odyssea????

[w62lms]

recently set up a new 95gal tank reef tank. i initially set it up with 90lbs of live rock and 6 T5 helios lights(3 white & 3 blue). 3 months have passed and im feeling restricted by the T5's. I want to start stocking with corals and clams and whatever else catches my eye. I am considering going with some metal halides. My tank is 24in deep will 2 175 watt 14k halides aling with my existing actintics do the trick???
i saw a ODYSSEA product online at aquatraders.com for $299.99 for the whole setup. seems pretty cheap, but i am assuming i will need a chiller as well so i am trying to save a buck.

any input out there?????

[lanceleaderx]

ebay has odyssea da has 250 watt MH

[Bebo77]

[welcome]


i run a 300 gallon reef on 54 watt T5's.. i do have 12 of them but it can easily be done... just get a better bulb combo... i like ( for 6 t5's)

2 aquablue plus
2 actnic
2 UV URI's

i keep clams on the bottom of my 26" tall tank with that bulb combo.. but i do have Tek t'5.. they have better reflectors...

[sir_dudeguy]

I'd seriously look to a different brand other than odysea and jebo (they're the same brand). Many times the light will die in like 4 months or something like that. Oh, and they're known to start fires. IMO, its the balast. They seem way too small for the power that they have to push out. I've got an odysea/jebo light that has a part that is 2x96 and the other half was 2x65. Now i've taken the thing apart and i'm re-using the 2x96 part because its still good, but the 2x65 part seriously could have started a fire. The owner of it before me said he just flipped the switched and he saw an electrical arc from somewhere inside the fixture and it started smokin...so then he just gave it to me in the off chance that i'd be able to figure out how to fix it...so far i've salvaged the 2x96 like i say...but when i got to the 2x65 part, i was shocked. The wires were completely melted and charred, and so i thought it was those that caused the problem...they are way too thin imo to be putting out 65 watts of pc light, because when i compair them to my workhorse retro, those actually have thick light cables...these odysea ones are about the thickness of headphone wires, maybe just a tad thicker.

But then i got to the balast..looked normal from the outside but i figured, hey, i might as well look inside and see what it looks like ;) Completely melted in there. I opened up the 2x96 part and it looked completely clean and put together and everything...i did this because someone told me that it was some foam insulator stuff thats sposed to be there...well it wasnt. It was the actual parts that had melted lol.

so overall...i'd say just avoid that company. Dont get me wrong, theres still people that have their odyssea light from 3 years ago i'm sure...but when the failure rate is that high... i dont see why you'd risk it to just end up paying for a new light possibly.

[Qwiv]

Your T5 fixture is probably putting out more or equal light then (2) 175 watters and a few actinics. Are you using a retro or a fixture? Single bulb reflectors? Are you using good bulbs like ATI? Have you replaced you bulbs?? They don't last forever. Old bulbs can be 50% light output easy. I think you would be better off tuning of your fixture.

PS odyssea stuff is JUNK!

[w62lms]

ya it seemed to cheap to be true. i think i really like the reflections of the halides and the fact that i can put more stony corals in when i want.

Is there a good cost effective halide fixture out there??

[bertoni]

Well, a retrofit kit would be the cheapest approach, if you are a DIY type of person.

I use LumenMax 2 pendants. A full setup was about $300 per bulb, although I had to do some wiring.

For that size tank, I'd consider 250 W bulbs, unless you like the looks of the Iwasaki 175 K bulbs.

[sir_dudeguy]

what type of reflectors do your t5's have? and are they single bulb reflectors or just one big one?

[w62lms]

i have the single bulb reflectors and the i have 1 big polished reflector the covers the top of my canopy..

so about $600 for 2 halides seems a little steep. i would assume i need a chiller if i go that route

[sir_dudeguy]

imo chillers are overrated...nice yes, but not needed ALL the time. I prefer fans to cool the tank. (they're much cheaper)

[w62lms]

i just saw a deal at reefmax. (which was reviewed well in the review section) for $149. 2-250w 14k complete setups for $300. sounds like a winner to me.the only thing i'm not sure of is the balast is air cooled instead of fan cooled is that good or bad>>>

[sir_dudeguy]

do you know the brands of that setup?