Has Anyone Heard Anything About These?

Hey all,

So I'm looking for a 4 T5 set-up for my 37 gallon reef tank. I totally understand that this light isn't going to be the best light out there, however, I'm looking for something to have that's decent that'll give me some good light to get all the "good stuff" started in the aquarium, and to get me started on some zoo's.

For your viewing pleasure:

30" T5 Lighting HO Aquarium Marine Reef Cichlid 96W LED - eBay (item 290459599789 end time Aug-30-10 06:35:44 PDT)

From what I've been told and heard from a few people, all the sockets are made by a few companies, and the same with the switches, and the other accessories, which leads me to believe that you may be paying for the design aspect. Of course I could be talking out of my a$$. Remember, I'm new!

David

 

There is alot more to a light than switches and sockets. The reflectors, ballast, bulbs, fans, the material that it is made out of is all going to heavily vary in quality. I cant speak for this item and it doesnt seem that big of a risk for $80 but I will say I have not seen a decent 4 bulb T5 fixture in a 30" size for much less than $200. Keep this in mind however, if your looking to keep a wide variety of corals lnow that even if the fixture isnt cheap ...that the bulbs hands down probably are and you will be replacing those with somthing of higher quality. most good bulbs run around $20. SO thats another $80. You may want to check out the aquaticlife fixture that will run you a little more but comes with decent bulbs.

 

It's an Odyssea fixture. There are reviews from both sides of the fence on their products, especially the light fixtures. I'm on the negative side. I have dealt with the seller and can say with confidence that he will treat you right.
After learning the hard way via experience I'm of the opinion that protein skimmers and lighting are the top two most important pieces of hardware and you should not skimp on either. Get the best you can absolutely afford and save yourself the cost of buying again a few months down the road.

 

That fixture looks like it has one single reflector. A decent fixture will have an individually contoured reflector (simulates 4 individual reflectors) and cost more. An even better fixture will have individual reflectors for each bulb and will cost significantly more. Both fixtures I described will outpace that one by such a large margin it's not worth buying unless you are only ever going to have a FOWLR or low-light demanding corals such as zoas. Most of us start with a lesser fixture and end up buying a better one down the road, so that's something to think about.

 

Yep, its an Odyssea fixture. You can go to their website here and look at all there stuff, but its towards the bottom of the list when it comes to good light fixtures.

On the website I didn't find the 30", but they do have the 24" going for $69 and the 36" going for $89, which leads me to believe the 30" should be $79, which is what the ebay price is.

 

Just for the record tho - x4 T5 is enough to keep most things. I have x4 T5 on my system and i have no problems keepins SPS clams etc....

 

Wow! So you can keep a Maxima clam with your T5's?

 

Have a link to the aquaticlife fixture you're referring to?

 

but Odyssea T5 4x54 light fixture may not be enough just because the fixture is not of good quality.

 

i have the 4x54 from this seller. seems pretty good, just gets a little warmer than t5 should so i know its gunna burn bulbs faster and it has a single contoured reflector which makes it (prolly like 20%, completely made up stats) less efficient. essentially you are going to get what you pay for. its not going to compete with an ATI fixture but its a good entry level product. i highly suggest spending a bit extra tho, in the long run the extra 100$ you'll spend will save you 200$ in bulbs and balsts in 2 years.