit kit from www.hellolights.com they have great prices and good products.
mike
mike
snulma1
New member
If you are going to buya fixture and want to save some money, there is a huge thread about the odyssea fixture, so far, nobody who has bought this fixture is claiming any kind of fire hazard, the fixture and wiring it self is pretty solid. The components they use are cheap, so you may end up having to replace the MH ballast, but in the end, you still end up saving 200 dollars or more.
I bought the 24" model, used a 250w ballast I had left over from my previous tank, and here is a picture:
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y76/snulma1/DSCN1177.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
I bought the 24" model, used a 250w ballast I had left over from my previous tank, and here is a picture:
<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i3.photobucket.com/albums/y76/snulma1/DSCN1177.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
da1jewfish
New member
ok, so the power compacts seem less problematic than the metal halides?
reefinmike
New member
i walked into my room one day and smoke was pouring out from my stand... the ballast was fried. i have heard of several others having this same problem. however i have owned 3 of their power compacts and personally know 3 people that have one and no problems ever arose.
da1jewfish
New member
any inof on the catfish lighting?
reefinmike
New member
never even heard of them... link?
T Man
~PPPPPPP~
Re: odyssea or catfish lighting?
I would say that they are one and the same, I bought a product from CFL and peeled the sticker off and Odyssea was cast into the plastic - The old switch-a-roo! Although the product has served me well, once again you get what you pay for........TinMan
I would say that they are one and the same, I bought a product from CFL and peeled the sticker off and Odyssea was cast into the plastic - The old switch-a-roo! Although the product has served me well, once again you get what you pay for........TinMan
da1jewfish
New member
lol
ok, so it seems that I would be better off in the long run with the well known brands, right?
is the aquatraders the brand?
I am looking for something that will last a few years.
this is what I'm looking at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=320118037129&rd=1&rd=1
thanks
ok, so it seems that I would be better off in the long run with the well known brands, right?
is the aquatraders the brand?
I am looking for something that will last a few years.
this is what I'm looking at:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dl...MEWA:IT&viewitem=&item=320118037129&rd=1&rd=1
thanks
tprize
New member
no it's not the brand, they are a reseller that has a pretty good rep.
www.aquatraders.com
www.aquatraders.com
I received the Aquatraders 260 watt PC light that I paid $99 for and all I can see is I am major impressed for the price and ordered another. Two will fit on a 75G and that is 520 Watts of PC for $200. The Actinics are real and make evrything POP and there is 8 actinic leds that create shimmer effect at night and look really good.
Yes they get very warm to the touch all over but it is aluminum so the entire housing acts as a heatsink. It also has two small silent fans blowing right across the electronics. The heat doesn't even reach the water due to the free included legs holding the fixture about 5 inches off the water. The black paint isn't perfect but what a damn deal this is. My 5 kids and Wife even say how much they like the new light.
Mike
Yes they get very warm to the touch all over but it is aluminum so the entire housing acts as a heatsink. It also has two small silent fans blowing right across the electronics. The heat doesn't even reach the water due to the free included legs holding the fixture about 5 inches off the water. The black paint isn't perfect but what a damn deal this is. My 5 kids and Wife even say how much they like the new light.
Mike
carlso63
Reefkeeping since 1977
Re: odyssea or catfish lighting?
Jebo / Odyssea used to be "cheap, knockoff junk"...
But, like the automotive industry, the Asians have learned / copied from the brand leaders and the quality has gone up substantially...
The current line of Odyssea lights are basically copies of Coralife's Aqualight Pro units. Now, no one is saying a Coralife is a "high end unit", but, they have decent quality and are considered safe to use.
Odyssea's only remaining issue with their fixtures - at least the MH ones - is the power output from their stock MH electronic ballasts. They appear to be underpowered vs. the claim of 250w per ballast.
However, that does not mean they are unsafe . The stories we have all heard about 'smokin ballasts burning houses down' were based on old-style magnetic "tar" ballasts that had problems with a capacitator melting on some units.
To the best of my knowledge, this has not happened even once with the new electronic versions.
I would just add that this may actually be a good time to buy from them, as I have a feeling - judging by the overwhelming response and demand on the fixtures here at RC and other sites - that the price on these units is going to increase substantially in the near future. Even now, you may have a wait time to order your fixture as many sizes have been backordered for somew time; and go back "out of stock" quickly...
Oh, and BTW - I just don't talk blindly about these lights, I own one
72" 1134w MH / PC fixture with stock ballasts and stock 15K MH bulbs
Jebo / Odyssea used to be "cheap, knockoff junk"...
But, like the automotive industry, the Asians have learned / copied from the brand leaders and the quality has gone up substantially...
The current line of Odyssea lights are basically copies of Coralife's Aqualight Pro units. Now, no one is saying a Coralife is a "high end unit", but, they have decent quality and are considered safe to use.
Odyssea's only remaining issue with their fixtures - at least the MH ones - is the power output from their stock MH electronic ballasts. They appear to be underpowered vs. the claim of 250w per ballast.
However, that does not mean they are unsafe . The stories we have all heard about 'smokin ballasts burning houses down' were based on old-style magnetic "tar" ballasts that had problems with a capacitator melting on some units.
To the best of my knowledge, this has not happened even once with the new electronic versions.
I would just add that this may actually be a good time to buy from them, as I have a feeling - judging by the overwhelming response and demand on the fixtures here at RC and other sites - that the price on these units is going to increase substantially in the near future. Even now, you may have a wait time to order your fixture as many sizes have been backordered for somew time; and go back "out of stock" quickly...
Oh, and BTW - I just don't talk blindly about these lights, I own one
72" 1134w MH / PC fixture with stock ballasts and stock 15K MH bulbs
