Lighting Questions for upgrade

4x54w T5s

That unit is the same price as the one on eBay. Although I just don't know if 4 bulbs will be enough. I tend to agree with the 6 or 8 bulbs recommended above. What do you want to keep?

 

Right now my tank is fish only but I would like to have mostly soft corals for now, leathers, zoo's etc. nothing special...yet. is odyssea any good?

 

I've used Odyssea for years. Had a PC fixture and 2 MH fixtures by them. Never any problems.

 

Stay away from Odysea, Aquatraders, Coralifes NO fixtures, anything that has ONE parabolic reflector, in all reality anything made in China...No offense Steve!!

6-8 bulbs would crank on a 75. Five would be sufficient to grow SPS easily. Six would give you better coverage/blending opportunity and IME eight would be over kill. I have 8 on a 24" wide tank!!!!

Contrary to the wise Packleader, UVL is probably third as far as quality and PAR output.
ATI the Giesemann are your best bets, thats if you care about PAR output but in all reality thats what lamps are all about. If you have a 54 watt UVL that is putting out say 293 uMol/m2/sec then why not have a 54 watt lamp that puts out 336uMol/m2/sec?(UVLs Actinic White v ATI Aquablue)

I will tell you this UVLs Aquasun DOES crank out some good values!!

Back to the fixtures, I say Tek 6 bulb or TX5.. The TX5 will cost you more but you get the splash shield and comes with fans. Something the Tek does not.

Many people here really promote the Nova Extreme Pro with SLRs but if you ever look at the SLRs they don't cover the bulb all the way, IME a waste of money and a way to cut corners...

In this hobby you don't want to cut corners.

You could also make a retro and save big $$$!!!

Happy lighting!

 

Why stay away from Odyssea? I've grown out lots of corals with lots of success under my Odyssea fixtures. My MH/PC fixture over my tank right now is Odyssea bought from Aquatraders. My second Odyssea bought from that company. Admittedly they're not top of the line, but for people who can't afford all the high end stuff, I think they're a perfectly acceptable solution.

 

You have gotten good luck Brandon... Unfortunately I know TWO people personally who's houses could've been ruined if they hadn't caught the short and melting fixture.
Luckily both were fine just lost the money on the fixture.

Not to mention the dozens of other folks I have encountered on boards like this that have had rampant shorts or encaps melting to bulbs or other misc. problems they have had. Is every Odyssea going to short? Probably not, but they do FAR more often than any other fixture or for that matter more than ANY fixture should!!

Just my two safety cents!

 

I'm not trying to be argumentative, just want to provide a healthy debate. This frag I bought about a year ago and has only ever known Odyssea fixtures.




And look at it now. It's like...10 times that size! It's on the top right of this picture. Also note the frogspawn in the sand in this picture.




That frogspawn is in this picture, too, from a year ago. Big difference? Heck yea!

 

As far as the fixtures shorting out, were these recent?

 

Both were about a year, maybe 18 months ago. And I am also not trying debate if your particular light will grow coral, I grew SPS in a 75 with PCs! All I am saying is the company has a bad reputation in the industry. If it works for you great, one less house fire the better!

Back to the posters question....

 

its been a good debate. obviously I dont want a fire trap either but I do want to upgrade my lights. it seems to me that saving and going with TEK or other name brand would be best. for right now what I have will do.