Lighting question

[dralarms]

Ok, I have received my light fixture, it IS 60 X 14.5. The fixture actually looks like it's new, it still had styrofoam packing sround the bulbs and after taking 2 bulbs apart I ended up cutting the rest of them off.

It did come with 6500K bulbs so my other package is my other bulbs as someone here suggested.

All in all, if I was looking for a light and had this to do all over again i would buy it again.

I will be happy once the bulbs come in, color is off just a tad from what I had but hey I got 8 free bulbs.

I am happy with my purchase and would recommend this unit to anyone looking for one.

I don't think I "need" the 8 light setup and may only run 6 but I got it if I need it. LOL

[carey]

Do you have a picture of them up and running?

[carey]

Oh, some more questions...

Does it have legs or are they available do you know? Also, you mentioned the bulbs came from a different place, did you order from another vendor or did the same seller have the bulbs you wanted? AND does it have a protective shield between the lights and the tank top? Like a splashguard?

[mr_X]

that's pretty amazing, fitting 8 lamps in a 14" span. i would like to see some photos of the end caps and underside of the fixture if i could. it's definitely priced well also. what lamps did you choose for it?

[dralarms]

Originally Posted by carey

Do you have a picture of them up and running?

No pictures, well I took one but my card reader just took a dirt nap.

Originally Posted by carey

Oh, some more questions...

Does it have legs or are they available do you know? Also, you mentioned the bulbs came from a different place, did you order from another vendor or did the same seller have the bulbs you wanted? AND does it have a protective shield between the lights and the tank top? Like a splashguard?

No legs, you could rig something up but it is designed to hang, it's not very heavy, 29 LBS and that was the ballasts (which sit on the floor) and all the packaging material.

No shield either.

The auction was for the unit and 8 bulbs, 4 10000k and 4 antic. I assume since I have 2 tracking numbers and the unit came complete (only with all 6500k bulbs) the other shipment is my bulbs.

Originally Posted by mr_X

that's pretty amazing, fitting 8 lamps in a 14" span. i would like to see some photos of the end caps and underside of the fixture if i could. it's definitely priced well also. what lamps did you choose for it?

These bulbs are smaller around than a quarter, as I said before it is supposed to come with the 10000k and the antics, to me the 6500k bulbs are a bonus as a backup.

Sorry, no pictures unless you want to send me your email address and I can take some with my phone and send them to you.

If you really need a picture send me an email to tnalarmtech (at) gmail (dot) com and I will take a couple and send them to you.

[carey]

Very interesting. I may throw one on my 90g. Not like I need the light wihtout corals but it would def light up the tank! The no spalshguard thing worries me though. I emailed the seller and asked some questions, maybe he'll get back to me. seems like a too good to be true fixture.

[mr_X]

you can send them right to my phone- 215-264-2306

don't worry about the splash guard carey, just put it up a few inches. btw, so much for a FOWLR with 640 watts of T5 over it...lol.

[carey]

It's just as much as a 2-4 bulb good light LOL You never know when another 55g will come along.

I planned on having glass tops on the 90g, would you sit it on top of that or would that be asking for trouble?

These lights just seem to be too good of a deal to pass up.

If he send you the pics can you post them here too? That would be great!

[mr_X]

yep

[carey]

It's an odyssea fixture?

[rdnelson99]

Came this close to ordering one of the 48" they have. Man, if only they had 36". I am so tempted to order the 48 and just let it hang over the end of my tank 6" on either side. LOL

[Ibrahim]

Originally Posted by carey

It's an odyssea fixture?

The bulbs are but only because those are the cheapest ones around

[carey]

Hmm I'm still interested just wan tosme more opinions before I go ahead and buy one. lol

Mr X posted the photos but didn't give an opinion either way. I woudl love to see what he thought of the lighting.

[mr_X]

i don't know about the fixture. the casing looks the same as the hydroponics fixtures i've used, but hydroponics fixtures focus on intensity and have the bulbs spread out with large reflectors.
since it comes with 6500k lamps however, i would assume it's for plants.
meanwhile, i would slowly acclimate your tank to this new fixture. you can kill your corals by blasting them with a lot more light than they are used to.
i would suggest the screen method- take a roll of window screen and put it in a few layers on top of the tank between the fixture and the water, and remove one every few days until they are gone.
if your corals start to fail it will be a week or two after the new lighting...it's not immediate.
i would love to use a PAR meter under this fixture, since folks say individual reflectors are the key to the intensity of T5s.

[carey]

The same seller also sells "marine" setups with different bulbs, ie: 10k and actinics. I'm very tempted the price is so cheap. lol I'm guessing even the 6 fixture would be overkill for my 90g though eh? lol

[dralarms]

Originally Posted by carey

The same seller also sells "marine" setups with different bulbs, ie: 10k and actinics. I'm very tempted the price is so cheap. lol I'm guessing even the 6 fixture would be overkill for my 90g though eh? lol

Don't know, but each 2 set of bulbs is on a seperate ballast and switch so you can turn some off.

Mine is the marine setup, aparrantly they just ship the bulbs from a different location so if you order the marine setup you get double bulbs? or if you order the plant setup you get 1 set.

[carey]

Hmm nice to know. Not that I'll need any plant growing bulbs lol. But keep us updated on how they work out. I'm in the market for some lights for my 90g and this seems like a great deal if they hold up.

[mr_X]

all of the fixtures are for plants. they just say "marine" and send you out some cheapo bulbs. no matter. i used hydroponics fixtures on my last tank. they worked perfectly. mine had complete individual reflectors though, but the PAR was killer!

[dralarms]

What is PAR????

[mr_X]

photosynthetically active radiation. it's the light that photosynthetic creatures utilize. not all light is photosynthetically active. you can have a very bright light with very little PAR, and it's no good for plants/corals.