Odyssea

Hi all,,

i have been surfing the web just looking for some options on lighting (hot5 and leds), i have seen odyssea's prices they have some products in pretty cheap prices,, here are some thoughts

20" T5 HO Aquarium Light Hood Saltwater Reef Cichlid 72W LED 18W Lamps Odyssea | eBay

My question is, do you advise me to get these? i have heard some bad reviews on odyssea products? if so please warn me.

thanks

 

Had my 3 fixtures for about a year. I haven't had any problems with them they have been on every day for the passed year. I will tell you that the moon light leds have quit working in all 3 fixtures. Not too big of an issue to me but may be for others. I will be soon upgrading my t5s to a better fixture as Im going topless. I just want a better looking fixture. Mine are placed under a canopy. But, when I get my sump going I will not have a canopy. I have kept lps and softies no problem over oddysea fixtures. Also aquatraders.com sell replacement parts.
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is there a reason why they're that cheap? product quality and life etc?

 

Odyssea lights are whats commonly called 'entry level'. Thats more or less a fair title. They are kinda beginner quality and pricing. They have a single reflector and the basic on/off switch. Higher end lights will better power bulbs, have individual reflectors for each bulbs, come delivered with higher end bulbs, have electronic timers, stuff like that.

I likewise have 2 odyssea lights and there is nothing wrong with them imo. Assuming you are new to the hobby I recommend them for a couple reason. First is the price, its easy to start cheaper and go from there. Plus alot of people as they get into and stay with the hobby almost always end up going with a bigger tank, so your overall price impact is lower. Save your money for now and use it on a bigger, nicer fancier set of lights for that bigger tank further down the road.

I will say as you research you will find alot of rumors about odyssea lights burning up, causing fires, and stuff like that. Now several years ago there was some issues with them. I havent heard but maybe one first hand story of that recently. Alot of the stories now about the issues are just that imo stories. A friend, or a friends friend that read on a board somewhere had a light with a problem.

Another thing to look at of course when buying your light is seller feedback and s&h fee's. there are a couple businesses out there with crappy customer service that people instantly attach that to the light for being a problem. A light and a business are two different things.

 

See the thread directly above this one, or use the search function. its easy.

No really, its easy to use...

 

Thanks for your replies, and have seen the other thread.

I think i'll be trying the 24'' fixture for my 5 gallons (i know it's too big) but i think i'll be able to do a little bit of modding, i really like the design of it.

however i do want to upgrade to better quality t5 HO lamps instead of the model lamps probably after using them.

 

For the 5 gallon, you could use the Current USA 18" fixture. Goes for around 70ish.

 

ignore the people who say odyssea are a fire hazard and are pieces of **** most people who will say this have never had the fixture and are just making assumptions after reading other peoples opinions. I looked into them when i first started up and everyone who had an odyssea saw no problem with them and were happy with the purchase other than the flimsy legs which arent even a problem if hung and all these people out there telling you to get these high end really expensive fixtures tend to be the people who have never had to live on a budget and have no experience with lower end models and like to have pissing contests with who can buy the most expensive lighting. That being said the supposed issue with the odyssea fixture was only applicable to the metal halide odyssea fixtures where the ballast used to go up in flames from lack of cooling the main reason for this was that they didnt use thermal paste when piecing together the ballast itself and the issue was fixed a number of years ago and in all honesty there wasn't too many instances where the ballast did burn up anyway. the t5 models have never had any major issue other than the moonlights burning out which is barely an issue in itself. i will say this yes it isnt the best fixture out there, it has a single reflector and no timer and on most models you cannot contol bulbs individually. That being said those things arent really a necessity anyway they are more of a convenience. IMO they are fine for your tank unless its going to be a ridiculous sps show tank or something especially for a beginner reefer the only thing i would recommend is definitely get rid of the bulbs it comes with and upgrade them to higher end bulbs that is really about the only major difference IMO assuming you do not have to have convenience items such as a timer etc...a normal wall timer would work fine as well by the way it just doesnt have one built in

 

And is only 34 watt both, that's why i'm thinking of getting the odyssea instead, i know it's larger but hey well worth it and more wattage (9.6 wpg) and my tank is only 12'' deep so i wouldn't need any punching light, i'm more convinced now with odyssea after seeing some trusted reviews on how good they are for beginners.

let's think about it,, the odyssea;

48 watts total, + LED moonlights for just 50ish bucks. (i will also get other branding lamps for better quality, but i've seen videos for the odyssea bulbs and they do look pleasing, only not perfect) and i also like the fact that it comes with an acrylic sheet that covers the lights and prevents splashes, sprays, evaporation to get into the lights it would also act as a glass canopy and minimize the amount of water evaporating thus giving me smaller topping offs, not that it is a big deal...

current usa;
34 watts total... no moonlights, fixture and lamps only, for 70ish bucks.

i know people are thinking here that the current usa fixtures are better in quality than odyssea, and i agree but i'm looking here for the light + price, for 70ish i would rather go with an LED par30, but i really like the odyssea models and really want to try them.

and i know it's long for my tank, i really don't mind the fixture going off the sides, it would still look nice and hide away my crappy-looking HOB filter/fuge also glad my tank is rimmed so it really makes it easier and better looking with a fixture on it (i can't have it stand on the tank due to my corner bow front design).

 

for a small tank like that its not so much necessary to go with expensive hi tech light unless its like an sps show tank or something, i think it will be fine and when you upgrade your tank then start worrying about these other nicer lights