4 bulb T5 fixture on a budget

Odyssea Metal Halide System

 

+1 on a metal halide/t5 fixture.

 

Get this!!

4 bulb T5 and a metal halide for 160 shipped!

I have the 24" 4 bulb T5HO odyssea fixture (no MH) and I am able to grow montiporas and birdsnest on my 20long. Add in a metal halide and you will be rocking!

But if you don't want alternative suggestions, I would go with the wavepoint.

get the odyssea

Edit: I have been ninja'd

 

http://www.bbb.org/greater-san-fran...res-retail/aqua-traders-in-san-bruno-ca-62623

 

Run a google search of thier reviews and hit the BBB reviews as well and make your own informed decision before giving them your money. They are almost like the Aquacon of equipment.

The lights they sell are the Oddysea & Oddysea knock off lights btw. We all know Oddysea are an entry level light and far from the best out there, but they can get the job done.

Its the lack of customer service and the potential of never seeing a package come to the door I would worry about shopping there.

 

Yup, just posted the link to there bbb review. I wouldn't purchase anything from a F rated company.

 

I have been dealing with them for 4 years and I have never once had a problem with their customer service.

But if aquatraders has you scared, you can also buy the odyssea fixtures off of ebay..topdogsellers is the name of the vendor.

Bottom line is that that fixture will allow you to grow almost any coral you want for about 1/5th the price of the high end fixtures, not bad for a guy on a budget.

 

Big can o worms however I've noticed a huge difference in the behavior of my fish and corals with the gentle transition from dawn to dusk lighting. Certain LPS that remain closed during daylights begin opening when dusk lights kick on and then are fully open when the moon LEDs come on. It's pretty awesome to watch. Not so shocking to the corals.
As for the money we spend on our lights....we get what we pay for turly! Your talking about saving money? Have you ever paid for a MH bulb? Talk about expensive! I can buy 3 maybe 4 t5ho for the price of a 250w MH..just saying....

 

Well everyone, the fixture has been ordered. Thank you so much for all the advice and opinions. I just researched fixtures during my whole bio lecture this week, lol.

I had the wavepoint in my amazon cart and then decided to look more into the FishNeedIt fixture. I found out that it does not have individual reflectors, but its reflector is individually contoured for each bulb. The price and the dual power switches are what really sold me, along with the generally positive reviews.

My rationale with reflectors is that just because they are individual doesn't make them great reflectors. From my experience with parabolic curves, individual reflectors are only efficient if the bulb is exactly in the focus of the parabola. Even if the reflectors are individual, a construction with no regard to the math behind it will not radiate the light that it could. With that said, interested to see how the FNI hold up.

Expect a thorough review once they are opened up =] Maybe I'll even do the math and see how well they are reflecting.

I figured that if my corals are growing like weeds under my cheap dual bulb ZooMed fixture with ATI bulbs, they will only flourish under the FNI fixture.

 

Unless they changed the reflector from when I ordered the same fixture for my refuge it is only a triangular bump less than a 1/2" high. The reflector is only about 90% efficient where you can get parabolic fixtures reflectors that are up to 98% efficient. The ballast runs a .9 power factor or so or around 90% of full power. You will only be getting about 80% efficiency out of your bulbs. Depending on your tank depth and DOC level and coral choices it maybe fine or you may have some corals and clams you may not be able to keep.