Thoughts on catalina hood?

[mitlik1]

Thoughts on this hood for catalina? Anyone have experience with their products?
ULTRA REEF HOOD POWER COMPACT + HQI - 4 X 55W + 2 X 250 HQI

Heavy duty black aluminum hood. Two switches with moisture resistant covers. Two cords. AC Fan. Thick Lexon shield to protect from splash. Comes with four 55 watt 50/50 (blue + 10000k white) bulbs and two 250 watt HQI. Comes with a German mirror polished aluminum reflector.
Power: 55W PC + 250W HQI
Color: Black
Dimensions: 48in x 12in x 3 3/4in
Here is link:
http://www.catalinaaquarium.com/product_info.php?cPath=71_75&products_id=1183

 

[mitlik1]

Anyone heard of this unit?

 

[Ten33]

Theres a big thread on Catalina and their products. If I can find it, I will post the link. Very negative.......

 

[JmLee]

heard alot of bad things.

 

[mitlik1]

Do you have that link? What was bad bulbs, ballast, unit?

 

[travisurfer]

tagging along. theyre bulb prices would make mh affordable for me.

 

[mitlik1]

The bulbs are cheaper, but I was also wondering about the unit itself. I heard JEBO stuff starts on fire and didn't want this one to do the same. Any research or links for this info.?

 

[mitlik1]

bump?

 

[travisurfer]

i have odyssea pc lights. its been 6 months no problems.

 

[Ten33]

READ THIS....theres a couple og links in here as well...
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=829281&highlight=catalina+nightmare

 

[travisurfer]

thank you. illuming and hellolights for me.

 

[mitlik1]

I read all the threads. So it seems that the issues are with the catalina company rather than the product? I ordered with aquatraders.com and pleased with unit so far. I just was concerned about the long term performance (ballast warranty 5 years) and any fire hazard concerns.

 

[onefin]

I have the same hood but with three 250 hqi's never had a problem, love the hood, will order from them again.

 

[RCS]

Personally, I think there's better lights out there for the money. Most of the RC Sponsors offer good deals on similar lights with brand name bulbs and ballasts. I got my triple 250w HQI setup from OceanEncounter for about $800 delivered and it's terrific.