Anyone using these lights?

[Warboc]

By the way, there is a very odd looking snake under your coffee table. You may want to get rid of that thing for saftey of your family!

[Ebisan]

Yea, I just realized they don't make a 175W DE bulb. So mine must be 150W. They better change their website though regarding the description from the unit. I'm a little disappointed but for the price and that the unit works so far, I'm not going to cry over spilled milk.

[Ebisan]

Originally posted by Warboc
By the way, there is a very odd looking snake under your coffee table. You may want to get rid of that thing for saftey of your family!

Haha. That's for our Pembroke Corgi. Although he prefers the ball more.

[IUnknown]

Paid $250 for it

I don't get why its $50 more if you pick it up at the store?

[apologeticus]

Originally posted by IUnknown
I don't get why its $50 more if you pick it up at the store?

Pretty simple: to make up for the money they didn't make on shipping.

[chrisstie]

Our aquatraders.com shipment came today woohooo!

We ordered a jebo skimmer and the 48" MH\T5 combo for our soon to be 55 set up (need to finish cleaning up our used tank) I don't have pics of the packing but everything was done really well- the lights themselves were actually double-boxed, and everything was packed nicely with paper inside the other box that came with the ballast and skimmer.

I just want to note here that we read several reviews of people saying this isn't the best on the market, its ok, it will work, and is actually really great for the price. We also knew some people were a little iffy on it, and one person was exteremely dissatisfied at her purchase.

Regardless, we'd rather spend half the money on a good product rather then blowing our bank on top of the line brand name stuff ..

So here's some pics:

Jebo Skimmer


Timer\Ballast:


We did hear a small noise like someone else mentioned saying it sounded like something was loose. We found the culprit:

This was a tiny nut inside sliding around the bottom of the ballast and vibrating and creating extra noise when turned on. Also, any other noise we found was due to a screw that wasn't completely screwed in tight. A screw driver and a few minutes later, she purrs like a quiet little kitten.

Here's the inside where we found the nut:


It isnt letting me post everything so pics of the stand and light coming up right below this.

[chrisstie]

Cont'd..


Here's the custom stand my dad built for us that also houses my 7 year old goldfish.. Our old freshwater 29 is sitting on top so when I get the other cleaned up it'll take up most of the top:


Here's a pic of the lights without power:


A close up of one side so you can see the guts:


Here's just the T5's on:


Just MH:


And finally here's some with both on (since we're not set up yet with the tank this is just laying on the floor at 11:30am EST or so without flash on.






When we get the tank completely cleaned so you can see through the glass and make sure that our stand will hold its weight etc etc, I will post pics of it with water and the light setup.

[onecrzyboi4u]

just ordered the 24" companct lighitng.. i'm guessin i should recieve it in 2 weeks since i went with money order..(don't have a credit card) i will post when i get it and how it works out.. btw chrisstie lemme know how ur skimmer does.. i'm thinking about gettin one of those..

[Warboc]

I have decided not to purchase new MH bulbs yet. Although they have already been shipped, I am refusing shipment/sending them right back for a refund.

The reason being that a major factor in ordering new bulbs was the fact that my two MH bulbs were putting out a different color of light. The left side was more of a blue tint while the right side was very white/yellowish. Well since I have started using them more daily (tank is completing cycle now) the colors are nearly identical now!

Notice the difference in the coloration of the sand and rocks before and after. Needless to say I am very happy now!

Before:


After:



If anyone else tries new MH bulbs, please let us know.

[onecrzyboi4u]

oooooo i love that effect.. what light combo did u get warboc?

[Warboc]

Originally posted by onecrzyboi4u
oooooo i love that effect.. what light combo did u get warboc?

That's the "ODYSSEA 48" 384W METAL HALIDE" unit. It is on my 90 for now. That tank is 25 inches tall and that lighting is very nice on it. Pictures really don't do it any justice.

I will put it on my 55 when I get into more higher-light dependent corals in the 90 though. Still new to this right now so it is fine for my 90 for beginner zoos, leathers, shrooms and such.

[onecrzyboi4u]

i ordered the 24, compact 110 wats.. i hope it has that effect some.. i love that..

[Warboc]

Originally posted by onecrzyboi4u
i ordered the 24, compact 110 wats.. i hope it has that effect some.. i love that..

Is that the Jebo unit for $39? If so, I have that on my refugium.

[onecrzyboi4u]

yeah it is..

[DAVER]

i think the lights look great, forget those negative replies, you got a great deal. as far as the ballasts go, the code not matching to other de bulbs, oh well. it seems the only de bulbs that match are a couple of iwasakis, which would leave you to believe maybe that is the brand of bulb you got with your fixture. i know they are unmarked, but, some one has to make them. good luck with them and keep us posted with anything new.

[Warboc]

Originally posted by onecrzyboi4u
yeah it is..

Don't put too much stock into this image. The light from that unit is very white and very crisp. My digi-cam is an el cheapo. No harm in giving you a glimpse though.

[onecrzyboi4u]

i'm hearin how ups ground shippin is bad and they break things.. this is commin from a guy who works for ups...

[onecrzyboi4u]

i'll be damn thats pretty * cries* lol.. i think my fish will like the new look...

[Warboc]

Originally posted by DAVER
i think the lights look great, forget those negative replies, you got a great deal. as far as the ballasts go, the code not matching to other de bulbs, oh well. it seems the only de bulbs that match are a couple of iwasakis, which would leave you to believe maybe that is the brand of bulb you got with your fixture. i know they are unmarked, but, some one has to make them. good luck with them and keep us posted with anything new.

One cool thing is that I know I like the bulbs now and I can order repalcement bulbs from them fairly inexpensively. They were willing to sell me one for $25 including shipping to replace one of mine so I imagine it would not cost much more.

Note: The bulbs are not listed on their website but you can get them by calling. I realize the following is a rehash of some of my previous comments in the thread but... They get the bulbs in bulk and thus give them away free with the units. Also means they can sell them cheap when you need replacements.

[onecrzyboi4u]

how are u guys payin for your lights or skimmers.. and how long it taken u guys to get it?

[Warboc]

I believe it was a paypal transaction via their website. I ordered both my lights it on a Tuesday night. They shipped out on the next day. I got the small unit in that Friday. I got the larger MH unit in the following Wednesday. The warehouse for the smaller unit was in Texas, according to the shipping label. The MH unit was shipped from Cali.

[onecrzyboi4u]

i'm trying to figure out how long i'll have to wait on mine to come.. i'm orderin money order.. i'm sendin the money order off tomorrow mornin..

[onecrzyboi4u]

anyone have any ideas?

[Ebisan]

Lights look nice. I have mine sitting on the tile floor turned on trying to see how hot it will get and see if anything goes boom. :P I will be hanging mine. The hanging accessories are pretty cool. However, I'm having trouble figuring out how it connects to the ceiling. The end piece, which the end of the cable attaches, has a female end that is threaded for a screw. So from the ceiling, a threaded piece like a screw needs to be mounted. Is there a hanging kit I can buy from Home Depot? I was hoping I could just drill a hole and use one of those screw with the expanding plastic to secure the cable. Warboc, you have the same hardware and probably know what I mean about that end piece. I'll probably head over to HD tomorrow.

[Ebisan]

Originally posted by onecrzyboi4u
i ordered the 24, compact 110 wats.. i hope it has that effect some.. i love that..

I called them today asking about the 24" PC fixture and they said they are taking orders but not processing them until Feb 5th. I guess they are out until then. FYI.