New Odyssea Lighting

[mikerobart]

Hi guys,

I'm pretty new here but have already some good experiences with purchasing some used items on this board and meeting some great people.. good community you  have here!

Well, I am planning a new reef tank to be set up after I move to a new apartment this summer. Probably looking at having one of Patrick's contacts build me a 120g (48" L not 72) rimless with a coast-to-coast overflow. Set up costs are going to be fairly high as it is, and I am a student (more or less) until December of this year, and No I can't wait!

I am considering using the cheapo Odyssea MH combo lights for some time with this tank. I like the appearance of the open top with a hanging fixture whether from the roof or a DIY conduit hanging pole or something. Don't flame me too hard here, I know this is a fairly crappy light fixture! I have read endlessly on Reef Central about both good and bad experiences with them. My conclusion so far is that the "new" models, with external electronic ballasts for the MH, are safe, and bulbs put out decent PAR stock, but if the bulbs are replaced with say 14k Phoenix DE's, you will get a really decent fixture.

I would probably be using the fixture for a year or so and then selling it, and it actually seems you can get some money back for these things used. If I was really happy with it, I could always just replace the ballasts to get the full potential out of the fixture, either way I am still ahead cost wise.. I am trying to make a killer tank on a budget here!

Has anyone used specifically the 716W hood with the t5 supplementation as opposed to PC's ? There are two 48" models, both have 2x250 MH, one with 4x65W PC's, and one with 4x 54W t5ho's. I think even with a fairly lackluster single reflector for each pair of t5's as opposed to individual reflectors, the latter is still going to look better and be brighter than the former.

Any experience with these ? Even if you have some experiences with the 760W model it would be good to hear. I would love a better fixture but can't justify the cost at this time( Just a few weeks ago a guy was selling Giesemann's on ebay with no reserve.. I bid one up a bit, but it ended up going for more than I wanted to pay, still sold for $2000 under retail though! )

[Funkmotor]

For under $350, I don't think you'll be able to get anywhere near a Current Outer Orbit, which is what it looks to be modelled after.

At the very, very worst I'd say you'd be looking at new ballasts and new lamps.  Even if you bought this and switched all that out even before plugging it in the first time you'd still be saving money, and you might be surprised by who makes their ballasts anyway.

When I was in Australia I got a super-cheap 4-foot 2x150W MH and 2T5HO luminaire and I never had any trouble with it at all.  Sure, not the best thing going, but it's all relative.

Certainly, if you do take the plunge and get this thing I'd be very curious to know how you get on with it.

[Zzippper]

...and you might be surprised by who makes their ballasts anyway.

Do tell... You've peaked my curiosity.

BTW - I went the Oddysea route and replaced the ballasts & bulbs (over time) and have been very happy. I saved a ton of money. The lights are excellent for the price. Prior to owning the Oddysea, I had two differnt Current lights - which are by no means top of the line - but they are alot more expensive than the Oddysea. Believe it or not - their  design and build quality are very, very similar. I have a hard time understanding what justifies the price difference.  The equivalent Current fixture would have cost me around $1100-1200 whereas the Oddysea cost me $320. Even adding the cost of new ballasts ($100 x 2 - I got a wicked deal) plus new bulbs ($70 x 2) - I still came out waaaay ahead.

Z

[mikerobart]

Thanks for the reply, and not flaming me! Bringing up this manufacturer often starts a fairly heated discussion, as there old magnetic ballasts used to have some fairly significant problems.

The only issue with the new electronic ballasts I have heard of is that they might not let the bulb pull its full wattage (250). On RC there is a thread where a simple mod with some thermal paste allowed the ballast to perform as it should, while other people found merely replacing the bulb and the halides pull the full 250W. If I go forward with this fixture I will be sure to post a full review of it complete with lots of pics.

Here is the link to the fixture in question:
http://www.aquatraders.com/odyssea-48-716w-metal-halide-system-with-t5-ho.html

Keep the input coming, I would love to find someone who has had success with this specific model!

[jeffd]

hi, these are hard to beat for the $$ despite their early reputation for lacking QA, safety standards, CSA approvals etc. If I were to get one of these before plugging it in I would inspect all wiring\grounding, nuts\bolts etc carefully. The biggest concern is the quality of the wiring as this can obviously have a possible dangerous outcome due to the light being left no doubt unattended and on in your place while you are out. In the past there were some folks that had bad experiences with these units some leading to melting\fire. This may have been addressed by now but again if it were me I would be going over all connections especially including grounds with a fine tooth comb.

Depends how handy you are with electrical or if you know an electrician to give it a once over before use. There has been discussions on other boards about these products being CSA\UL approved etc with regards to if something were to happen and if an insurance company would cover in the event of a fire..Having said that, all those folks out there with their DIY lighting, top-off switches, etc etc fall into this same category when it comes to an accident and insurance coverage. Depends how deep the insurance company digs i suppose. Google search about these before making a decision to buy!

Safety can't be overlooked at any cost.  

[Funkmotor]

Do tell... You've peaked my curiosity.

All I'll say is that I was surprised by who had built the ballasts in the light I got.  It was a very large brand-name manufacturer that is well known in Australia. (Chinese-made, of course, but the same stuff.)  I won't say their name because it's pretty irrelevant here in Canada, and I don't want to give the potentially false impression that these Oddysea units have any particular ballast in them because I don't know.

It could be that the maker of my light had to specially source the ballasts for 230V/50Hz and that was what they got.  Though, for me, it was excellent for the money I paid.

[mikerobart]

From what I have read the pre-2007 ballasts were magnetic and some had some major electrical issues, but since switching to electric ballasts I have heard no problems. Good suggestion though, I would definitely at the least open up the ballasts and inspect everything carefully, and possibly have an electrician look at it. The more I read here and at RC the better I feel about this at least being a decent option for a reef-addicted/ cash strapped guy.

Well, I guess cash-strapped is a relative term. It's more me trying to be reasonable.. how much do I want to owe the bank when I finish up my degrees in December. 

hi, these are hard to beat for the $$ despite their early reputation for lacking QA, safety standards, CSA approvals etc. If I were to get one of these before plugging it in I would inspect all wiring\grounding, nuts\bolts etc carefully. The biggest concern is the quality of the wiring as this can obviously have a possible dangerous outcome due to the light being left no doubt unattended and on in your place while you are out. In the past there were some folks that had bad experiences with these units some leading to melting\fire. This may have been addressed by now but again if it were me I would be going over all connections especially including grounds with a fine tooth comb.

Depends how handy you are with electrical or if you know an electrician to give it a once over before use. There has been discussions on other boards about these products being CSA\UL approved etc with regards to if something were to happen and if an insurance company would cover in the event of a fire..Having said that, all those folks out there with their DIY lighting, top-off switches, etc etc fall into this same category when it comes to an accident and insurance coverage. Depends how deep the insurance company digs i suppose. Google search about these before making a decision to buy!

Safety can't be overlooked at any cost.  

[mikerobart]

Check out this thread from RC: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=11719981

One guy posted some pics... stock ballasts with 14k phoenix DE's look great, other guys are saying that stock was great as it on the very recent models.

If I go with a MH/t5ho combo this will be how I do it I think.

Teklight t5ho's is another option but I think I want the halides. Still thinking about it...

[Vincenzo.]

where can you buy these fixtures? For future referance. Because im in the middle of building my own lights

[jeffd]

I would definitly go with the t5\mh combo. Down the road if you were to only want t5's I'm sure there would be a way to DIY mod the fixture to remove the halides and add a few more t5's. You would then still have a decent looking all in one fixture with that store bought look.

[mikerobart]

www.aquatraders.com or ebay are the only places I have seen them

Apparently the aquatraders customer service can be pretty dicey. I have heard a seller on ebay named Hommby (sp?) is very good with customer service and he almost always has the full range in stock.

Theres always shipping to consider, but my folks live in the US so I might have it shipped there for free and just bring it home on a trip back.

Some other crazy stuff ebay too although a lot of it I can find now info on and is probably even sketchier than this set up would be. Some ebay items with 3x400w's in a 48 format.. although I can't see needing that wattage for a 24" or even 30" deep tank... even for Clams on the bottom 250 should be ok. That and not sure you could get a big enough ATO reservoir!

Maybe this is for another thread, but anyone use a portable AC instead of a chiller to cool their tanks in the summer? Thinking of picking one of these up to keep the room it will be in @ 70, will probably have no AC in my apartment as I like to rent cheap, spend my $$ on other stuff. 

where can you buy these fixtures? For future referance. Because im in the middle of building my own lights