Aquatraders

[tripper]

Has anyone purchased anything from this site www.aquatraders.com ? They have some amazing prices on PC lighting. They have 48" 220W PC lighting for $59.90 including bulbs!!! It seems almost too good to be true . . . but it also seems to good to pass up. If you have any experience with them, please let me know. If not, I may just have to be the guinea pig!!

 

[Clown Monarch]

Those prices do seem ususually low...

 

[i like fish]

id say try it and see, its cheap so might as well, then you can let the rest of us know...hows prices on other products, really low like that, or abotu the same as other sites, thats how i usually judge

 

[tripper]

All of their prices seem extremely low. It looks like they are trying to be a wholesaler of small or new products. I'm a little hesitant to buy, but am also extremely curious.

If I don't hear of anything in the next day or two, I'll probably try it out and let you know.

 

[klam]

This store is located around my area in San Bruno, CA. used to be named Fish99. I've only read post about them not having good husbandry on live stock. Lot's of negatives.

Here is a link on a post about them http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=467667

 

[ASpec]

Something just does not seem right about this place.

Example... Look under skimmers. They sell an "ODYSSEA PRO" skimmer which looks exactly like the CPR bak pak for just $49.00.

There prices on PC ligthing are insane. They look like decent fixtures.

Shipping is a bit high... almost $20 for the 48" PC mentioned above. PayPal payment only.

Side Note... the PC is made by Jebo who appears to have went out of business...

 

[Bearfan]

I hope someone does check them out, this is crazy pricing.

 

[ASpec]

Did some searching... turns out many people are not to happy with these power compacts... and with Aquatraders. I guess it's "Buyer Beware".

Quick quote from another forum

I recently picked up a pair of the 24" Jebo compact fluorescent lights - 110W for $45 was hard to resist. It turns out, not susprisingly, that they are put together very poorly. I was going to say that it's still probably a cheap way to add some light to your aquarium, except today neither of my fixtures switched on - just a little flickering and then the bulbs died. I'm assuming a faulty ballast. Aquatraders customer service also blows - when I called them before ordering, they told me that the fixtures had end caps, and assured me that they came with 2 10000K bulbs. When they arrived I found only one 10000K bulb and a "blue" bulb, and the bulbs were attached with bare wires - no endcaps. When I called to complain, they took down my info and then put me on hold for about half an hour, at which point I gave up and hung up.

 

[effin]

I don't know anything about the quality of the products. Just making a guess at the business model. They seem like a closeout/liquidator type of operation. Possibly they bought the inventory from Jebo if/when they went out of business.

As for the skimmer, they may be purchasing returns/defects from CPR, with the terms being they can't use the CPR name. I notice that the skimmer doesn't seem to include the powerhead.

This is all merely speculation.

 

[StixS]

ive actualy have been to the store and yea their prices are really low but its really cheaply made and seeing how they used the skimmers which are almost always overflowing on their own holding tanks that are held up by cinderblocks and when purchasing fishes u cant even see them eat first which really blows so when or if u ever buy fish from there its a really big risk. so i would really suggest not buying from them unless u are willing to pay for the risk

 

[seaham358]

Ok I bought the Odyssea 24" PC for $30, the shipping is high at $13+. I'll let you all know how the light is.
A guy I know that had the Jebo 48" lights and he said they were fine and worked well for the price.

 

[captivereefs]

Actually $13 is about right. UPS has been upping there rates since gas went up.

 

[captivereefs]

They sell JEBO equipment. It is the cheapest light on the market. It is all made in china and if something goes wrong you have to buy a new one.


Remember the frustration of low quality will make the memory of low price disapear!

 

[Sailfin]

I have the JEBO 48" Power Compact and am having good luck with it. I know the quality is not like Corallife or JBJ, but for the price it is a good light.
Someone has to make cheap lights so us money restricted people can still enjoy the Saltwater Hobby.

 

[seaham358]

They are selling Odyssea now also.
I had a corallife for just over a year and the ballast went and I could not find a replacement ballast on the net. So I figured I would give the Odyssea a try.
they say it has an aluminum housing external ballast bulb and reflector with free legs. Its worth a shot.

 

[first-timer89]

I just looked at their 48 inch pc light for 79.99. It says it comes with a free UV STERILIER 9W. What is that? i am on a very tight budget so i am considering 2 of them for my 75 gallon. Any Sugestions?

 

[grimlock3000]

For people really struggling for the money to put together a reef tank, I would say avoid these fixtures. Saving money on a fixture with a high failure rate is not going to help your cause. What will you do if the fixture dies? You can not just let the tank go without proper lighting for a few weeks as you save more money. You would be really screwed because you bought a PC fixture with no really warranty, and now you have to buy ANOTHER fixture.

If someone wants to try these and would not be to set back if they blow up, I say go for it.

 

[first-timer89]

I dont know much about lighting, but what is the worst that could happen to the light? I Think that i will go for it because my moms good friend's husband is an electrican who specializes in lighting. I am perty sure he has built a CF fixture before and could probly fix or guide me in fixing the light. He would build me one but the parts are expensive where he gets them. I just have lr in my tank and dont plan on anything else for a while. I am going to do more recherch before i buy. Thanks for the input.

 

[grimlock3000]

Good question. Aside from the fixture itself, there are two pricey areas in a PC fixture, the ballasts and the bulbs. The rest is pretty much just a reflector, wiring, end caps, and swithes. Right from the start, the bulbs in the Jebo fixtures are likely not as good as bulbs from other companies. X watts of power being used by a bulb does not really mean that the bulb puts out as much light, or a high a quality of light as one from another company. I have read in a few places where people needed to replace a Jebo bulb right out the box. The new bulb(s) they stick in were much brighter than the remaining bulbs in the fixture at the same color temp. So right from the start, you are not getting the same light intensity as you could have.

Now, the really expensive part is the ballast. Replacement ballasts for fixtures are quite expensive. Sometimes when a ballast goes, it can be repaired, but other times they burn a component in which case you would not want to try repairing it. The cost of a Jebo fixture and a new ballast would be higher than just buying a better fixture to begin with. That is presuming you find a replacement ballast that would easily fit in the fixture anyway.

 

[Sailfin]

In my experience with the JEBO PC has been great. I have not had to replace the bulbs for any reason. With what I have in my tank the light is great. If you are looking to buy one of these lights, I feel the best way is to talk to actual people (more than 1) that have the light.
If you have the money for a high quality light I would say go for it. But if not, do some serious research on it before you spend money.